greg@gagme.uucp (Gregory Gulik) (02/12/90)
I'm not exactly new to this, but no matter how much netnews
I read, I can't seem to find answers to the following questions.
I hope someone can enlighten me, and I'm sure there are many
new users that would like to know too.
1) I still don't understand the difference (if there is one) between
"UseNet" and "Internet".
2) What is ARPAnet? I know what the acronym stands for, something
like Advanced Research Projects something or another, but what
is it physically? Are there Ethernet cables stretched all over
the country or something?
-Greg
--
Gregory A. Gulik
greg@gagme.chi.il.us || ...!clout!gagme!greg
|| gulik@depaul.edu
"And when you tell lies, an angel dies." -- Severed Headseps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) (02/18/90)
In article <74@gagme.uucp> greg@gagme.uucp (Gregory Gulik) writes: >1) I still don't understand the difference (if there is one) between > "UseNet" and "Internet". Usenet is those tens of thousands of systems that exchange Network News, a form of electronic publishing. It has NO other functionality (no e-mail--nothing, nada, zilch!); it depends on a variety of other networks, protocols, technologies, and methodologies for transport and related services, such as electronic mail. Internet is those hundreds of thousands of systems that use DoD Internet Protocol, and are connected to each other. Internet provides a wide variety of services, can run on just about any medium, hardware platform, operating system, etc. Perhaps this analogy will help: usenet : Internet = word processor : computer >2) What is ARPAnet? I know what the acronym stands for, something > like Advanced Research Projects something or another, but what > is it physically? Are there Ethernet cables stretched all over > the country or something? A better question is: What *was* ARPAnet? ARPAnet was the granddaddy of modern packet-switched data communications networks. The ARPAnet was a collection of network switches that provided reliable messaging over 56Kbps leased lines. The Nth generation of this survives as the Defense Data Network Unclassified Segment, a/k/a MILNET, but ARPAnet's functionality has been subsumed by the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), which primarily uses T-1 (1.544Mbps) lines. The planned successor to the ARPAnet is the Defense Research Internet, an optical network operating at gigabit speeds. A year ago, the Defense Communications Agency started dismantling ARPAnet after 20 years of operation. Today only vestiges remain. -=EPS=-