SRI International Marks 35th Anniversary of Historic ARPANET Transmission

MENLO PARK, Calif.--October 26, 2004--This month, SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute well known for its pioneering technology innovations, marks its role in what many consider to be one of the most important developments of the computer age: the first transmission on a network.

Thirty-five years ago, in October 1969, the very first transmission on the ARPANET was sent to Stanford Research Institute (now named SRI International) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). That connection was the first time two computers, or hosts, communicated over the world's first wide-area packet switched computer network, ARPANET. Sending this initial logon laid the groundwork for the Internet and the subsequent dramatic changes in how we conduct business, communicate, socialize, learn, and travel.

The ARPANET was started by the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (now called DARPA) to illustrate the power of host resource sharing and rapid information flow. At the time, the entire network consisted of four computers at different locations linked together to conduct research in the use of packet switching for wide-area networking. SRI hosted one of the original four network nodes. In addition to UCLA, the other initial nodes were hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. By 1972, the ARPANET comprised 37 networked computers. In 1983, the ARPANET was opened up to universities and various scientific bodies. Today, there are millions of Internet users.

"In 1969, at the time of the first transmission, computers were so limited in capability that a standalone computer could not hold all the different functionality needed at a given research site. The main driver for connectivity was the need to enable expensive, specialized hosts to be shared widely among users not directly connected," said Don Nielson, former SRI vice president and director of the computing and engineering sciences division. "While the ARPANET was a single, homogeneous, wired network, some still consider it the harbinger of today's Internet. True interneting however, would not arise for another seven years. Strictly speaking, internets are comprised of dissimilar networks and it was the development of a digital radio network at SRI that in August 1976 occasioned the first internet transmission."

Since that historic event 35 years ago, SRI has continued to play a significant role in the evolution of computing, the Internet, and communications. For more than two decades, SRI operated the Network Information Center (NIC), serving as the registration clearinghouse and support center for all computer hosts connecting to the ARPANET/Internet.

SRI continues to be a driving force in computing, networking, and communications. Among its more recent contributions is technology that led to the formation of PacketHop, a company developing mobile broadband ad-hoc networking products. Its technology enables the building of scalable networks for broadband access with no predefined infrastructure. SRI has also been on the frontlines in the battle to secure the Internet through its development of the first intrusion detection system designed to detect and ultimately thwart cyber attacks across large networks.

For additional information, visit SRI International's timeline of innovations at: http://www.sri.com/about/timeline/arpanet.html or http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/internet_history.

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (http://www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for almost 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies. SRI's most recent spin-offs include PacketHop, a wireless communications company launched in November 2003, and Artificial Muscle Inc., founded in March 2004.