The ARPANET begins the year with 14 nodes in operation. BBN modifies and streamlines the IMP design so it can be moved to a less cumbersome platform than the DDP-516. BBN also develops a new platform, called a Terminal Interface Processor (TIP) which is capable of supporting input from multiple hosts or terminals. The Network Working Group completes the Telnet protocol and makes progress on the file transfer protocol (FTP) standard. At the end of the year, the ARPANET contains 19 nodes as planned. Intel’s release of the 4004, the first ‘computer on a chip,’ ushers in the epoch of the microprocessor. The combination of memory and processor on a single chip reduces size and cost, and increases speed, continuing the evolution from vacuum tube to transistor to integrated circuit. Many small projects are carried out across the new network, including the demonstration of an aircraft-carrier landing simulator. However, the overall traffic is far lighter than the network’s capacity. Something needs to stimulate the kind of collaborative and interactive atmosphere consistent with the original vision. Larry Roberts and Bob Kahn decide that it is time for a public demonstration of the ARPANET. They choose to hold this demonstration at the International Conference on Computer Communication (ICCC) to be held in Washington, DC, in October 1972.
1971
