Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

The Internet is a massive internetwork of router-connected networks, consisting of thousands of autonomous systems that are each managed by different authorities. These networks share traffic and exchange routing information. This topic will soon be expanded with a discussion of the following topics:

• Historical development of the Internet, including the first packet switches and routers


• The building of the early ARPANET from a routing perspective


• Early routing structures and the development of autonomous system routing


• The development of the NSFNET and the backbone routing model


• The emergence of BGP and the scalable Internet


• Current and future routed networks

See Internet History for historical information about the Internet.

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