IMP (Interface Messenger Protocol)
The Internet works because of a system of rules called protocols. By following these protocols, computers can send information across the Network to other computers. If there were no protocols, then there'd be no guarantee that the information sent from one computer could be understood by another, or that it'd even reach the right destination. IMPs would use a technology called packet-switching, which split large sections of data into small parts called packets, each labelled with its destination address. The Interface Message Processor (IMP) was the packet-switching node used to interconnect participant networks to the ARPANET from the late 1960s to 1989. It was the first generation of gateways, which are known today as routers. |
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