Fundamentals · Study deck
Internet History: Web, Mobile, and IoT
The web made linked pages easy to reach.
Physics Phoebe is your guide for this deck.
After studying this chapter
Learning objectives
You will be able to:
- Connect DNS and the web to human use of the Internet.
- Compare the web, mobile-cloud, and IoT eras.
- Explain: Amazon and Yahoo are founded.
- Explain: When Kevin Ashton coined "Internet of Things" in 1999, he was working on RFID supply chain tracking at Procter & Gamble.
Major section
The World Wide Web (1991-1999)
Amazon and Yahoo are founded.
- HTTP/1.1 was already in use; RFC 2616 followed in 1999.
- The growth of the Web was unlike anything before.
Major section
The IoT Era (2015-Present)
When Kevin Ashton coined "Internet of Things" in 1999, he was working on RFID supply chain tracking at Procter & Gamble.
- His insight was simple but profound: computers depend on humans to input data, but most of the real world isn't in any database.
Major section
The Unsung Heroes
The big picture: When your IoT temperature sensor sends a reading today, it follows the SAME fundamental process invented in 1969 — just billions of times faster.
- That culture of openness — embodied in the RFC process started by Steve Crocker in 1969 — is why IoT protocols like MQTT and CoAP are also open standards that anyone can implement.
Major section
Common Pitfalls
The Web is an application that runs on the Internet.
- IoT systems often use Internet connectivity without using web pages at all; they may send MQTT, CoAP, DNS, NTP, or device-management traffic over the same packet network.
- The important point is not only that ARPANET began in 1969 or that Flag Day happened in 1983.
Major section
Deep Dive: Packet Switching, Layers, and the IP Narrow Waist
The first is packet switching: instead of reserving a dedicated circuit, data is chopped into independently addressed packets that the network routes hop by hop, sharing links efficiently and rerouting around failures.
- The second is layering: the protocol stack is split into layers, each with one job, so they can evolve independently.
Major section
Deep Dive: Packet Switching, Layers, and the IP Narrow Waist (continued)
The TCP/IP model has four layers: link, internet, transport, and application.
- A sensor sending a reading and a browser loading a page use the same four layers; only the application protocol differs.
- At the receiver, the headers are peeled off in reverse.
- The stack also has a famous narrow waist.
Major section
Deep Dive: Packet Switching, Layers, and the IP Narrow Waist (continued)
An ordinary IP router forwards primarily using IP header fields, so the network can carry many application protocols.
- Firewalls and other middleboxes may inspect more than the IP header.
- A router does not track your whole conversation; TCP in your device handles retransmission.
- That narrow waist is what let IoT grow on the existing Internet.
- A CoAP-based sensor can talk to a cloud service written years earlier.
Major section
Key Takeaway
The history of the Internet shows why layered design, open protocols, interoperability, and fault tolerance matter.
- IoT systems inherit those lessons when many vendors and networks must work together.
Deck summary
Key takeaways
Amazon and Yahoo are founded.
- When Kevin Ashton coined "Internet of Things" in 1999, he was working on RFID supply chain tracking at Procter & Gamble.
- The big picture: When your IoT temperature sensor sends a reading today, it follows the SAME fundamental process invented in 1969 — just billions of times faster.
- The Web is an application that runs on the Internet.
- The first is packet switching: instead of reserving a dedicated circuit, data is chopped into independently addressed packets that the network routes hop by hop, sharing links efficiently and rerouting around failures.
Retrieval practice
Recall check 1 of 2
Physics Phoebe says: answer from memory, then check your reasoning.
Q1What is the relationship between the World Wide Web and the Internet?
Show answer
Answer: C The World Wide Web is an application that runs on top of the Internet.
Retrieval practice
Recall check 2 of 2
Physics Phoebe says: answer from memory, then check your reasoning.
Q2What connects sensors and actuators to packet-network foundations so physical events reach services?
Show answer
Answer: B IoT connects sensors and actuators to the same packet and TCP/IP foundations, bringing physical events into networked services.
Q3Complete the socket connection simulating early Internet communication:
Show answer
Answer: A TCP sockets use SOCK_STREAM for reliable, ordered delivery (like early ARPANET connections).
Print reference
Answers
Answer key.
- C · The World Wide Web is an application that runs on top of the Internet.
- B · IoT connects sensors and actuators to the same packet and TCP/IP foundations, bringing physical events into networked services.
- A · TCP sockets use SOCK_STREAM for reliable, ordered delivery (like early ARPANET connections).