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:
- Explain: 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.
- Explain: 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.
- Explain: 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.
Major section
The World Wide Web (1991-1999)
They could have patented it and charged licensing fees, but they chose to give it away.
- This single decision — perhaps more than any technical achievement — is why the Web became universal.
- Downloads increase 341,000% in one year.
- Amazon and Yahoo are founded.
- RFC 2616 defines HTTP/1.1 (still widely used).
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)
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.
- The end-to-end principle and the IP narrow waist are the reason IoT could be built on the existing Internet rather than on a separate network.
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
They could have patented it and charged licensing fees, but they chose to give it away.
- 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: B 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.
Q2Place each Internet era at the step where it added a new capability, so you can explain how today's sensor traffic inherits the network's history.
Show answer
Answer: A The path is cumulative: packet-switching research enabled TCP/IP internetworking; the Web added linked public services above that network; and IoT now carries physical-world readings across the same foundations.
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.
- B · The World Wide Web is an application that runs on top of the Internet.
- A · The path is cumulative: packet-switching research enabled TCP/IP internetworking; the Web added linked public services above that network; and IoT now carries physical-world readings across the same foundations.
- A · TCP sockets use SOCK_STREAM for reliable, ordered delivery (like early ARPANET connections).