Make it to 10,000

[Vega]

IP addresses evolved from the early days of the ARPANET, a U.S. Department of Defense project, to the internet's current infrastructure. The first IP addresses, using 8-bit addresses for ARPANET hosts, were replaced by IPv4, a 32-bit system, in the 1980s. Later, IPv6, a 128-bit system, was introduced to address IPv4's limitations as the internet grew. 


Early Days (ARPANET and NCP):

• 1960s:
  Paul Baran's work on "Distributed Adaptive Message Block Switching" laid the foundation for packet switching, which is the basis for how data is sent over the internet. 
  
  

[*]1969:
The ARPANET, a precursor to the internet, began operation with 4 hosts, each having a unique 8-bit address using the Network Control Protocol (NCP). 


The Rise of IPv4:

• Early 1970s: Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed TCP, a protocol for reliable data transmission, and later the TCP/IP protocol suite. 
  
  

[*]1977: Jon Postel split TCP and IP into two distinct layers within the TCP/IP suite. 




[*]1980: The first formal version of IP, IPv4, was created. 




[*]1981: IPv4 was described in RFC 791. 




[*]1982: The US Department of Defense adopted TCP/IP for military networks. 




[*]1983: IPv4 was deployed on ARPANET in January, marking the beginning of its widespread use. 



The Need for IPv6: 

• 1990s: Concerns about IPv4 address exhaustion, as the internet grew and more devices connected, led to the development of IPv6. 
  
  

[*]1998: IPv6 was introduced as a successor to IPv4. 




[*]Mid-2000s onwards: IPv6 deployment began, though both IPv4 and IPv6 are still used today.