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The Defense Data Network (DDN) was a computer networking effort of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
from 1983 through 1995. It was based on
ARPANET The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foun ...
technology.


History

As an experiment, from 1971 to 1977, the
Worldwide Military Command and Control System The Worldwide Military Command and Control System, or WWMCCS , was a military command and control system implemented for the command and control of the United States military. It was created in the days following the Cuban Missile Crisis. WWMCCS ...
(WWMCCS) purchased and operated an ARPANET-type system from
BBN Technologies Raytheon BBN (originally Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc.) is an American research and development company, based next to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. In 1966, the Franklin Institute awarded the firm the Frank P. Brow ...
for the Prototype WWMCCS Intercomputer Network (PWIN). The experiments proved successful enough that it became the basis of the much larger WIN system. Six initial WIN sites in 1977 increased to 20 sites by 1981. In 1975, the Defense Communication Agency (DCA) took over operation of the
ARPANET The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foun ...
as it became an operational tool in addition to an ongoing research project. At that time, the Automatic Digital Network (AUTODIN), carried most of the Defense Department's message traffic. Starting in 1972, attempts had been made to introduce some packet switching into its planned replacement, AUTODIN II. AUTODIN II development proved unsatisfactory, however, and in 1982, AUTODIN II was canceled, to be replaced by a combination of several packet-based networks that would connect military installations. The DCA used "Defense Data Network" (DDN) as the program name for this new network. Under its initial architecture, as developed by the
Institute for Defense Analysis The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...
, the DDN would consist of two separate instances: the unclassified
MILNET In computer networking, MILNET (fully Military Network) was the name given to the part of the ARPANET internetwork designated for unclassified United States Department of Defense traffic.DEFENSE DATA NETWORK NEWSLETTEDDN-NEWS 26 6 May 1983 MILNE ...
, which would be split off the ARPANET; and a classified network, also based on ARPANET technology, which would provide services for WIN, DODIIS, and SACDIN. C/30 packet switches, developed by
BBN Technologies Raytheon BBN (originally Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc.) is an American research and development company, based next to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. In 1966, the Franklin Institute awarded the firm the Frank P. Brow ...
as upgraded
Interface Message Processor 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. An IMP was a r ...
s, would provide the network technology. End-to-end encryption would be provided by
ARPANET encryption devices The ARPANET pioneered the creation of novel encryption devices for packet networks in the 1970s and 1980s, and as such were ancestors to today's IPsec architecture, and High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor (HAIPE) devices more specifically ...
, namely the Internet Private Line Interface (IPLI) or Blacker. After MILNET was split away, the ARPANET would continue be used as an
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
backbone for researchers, but be slowly phased out. Both networks carried unclassified information, and were connected at a small number of points which would allow total separation in the event of an emergency. As a large-scale, private internet, the DDN provided
Internet Protocol The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. I ...
connectivity across the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and to US military bases abroad. The Defense Communications Engineering Center (DCEC), part of DCA, handled DDN network engineering and DDN network operations. The DCEC was located in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City moveme ...
from the mid-1980s until it was closed and merged with a DISA site in
Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia Bailey's Crossroads is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 24,749 at the 2020 census. Bailey's Crossroads lies at the crossroads of State Route 7 ( Leesburg Pike) and State Route 244 ( C ...
in the early 2000s (long after DCA had been merged into the new
Defense Information Systems Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. DISA pro ...
(DISA)). Throughout the 1980s it expanded as a set of four parallel military networks, each at a different security level. The networks were: * Military Network (MILNET) for UNCLASSIFIED traffic * Defense Secure Network One (DSNET 1) for SECRET traffic * Defense Secure Network Two (DSNET 2) for TOP SECRET traffic * Defense Secure Network Three (DSNET 3) for TOP SECRET/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) MILNET and DSNET 1 were common user networks, much like the public Internet, but DSNET 2 was dedicated to supporting the
Worldwide Military Command and Control System The Worldwide Military Command and Control System, or WWMCCS , was a military command and control system implemented for the command and control of the United States military. It was created in the days following the Cuban Missile Crisis. WWMCCS ...
(WWMCCS) and DSNET 3 was dedicated to supporting the DOD Intelligence Information System (DODIIS). These networks transitioned to become the
NIPRNET The Non-classified Internet Protocol (IP) Router Network (NIPRNet) is an IP network used to exchange unclassified information, including information subject to controls on distribution, among the private network's users. The NIPRNet also provide ...
,
SIPRNET The Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) is "a system of interconnected computer networks used by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State to transmit classified information (up to and including information ...
, and
JWICS The Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System (JWICS, ) is the United States Department of Defense's secure intranet system that houses top secret and sensitive compartmented information. JWICS superseded the earlier DSNET2 and DSNET3, t ...
networks in the 1990s.


DDN-NIC

DDN-NIC or Network Information Center (NIC) was located at the DDN Installation and Integration Support (DIIS) program office in Chantilly, Virginia. It provided general reference services to DDN users via telephone, electronic mail, and U.S. mail. It was the first organization responsible for the assignment of TCP/IP addresses and Autonomous System numbers.


See also

*
Defense Information Systems Network The Defense Information System Network (DISN) has been the United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinati ...
(DISN)


References


External links


Cybertelecom :: Internet History 1983
{{Authority control Wide area networks Internet access Telecommunications equipment of the Cold War United States Department of Defense information technology