Van Jacobson Denies Averting Internet Meltdown In 1980s

New submitter strangebush sends this quote from Wired about Van Jacobson's work on the TCP/IP protocol in the '80s, which helped stabilize early computer networks enough for them to eventually grow into the internet: "'I was getting a bit per second between two network gateways that were literally in the same room,' Jacobson remembers. ... In 1985, Berkeley ran one of the IMPs, or interface message processors, that served as the main nodes on the ARPAnet, a network funded by the U.S. Department of Defense that connected various research institutions and government organizations across the country. The network was designed so that any node could send data at any time, but for some reason, Berkeley's IMP was only sending data every twelve seconds. As it turns out, the IMP was waiting for other nodes to complete their transmissions before sending its data. The ARPAnet was meant to be a mesh network, where all nodes can operate on their own, but it was behaving like a token ring network, where each node can only send when they receive a master token. 'Our IMP would just keep accumulating data and accumulating data for about twelve seconds and then it would dump it,' says Jacobson. 'It was like the old token ring networks when you couldn't say anything until you got the token. But the ARPAnet wasn't built to do that. There was no global protocol like that.'"

Comments

Interesting note about the history of internet

[JAJS]

You have to remember how barebones the early internet and ARPAnet were. The systems were actually really badly designed. That's fine for such an early try at new technology, but we are here mainly by accident. ARPAnet was intended for military-only use, not for the public. The UNIX systems that ran it were badly designed and couldn't have handled the internet like it is today. It was only after IBM and Microsoft came around that the Internet really got wider public use. UNIX and Linux nearly destroyed the internet as we know it.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

You have no clue. The internet was a thriving ecosystem that expanded to general consumer use when the first html browser came on the scene.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[sa666_666]

Not sure if you're being serious or not, but if you are, my first thought on reading your response was "I'll bet this is a 2.6million UID". And sure enough, it is. What's with all the recent 2.6million UIDs that seem to contain the same cookie-cutter response??

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[FeastingThomas]

About eight months ago, I was searching around the internet to find out why my computer was running so slowly (it normally ran quite fast, but had gradually gotten slower over time). After a few minutes, I found a piece of software claiming that it could speed up my PC and make it run like new again. Being that I was dangerously ignorant about technology in general (even more so than I am now), I downloaded the software and began the installation. Mere moments after doing so, my desktop background image was changed and warnings that appeared to originate from Windows appeared all over the screen telling me to buy strange software from an unknown company in order to remove a virus it claimed I had.

I may have been ignorant about technology, but I wasn't that naive. I immediately concluded that the software I'd downloaded was, in fact, a virus. In my rage, I broke numerous objects, punched a hole in the wall, and cursed the world at the top of my lungs. I eventually calmed down, cleared my head, and realized that the only remedy for this problem was a carefully thought out plan. After a few moments of pondering about how to handle this situation, I decided that since I barely knew how to properly handle a computer, I should turn it over to the professionals and let them fix the issue.

Soon after making the decision, I drove to a local computer repair shop and entered the building with my computer in hand. They greeted me with a smile and stayed attentive the entire time that I was explaining the problem to them. They laughed as if they'd heard it all before, told me that I'm not the only one who has trouble operating computers, and then gave me a date for when the computer would be fixed. Not only had they told me that the computer would be completely repaired in at most two days, but the price for their services was surprisingly low, and to top it all off, they even gave me advice for how to avoid viruses in the future! I left the building feeling confident in my decision to seek professional help and satisfied knowing that such kind-hearted people were the ones doing the job.

The very next day, I received a phone call from the computer repair shop whilst I was at a local library researching computer viruses. I had stumbled upon a piece of software that appeared to be very promising, and I was about to do more research on it, but seeing as how I required my computer as soon as possible, I decided to put the matter on hold. Upon answering the phone and cheerfully greeting the person on the other end, I was greeted with a high-pitched shriek. Startled, I asked what was wrong. A few moments passed where nothing was said, and suddenly, the person on the other end said to me, in a low voice oozing with paranoia, "Come pick up your computer." They hung up immediately after saying that, and I couldn't help but notice that they sounded as if they were on the verge of tears. I briefly wondered if it was due to stress from work, and then drove to the computer repair shop to acquire my computer.

I was positively dismayed upon entering the building. The inside of the computer repair shop looked nothing like the image from my memories. There were broken computer parts scattered throughout the room, ceiling tiles all over the floor, blood splattered in every direction I looked, and even a human toe on the ground. After processing this disturbing information, I began panicking and frantically looking around for my computer. I spotted an employee covered in blood sitting up against the wall, and noticed that his wrists had been slashed open. Thinking quickly, I ran up to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, shook him around, and began screaming, "Where is it!? Where is my computer!?" After a moment of silence, he passed away, completely shattering my expectations. "What a meaningless individual," I thought.

Enraged, I tore the building up even further than it already had been in my desperate search for my computer. Eventually I discovered a door leading to an area that was normally only accessible

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[MrBootysnap]

Around a year ago, I was mindlessly surfing the internet (as I often do) when I came across an enigmatic web page. The page, which looked like a warning from my web browser, informed me that I had a virus installed on my computer and that to fix it, I should install a strange anti-virus program that I'd never heard of (which I found peculiar considering the fact that I already had anti-virus software installed on my computer). Despite having reservations about installing it, I did so anyway (since it appeared to be a legitimate warning).

I cannot even fathom what I was thinking at that time. Soon after attempting to install the so-called anti-virus software, my desktop background image changed into a large red warning sign, warnings about malware began making appearances all over the screen, and a strange program I'd never seen before began nagging me to buy a program to remove the viruses. What should have been obvious previously then became clear to me: that software was a virus. Frustrated by my own stupidity, I began tossing objects around the room and cursing at no one in particular.

After I calmed down, I reluctantly took my computer to a local PC repair shop and steeled myself for the incoming fee. When I entered, I noticed that there were four men working there, and all of them seemed incredibly nice (the shop itself was clean and stylish, too). After I described the situation to them, they gave me a big smile (as if they'd seen and heard it all before), accepted the job, and told me that the computer would be working like new again in a few days. At the time, I was confident that their words held a great degree of truth to them.

The very next day, while I was using a local library's computer and browsing the internet, I came across a website dedicated to a certain piece of software. It claimed that it could fix up my PC and make it run like new again. I knew, right then, merely from viewing a single page on the website, that it was telling the truth. I cursed myself for not discovering this excellent piece of software before I had taken my PC to the PC repair shop. "It would've saved me money. Oh, well. I'm sure they'll get the job done just fine. I can always use this software in the future to conserve money." Those were my honest thoughts at the time.

Two days later, my phone rang after I returned home from work. I immediately was able to identify the number: it was the PC repair shop's phone number. Once I answered, something strange occurred; the one on the other end of the line spoke, in a small, tormented voice, "Return. Return. Return. Return. Return." No matter what I said to him, he would not stop repeating that one word. Unsettled by this odd occurrence, I traveled to the PC repair shop to find out exactly what happened.

Upon arriving inside the building, I looked upon the shop, which was a shadow of its former self, in shock. There were countless wires all over the floor, smashed computer parts scattered in every direction I looked, fallen shelves on the ground, desks flipped over on the ground, and, to make matters even worse, there was blood splattered all over the wall. Being the reasonable, upstanding, college-educated citizen that I was, I immediately concluded that the current state of the shop was due to none other than an employee's stress from work. I looked around a bit more, spotted three bodies sitting against the wall, and in the middle of the room, I spotted my computer. "Ah. There it is." Directly next to it was the shop's owner, sitting on the ground in the fetal position.

When I questioned him, he kept repeating a single thing again and again: "Cannot be stopped! Cannot be stopped! Cannot be stopped!" I could not get him to tell me what was wrong, but after a bit of pondering, I quickly figured out precisely what happened: they were unable to fix my computer like they had promised. Disgusted by their failure, I turned to the shop's owner (who I now noticed had a gun to his head), and spat in his general direction. I then turned my back to him as

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

/. really needs to stop new UIDs (or AC) from having first post on their first comment. Perhaps New UIDs could only post replies to comments until they have a few positive mods.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

The most fun thing about this lame post is ... "restructuring the BIOS " wow .....

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Nerdfest]

I think Microsoft has found that this is cheaper than developing good products.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[similar_name]

I can't tell if this is a talented troll or a clueless shill.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft? The same Microsoft that famously said '"The Internet? We are not interested in it."? You're high.

If anything, BSD should get the credit for saving the internet with their network stack, which everyone copied, and in Microsoft's case, badly.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[YouShallUseMyCleanPC]

Well, to begin, I'm just your average guy. But unlike your average guy, I once had everything anyone could ever want: a gorgeous wife, a beautiful two-story house, an adorable seven year old daughter, a stable job, and a nice salary. Basically, I was living the American dream. None of my needs or wants were left unfulfilled. The family always got along, and everything was perfect.

Until one day, that is. Following one of my routine doctor appointments, my doctor informed me that I had lung cancer and that I only had a few years to live at most. As you can imagine, I was shocked. Not just shocked; I could see all of my hopes and dreams being shattered right before my very eyes. Still, my doctor gave me hope by telling me that there was a chance, however slim, that Chemotherapy and various other things could help me. After speaking with my wife, I decided to receive the treatments.

All was not lost. I still had a perfect family that I could rely on and get emotional support from. I still had hope for the future. I'm a firm believer that you should make the best of things rather than wallow in depression. I had to press on: not just for my sake, but for the sake of my loved ones. But my strong resolve was soon shattered.

The family I thought I could count on betrayed me. My wife, whom I loved deeply, filed for a divorce. She said that she could not handle the emotional trauma of being with someone who had cancer. She apologized profusely, but no matter what I said, I could not change her mind. I screamed, I cried, and I begged her to rethink her decision, but it was all to no avail.

In my madness, I made all kinds of accusations. I said that she was cheating on me, that she never loved me, that she just married me for my money, and various other things. I soon learned, however, that a few of those were more than just baseless accusations. I began stalking her, going through all of her personal possessions, and trying uncover any secrets she may have been keeping. What I discovered horrified me: she had been cheating on me with another man for the past year. She must have been waiting for an opportune time to abandon me for this other man.

When confronted about her betrayal, she screamed at me, told me it was none of my business, told me that I was always a worthless husband, and told me that I was an abusive man. I soon discovered that there was absolutely nothing that I could do. My marriage was in shambles, and by this point, I was on the brink of suicide. The only thing keeping me going was my devotion to my precious daughter.

It wasn't long before I received news from my insurance company that they were getting rid of my coverage. They gave me multitudes of vague and bogus reasons, but anyone could figure out their true reason: they did not want to waste money on a dying man. Naturally, I planned to fight this with every fiber of my being, but I knew it would be a long, drawn out process.

In the span of a year, I went from a very happy man who had everything he wanted to a miserable shell of what I once was. I couldn't take it anymore. Despite the fact that I wanted to remain in this world for the sake of my daughter, I tried committing suicide four times. All four attempts failed. I needed something to take my misery, regret, and anger out on. First I began verbally abusing my daughter. It wasn't long before I began physically abusing her. Sometimes I did it with my bare hands, and other times I used various objects. Beating my daughter soon became my only pleasure. My life had spiraled out of control into a den of anguish, uncertainty, and madness.

That's when it happened: I found MyCleanPC. I downloaded it, scanned my computer, and had it fix all of my problems. MyCleanPC is outstanding! My computer is running faster than ever!

My wife's response? "MyCleanPC came through with flying colours where no one else could!"

My daughter was absolutely overjo

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

Mycleanpc.com
Posted: 2010-02-17 by gagnons994

customer service
Complaint Rating: 98 % with 242 votes

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Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

What are you smoking?

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[JustOK]

The internet was created 6000 years ago

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

STFU say it once you derp.

People who fall foul of Malware learn by their mistakes (might take 5 or 6 times but they learn, otherwise they pay)
Once they've learned they avoid the tangent that causes the problem.
If they get an infection they'll use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or maybe ComboFix if they have any friends good tech support.

Quote - 'but for some reason, Berkeley's IMP was only sending data every twelve seconds.' This bit makes me think of how bad T-Mobile is at the moment in West Wales after the Everything everywhere thing was finalised (All orange derps on T-Mobile 3G) buggering the DNS & everything causing huge lags.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[TheGratefulNet]

and it was saved, ironically enough, by a big packet-flood and by keeping copies, two at a time, of every message type. the messages were saved for a series of consecutive days and then finally released when it was safe again.

you can read about this historic event. I believe its written down in a few places.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Artifakt]

You "Young Internet" creationists are ignoring the evidence for Netvolution, which clearly shows that the Internet has been developing from simpler structures for nearly 4.2 Billion years (Note that I am using the US 'Billion', that is One Thousand Millions - British style Billions would be silly in this context. I'd use scientific notation, but that would obviously confuse any persons who still listen to the absurd claims that "No one can show an intermendiate transition networking schema", and such.).

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Richard_at_work]

Ahh, Free Speech only means something when you agree with its usage, eh?

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[FSWKU]

Ahh, Free Speech only means something when you agree with its usage, eh?

Free Speech protections mean the government can't surpress what you say. Slashdot, being a private company, is not bound by the First Amendment in that way. And you'd be surprised how many forums/boards require you to prove you're not a shill or spambot before turning you loose on the site's population as a whole.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Richard_at_work]

Free speech is a concept, the first amendment is what involves your government. In this case, it's the concept that is under threat.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Dahamma]

And that *concept* is exactly what the GP post said it is. Free speech as a concept originated to protect your right to express your opinion about the government without prosecution, and it has NOTHING to do with allowing trolls to harass people on a PRIVATELY RUN service.

Go stand up in a movie theater some time and try to exercise your free speech, and see how fast you get kicked out of their privately owned building. And good luck trying to sue them for impinging your right to "free speech".

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[swalve]

The internet was created 6000 years ago

In September of 1993?

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Megane]

and it was saved, ironically enough, by a big packet-flood and by keeping copies, two at a time, of every message type. the messages were saved for a series of consecutive days and then finally released when it was safe again.

"Every repost is a repost of a repost!"

Well, at least that explains 4chan.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

And that *concept* is exactly what the GP post said it is. Free speech as a concept originated to protect your right to express your opinion about the government without prosecution, and it has NOTHING to do with allowing trolls to harass people on a PRIVATELY RUN service.

Go stand up in a movie theater some time and try to exercise your free speech, and see how fast you get kicked out of their privately owned building. And good luck trying to sue them for impinging your right to "free speech".

The fact that free speech is not legally protected via private services or on private property does not mean that the concept cannot exist. The US Constitution is the basic legal framework for the United States of America - it is not an indisputable and infallible guide to moral philosophy. Now you may be able to give good reasons why private property rights should outweigh free speech rights, but that does not mean that the conflict does not exist.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

So, basically, you directly pushed a man over the edge to commit suicide all because you were too dumb not to install rogue antivirus?

You, sir, are so full of shit that your eyes must be brown.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Kidbro]

I think Microsoft has found that this is cheaper than developing good products.

How did they figure that out? It's not like they could have any first hand data on the cost of developing good products.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[jimmydevice]

I take offense to your brown eyed slur.
I'm assuming you are of blue-eyed Germanic roots.
Almost a Godwin.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[jimmydevice]

It's called UEFI / tianocode and it's on sourceforge.
Even though I worked on this project, I wish we would go to open-firmware based on FORTH.
The embedded drivers would then be machine agnostic.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[SuiteSisterMary]

It also proves that the Cylons were right. "All of this has been posted before, and will be posted again."

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[jimmydevice]

And we used RFC 1149, and we liked it.
Faster then dialup when the wind was favorable.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[NotSanguine]

And we used RFC 1149, and we liked it. Faster then dialup when the wind was favorable.

The big problem with RFC 1149 transports is cleaning up all the bird shit. Back in the day when I was using leg-length broadband, my ISP started charging by the turd, which quickly made this mechanism uneconomical.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[Anonymous Coward]

does not mean that the concept cannot exist.

but it does mean the practice cannot exist.

Now you may be able to give good reasons why private property rights should outweigh free speech rights

private property rights DO outweigh free speech rights.
If you don't believe me, watch as I mod you down.

Re:Interesting note about the history of internet

[houghi]

Not having Free Speech is called Censorship. When people say that they want Free Speech, what they say is that they do not want Censorship.
Censorship is not limited to Governments.

Even then, if Free Speech is a good idea for the government to put it into law, it is probably a good idea to do the same a public forum.

The fact that others do it does not mean it is a good idea. The majority of people had VHS and not Betamax. The majority of people do not have free speech (China). And no, I am not surprised.

So please no censorship. Perhaps what would be possible is that there is a way that you yourself can select to have new posters modded -1. That way you can decide for yourself if you want to filter new posters out or if you want to welcome new members to the community.

I was thinking along similar lines at the time

[Anonymous Coward]

Although my ideas usually involved souping up the engines of the station wagons carrying the tapes.

Sysadmin

[Anonymous Coward]

So, through this Herculean event behind the scenes, the Internet and future as we now know it was saved.

Sounds like he became a systems administrator for a day.

I would like to announce

[AuMatar]

I also did not avert an internet meltdown in the 1980s.

Re:I would like to announce

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine on what would of happened to the net without your complete and highly definitive implementation of the absence of input protocol

Re:I would like to announce

[Anonymous Coward]

So, it's gone then? Melted down?

Re:I would like to announce

[PolygamousRanchKid]

I also did not avert an internet meltdown in the 1980s.

Add me to the list!!!

Me too!!!

. . . it also wasn't AOL, in the 90's . . .

So disapointed

[Anonymous Coward]

I quickly glanced this as "Van Jacobson Dies Averting Internet Meltdown In 1980s". Now that would be interesting to read, unlike the crap submitted.

And why is every word capitalised? Was this submitted by some spambot of sorts?

Re:So disapointed

[lourd_baltimore]

...

And why is every word capitalised? Was this submitted by some spambot of sorts?

Because it's one of the generally accepted elements of style?

http://www.writersblock.ca/tips/monthtip/tipmar98.htm

Folks just don't understand proper writing anymore (my own posts notwithstanding)...

Re:So disapointed

[newcastlejon]

Folks just don't understand proper writing anymore (my own posts notwithstanding)...

"In" in this case should not be capitalised, as it's a preposition, just like the page you linked to says in its title. Did you even read it?

It wasn't Al

[jtara]

Al Gore also did not avert an internet meltdown in the 1980's.

Re:It wasn't Al

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you sure?

Van Jacobson's 2006 Google Tech Talk

[file_reaper]

Here's Van Jacobson's Tech Talk at Google in 2006: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6972678839686672840 I didn't know much about Van Jacobson's work on networking before that, I found it quite informative, thought I'd post it here.

Re:Van Jacobson's 2006 Google Tech Talk

[Anonymous Coward]

So this is what he's talking about: http://www.named-data.net/ and http://www.ccnx.org/

Re:Van Jacobson's 2006 Google Tech Talk

[Anonymous Coward]

The guy has been involved in Congestion Control research. Now recently coined by the term "Bufferbloat". He has made the news recently because he's pushing his own congestion control algorithm, despite of the research community not publishing his papers.

Grammar in artlcle

[owlstead]

It used to be that reporters first learned basic grammar before creating an article. English is not my first language, but that article has been written so badly that it is hurting my eyes. Even the quotes don't make sense (if they are actually quotes, who can tell?)

Re:Grammar in artlcle

[Anonymous Coward]

Article is fine, the summary is the one with the missing quote. And it's not a language-specific issue.

What a bunch of crap

[gavron]

Sorry to all those who tried to be clever.

Microsoft did not poo-poo the Internet. They just didn't "get it". That's par for their course.

BSD did not create the TCP/IP software stack. They just had more runs at it and by the tie Reno and Tahoe came along got it almost right.

Van Jacobson is a fairly smart guy. Pretty much if he says X then you can bet X is true.

IMPs were around long before the Internet, the NSFnet, and only applied to ARPAnet.

With all due respect to all of us who were working on networking during the 1980s... this "quote" leaves much to be desired to be truthful.
Still... Van is an honest guy (great speaker too btw if you ever get a chance to hear him... you should).

Now as to those who would criticize grammar... this isn't your threat. Move along now.

Slashdot mods: step off.

E

Fork it

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe it's time to fork /.? Isn't the code that runs this place freely available? I don't think it can be set up on a standard hosting account so not just *anyone* could do it but surely the talent and resources are available to someone around here.

There are a couple of suggestions in this very thread that have merit but will never see the light of day here.

Fork it or stick a fork in it.

Yep, posted AC. Why? I could go on ... Suffice it to say, my UID isn't much higher than the parent.

Re:Fork it

[Anonymous Coward]

There is an old slashcode available, but Slashdot itself hasn't updated it in two years. Which is pretty funny considering this should be an open source site.

How does the headline relate to the summary?

[wonkey_monkey]

So, we have the headline:

Van Jacobson Denies Averting Internet Meltdown In 1980s

And then we have the summary, which appears to recount a not particularly exciting anecdote about how a guy noticed things were going a bit slower than they should for an indeterminate amount of time and with indeterminate consequences. It doesn't even tell us what Van Jacobson did do when he wasn't averting a mythical meltdown.

Re:How does the headline relate to the summary?

[swalve]

That's why you read the article, Brainiac.

Re:How does the headline relate to the summary?

[wonkey_monkey]

I should read the article because the headline doesn't relate to the summary? Not sure what your logic is there. A headline should be to a summary as a summary is to an article.

You may be onto something

[davidwr]

Adding a 60-second delay when posting as A/c or from new or lower-than-new-karma accounts would pretty much cut them out of the race for "frost p1st" or "first reply in a hot sub-thread" without preventing the words from showing up in a VERY reasonable time frame.

Sure, it won't stop trolls from sometimes getting 1st post on a story that doesn't attract a lot of first-minute posts, but it will make the odds of "success" go way down and be a dis-incentive for trolls to try for that "goal."

No, not "the Internet", just a broken BSD TCP

[Animats]

As one of the people who was active in TCP design back then (see my RFCs), this article sounds weird.

First, the ARPAnet was not "the Internet". The ARPAnet was a closed backbone network, with flow control and guaranteed delivery of packets. When hosts talked directly to ARPAnet nodes (IMPs), the backbone provided reliable transport. When Ethernet to ARPAnet gateways were created, the possibility of packet loss in gateways appeared, and congestion packet loss became a problem.

The TCP/IP implementation from Berkeley in BSD wasn't the first; it was about the fourth. We at Ford Aerospace used 3COM's UNET, which was a very early TCP/IP. I had to overhaul it, adding ICMP. UDP, congestion control (that's why I have those RFCs on network congestion), and checking for invalid packets. After that it could talk reliably over fast or slow links and to other valid implementations. We had a real "bit bucket"; all packets that didn't meet the spec were logged, and I used to check that every day and send out notes to other TCP implementers. Mark Crispin at Stanford was responsible for the PDP-10/DEC-20 implementation, and we talked a lot as we made two very different implementations play well together. I was impressed with Mark; unlike many developers today, he never blamed someone else when his end was at fault. I once sent a packet to Stanford which caused the implementation there to crash the mainframe, and I apologized to him. He wrote back that it was his fault if his mainframe crashed, not mine.

The Berkeley people had originally assumed that TCP/IP would use Ethernet as a backbone and didn't worry too much about interoperability with other TCP implementations. Berkeley UNIX up to 4.3BSD could barely operate over a slow or congested link, and interoperated badly with other TCP implementations. The initial release of 4.3BSD would only talk to DEC-20 implementations for 4 hours out of every 8, because the sequence number arithmetic in BSD had been botched. (I had to fix that, which was a painful 3 days.)

Van Jacobson was responsible for bringing the BSD TCP up to an acceptable level of behavior under heavy traffic. That was a few years later, around 1988.

3COM discontinued UNET in the early 1980s, since UC Berkeley, funded by the Government, was giving away a comparable product. Ford Aerospace got out of networking because they only did DoD work, and networking was going commercial. I left Ford Aerospace, and networking, in 1986 because a friend of mine had started up a little company to do CAD software, and it was becoming successful.

John Nagle