

Paul Baran, one of the engineers who created ARPAnet, has died - radicaldreamer
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/technology/28baran.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&seid=auto

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btilly
Paul Baran was a visionary, but it is worth noting that there are multiple
versions of the early history.

First read <http://www.livinginternet.com/i/iw_packet_inv.htm> for the basic,
non-controversial background. You'll find out that packet switching was
invented first by Paul Baran. Then independently by Donald Davies. And then
Arpanet was created by Leonard Kleinrock.

The controversy is over whose work Leonard Kleinrock was aware of and used.
The version that I've heard is that he was more aware of Donald Davies work
than Paul Baran's. Which is why we call the technology _packet switching_ as
Davies did today rather than _block switching_ as Baran did. According to this
version, Paul Baran did his work first, but was not in the direct path to the
actual ARPANET.

The other version, of course, is that Paul Baran's work was the basis of
Leonard Kleinrock's work. Which would make ARPANET an entirely American
invention, and would make Donald Davies an interesting side note.

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Luyt
WikiPedia also has an article about him:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_baran>

He certainly had a disruptive idea:

 _"After proving survivability Baran and his team needed to show proof of
concept for this design such that it would be able to be built. [...]
construct a network that leveraged this new insight of redundant links.

The result of this was one of the first store-and-forward data layer switching
protocols, a link-state/distance vector routing protocol, and an unproved
connection-oriented transport protocol. [...]

The design flew in the face of telephony design of the time, placing
inexpensive and unreliable nodes at the center of the network, and more
intelligent terminating 'multiplexer' devices at the endpoints. In Baran's
words, unlike the telephone company's equipment, his design didn't require
expensive 'gold plated' components to be reliable."_

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jimhillhouse
Paul Baran, one of the key figures in the creation of the Internet, passed
away on Saturday at his home in Palo Alto. His passing is a great loss; his
presence made our world better.

~~~
spoiledtechie
Not many people in this world make it such a drastically different place.

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mncolinlee
It was only a few weeks ago on this site that I was quoting Paul Baran's RAND
research note from my memory of studying his visionary ideas during college.
This man was an inspiration to the technology world.

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drallison
Paul Baran will be missed. He was an insightful and inspirational guy. We are
all indebted to him.

