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The NSFNET was a precursor to the Internet, funded by the
National Science Foundation - an agency of the United States
of America government - it was a computer network that eventually
formed an integral part of the upcoming Internet.
The term, NSFNET is more easily understood by breaking the
term apart into two parts 'NSF NET': the NSF portion stands
for the National Science Foundation, and the NET for Network.
The NSF has it's head quarters in Arlington, Virginia, and
has an annual budget running into billions of dollars.
The purpose of the NSF computer network was to link together
the super computer of major scientific research facilities
in the United States. The network was live between 1985 and
1995, and was not solely funded by the public, but also had
contributions from the private sector.
The NSF network was comprised of 3 separate tiers, the top
tier being a backbone of five super computers based at the
following institutions,
- Princeton University
- University of California, San Diego
- University of Illinois
- Cornell University
- Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh
The second tier of the network was comprised of research
centers across the United States. The third tier included
campus networks across the United States. As with the Internet,
the protocol which transported data across the NSF network
was TCP/IP.
The demand for a commercial computer network which could
be accessed by the general public led to the de-commission
of the NSFNET in 1995.
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