The Dawn of DNS
1983–1989
Significance
DNS replaced a centralized text file with a distributed, scalable naming infrastructure, making global internet growth possible. The original six TLDs established the categories that still dominate internet traffic today.
Key Events
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Tháng 7 1, 1983
Technology Change
ARPANET Adopts DNS, Retires HOSTS.TXT
On July 1, 1983, the ARPANET officially transitioned from the single centralized HOSTS.TXT file maintained at SRI International to the newly specified Domain Name System. Before DNS, every host on …
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Tháng 11 1, 1983
Technology Change
DNS Invented by Paul Mockapetris
Paul Mockapetris published RFC 882 and RFC 883 in November 1983, formally specifying the Domain Name System. DNS replaced the single HOSTS.TXT file maintained at Stanford Research Institute — which …
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Tháng 3 1, 1984
Policy Change
Country-Code TLDs Introduced via RFC 1591
Jon Postel's RFC 1591 formalized the delegation of two-letter country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) based on the ISO 3166-1 country code standard, assigning each sovereign territory its own TLD — .uk …
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Tháng 1 1, 1985
TLD Launch
.gov and .mil Delegated to US Government
The .gov and .mil top-level domains were delegated exclusively to agencies of the United States federal government and military respectively in early 1985. .gov is operated by the Cybersecurity and …
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Tháng 1 15, 1985
TLD Launch
Original Six TLDs Established
RFC 920, authored by Jon Postel and Joyce Reynolds, formally established the original top-level domain categories: .com (commercial), .net (network infrastructure), .org (non-commercial organizations), .gov (US government), .mil (US military), …
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Tháng 3 15, 1985
Milestone
First .com Domain Registered: symbolics.com
Symbolics, Inc., a Massachusetts computer manufacturer that produced Lisp machines, registered symbolics.com on March 15, 1985, making it the first .com domain name ever registered. The domain predated the commercial …
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Tháng 1 1, 1988
Milestone
IANA Formally Established
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) was formally recognized as the body responsible for coordinating unique internet identifiers — including IP addresses, protocol parameters, and the DNS root zone. Operating …
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Tháng 11 1, 1991
Policy Change
Network Solutions Inc. Awarded .com Registry Contract
The US National Science Foundation awarded Network Solutions Inc. (NSI) a cooperative agreement to manage the registration of .com, .net, and .org domains in November 1991, replacing the earlier SRI …
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Tháng 3 1, 1999
Technology Change
DNSSEC Specification Published in RFC 2535
RFC 2535, published in March 1999, specified DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), a set of cryptographic signatures that allow DNS resolvers to verify the authenticity of DNS responses and detect tampering. …