o the creation of the newer technology of frame-relay networks. 4,5 This turned out to be a faster and higher-quality transmission technology. It continues to have many followers even today. Both X.25 and frame-relay technologies correspond to the second layer of the OSI model (the data link layer), which means that essentially any layer 3 protocol could be transmitted over either one of them. IBM's SNA, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) (favored by the UNIX community), DECtalk, AppleTalk, and Novell's Internet Packet Exchange (IPX) were all options in a disparate layer 3 world at that time. It was only a matter of time until IP was going to rule the day and become the de facto standard. It became by far the greatest common denominator even among incompatible networks. THE INTERNET, ROUTING, AND ASSOCIATED WEB TECHNOLOGIES The introduction of the Internet in the late 1970s is the next spectacular stop in our fast-forward trip through the technology landscape of the last 30 years. The Internet is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon in history. The history of how the U.S. government through its Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) took the initiative to help connect initially specific university campuses and then some of its contractors and sister agencies has been well documented in multiple sources. Much has been written on how this originally small network of researchers grew exponentially to become the Internet. The interested reader can consult Prakash Ambegaonkar's book Intranet Resource Kit with (CD-ROM, Christian Huitema's book Routing in the Internet, and Uyless Black's books Internet Telephony: Call Processing Protocols, 8 and IP Routing Protocols: RIP, OSPF, BGP, PNNI, and Cisco Routing Protocols for more information. 3. Radia Perlman, Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches, and Internetworking Protocols, 2nded. (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1999). Jeff T. Buckwalter, Frame Relay: Technology and Practice (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1999). 5. Uyless