National Science Foundation Network

What Does National Science Foundation Network Mean?

The National Science Foundation Network (NSFNet) is a wide area network that was developed by the National Science Foundation to replace ARPANET as the main network linking government and research facilities.

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NSFNet was a major force in the development of computing infrastructure and enhanced network services. By making high-speed networking available to national computer centers and inter-linked regional networks, NSFNet created a network of networks, which laid the foundation for today’s Internet.

NSFNet was dismantled in 1995 and replaced with a commercial Internet backbone.

Techopedia Explains National Science Foundation Network

NSFNet was initiated by the National Science Foundation in 1985 as a 56 Kbps backbone. Between 1987 and 1995, it was upgraded to reach T1 and T3 speeds, reaching thousands of institutions. NSFNet was a major contributor to the networking infrastructure that made the Internet possible.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…