Vint Cerf, a Program Manager at DARPA - Coursework Example

In the modern 21st century, the advent of web technologies has become pivotal means of communication for many individuals. The dynamics of Web 2.0 have been modified to reflect the true purpose of creating new avenues of communication that have never been utilized. The whole essence of Web 3.0 is to generate means of cloud computing in which collaboration and discussion is encouraged. However, this cannot be possible without the advent of the internet. The father of internet was known as Vint Cerf. Vint Cerf, is one the most accomplished and intellectual individuals that has dynamically revolutionized the world. Vint Cerf was a program Manager at DARPA, which is the United States Department of Defense Project Agency. At DARPA, Cerf actually introduced the idea of TCP/IP. TCP/IP is a protocol that is widely used. At that time, Cerf continued to developed many programs that were deemed as necessary for the cultivation of the internet itself. It is quite clear that Cerf is a very accomplished individual in many facets. First and foremost, Cerf was a very accomplished at his position of DARPA. Furthermore, Cerf has also received number of honorary degrees, including high-level doctorates, from the University of the Balearic Islands,  Switzerland, Capitol College, Yale University and Gettysburg Colleges to name a few. During the year of 2005, he has served as vice president and chief Internet pioneer for Google. In this particular role, he is responsible for identifying new enabling technologies that GOOGLE was creating at that time such as drive, maps, images, etc. On February 7, 2006, Cerf took a more proactive role as he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportations hearing on network neutrality. This was due to the fact that network convergence was becoming a huge Speaking as Googles Chief Internet Evangelist, Cerf noted that nearly half of all consumers lacked meaningful choice in broadband providers. The recent major involvement of Cerf consisted of him to be in the same cabinet as Obama as US first CTO alongside of Obama. A huge accomplishment indeed, Cerf continues to pave the way the way for the modern day internet. The latest project that Vint Cerf is working on is a monumental task undoubtedly. It consists of building a backbone in the universe. This project consists of creating an IP backbone in the universe, especially Mars. This new standard will be able the NASA to conduct communication within planets. This project is the most interesting project that Cerf has been involved with because it involves celestial motion. Without a doubt, Vint Cerf has earned his spot in the history books as one of the most prominent figures. Without his trial and experimentation to create the internet, the technology evolution would have never been initiated. The idea of internet was an idea that was in thoughts of many engineers, but only through the guidance of Cerf that it actually became a reality. Throughout history, Radia Perlman is known as the mother of the internet. One of the most accomplished females in the history of technology, Radia has earned herself a spot in the history books. Most notorious for her innovation of Spanning Tree Protocol, Radia solidified her spot. Her innovation of STP is essential because STP ensures that a network remains configured in any event to ensure that data is delivered whenever a user or machine calls for it. The concept was adopted as an IEEE standard for bridge technology and remains in place to this day. Moreover Perlman also developed algorithms to make link state protocols such as IS-IS and OSPF efficient and scalable. One cannot truly understand the innovation of STP without understanding Perlman’s breakthrough. When the evolving technologies of Internet came into play, the topology of network contained many flaws. One of the biggest flaws was the constant loop that Ethernet had to go through. Perlman’s understanding of networks and her model of STP ensured that a loop-free broadcast of LAN. The prime function of STP is to deter bridge loops and broadcast protocols so that the network provides automatic backup paths if active links fail to execute. Creating this automation rectified the issue of creating manual enable or disable backup links. These creation of network node has been the pinnacle of achieving efficiency from the layer-2 standpoint which leaving a single active path within two network nodes. Without a doubt, Radia Perlman has earned her spot in the history books for many reasons. Without the advent of STP, network configurations are almost deemed impossible. Furthermore, she had earned 80 patents, in which 40 of them were as a result of her contribution in Suns system. Without her contribution to STP and other patents, it would be impossible to have the internet as fully functional and efficient as it is today. Moreover, she was named twice as the 20 most influential individuals by Data Communication Magazine, a feat that is not easy to accumulate. Works Cited Cohan, P. S. (2002). E-leaders. Oxford, U.K.: Capstone Pub.. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. (n.d.). Vinton G. Cerf. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/cerf.htm Radia Perlman » Anita Borg Institute. (n.d.). Anita Borg Institute News and Events. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://anitaborg.org/about/who-we-are/radia-perlman/ The act of computing and storing information undoubtedly requires the ability to both store information and process it as hardware and software has become purpose. Befor the advent of storage media flash or hard drives, the general purpose electronic computer were dependent on punch tubes and vacuum tubes to store the data. However, the consequence of that resulted in very large and bulky systems that were not scalable or robust. Before understanding the purpose of storage, it is essential to understand the scenario that is presented. Every computer has its own internal hard drive, which acts as a storage device. The RAM is the component that acts as a main functioning that allows the computer to access information on the hard drive. Since the computer can really only do one task at a time, it has to switch between multi-tasking at a level that is deemed as seamlessly to the user. Currently, the task of data storage has been dedicated much smaller and more sophisticated technology that consists of storage media flash and magnetic hard drives. Storage Medias are one of the most crucial innovations that has revolutionized efficiency. Prior to flash media, users had to save their work, which consisted of text files in a hard or floppy drive. The capacity to save in these drives were only limited and bulky. With the advent of flash memory, users had the capacity to save many documents in a portable drive. Another amazing feature of flash memory was the fact that it was non-volatile. With rapid access to ROM applications, flash memories were able to process and execute machine level code to open files in a quick manner. In a storage media flash utilizes NAND or NOR flash memory, which makes it special. Another feature that differentiates flash memory from traditional hard drive is the fact that it possesses floating-gate transistors. The best things about flash memory is that everything is hold static components. All the bits of data nad information are stored in semiconducting materials on the chip. There is no rotational disk platter that revolves around which makes it portable and efficient. From a technology perspective, flash memory has an embedded infrastructure that lets it choose between multiple levels of electrical charges. This new type of technology known as the single-level NOR flash cell is a dynamic technology that has less than 5V applied to it. The NOR flash cell is a great technology because it can conduct source-drain efficiently with electron dumping. This new concept of engineering has been the centerpiece of more innovation. NAND and NOR flash memory also uses a battery-powered static RAM. This allows On the contrary, a magnetic hard drive disk it utilized for storing information and has more capacity than a flash drive. HDDs are designed to be connected to systems by standard interface cables such as SATA. The anatomy of a SATA hard drive is quite different than flash memory. A platter is a rotary device that circles around as the spindle circles. This will be discussed further in regards to rpm rotations that a HDD conducts. The HDD also has actuator arm and axis that facilitates the rotation. A power connector and a jumper block is located at the head end that is connected to the CPU. Generally speaking, computers do not internally represent memory power computation in powers of 1024 byte size as it is a general convention that is utilized in the technological industry. Hence, it is not portable but allows storing digital information by rotating dis platters. When data is stored in this random access manner, it consists of block data that is sequentially placed with platters and magnetic heads that rotate the actual drive. The primary capacity of HDD is the performance. In this issue, capacity is specified by the ability of the drive to process the bytes. Hard drives can go for 1 terabyte, which is appealing from the capacity standpoint. Data transfer rate in hard drives is actually another feature that is a crucial component to discuss. Generally speaking, a typical 7,200 rpm desktop HDD contains a high data transfer rate in which it depends the track location. This particular platters in contemporary HDDs are spun at speeds that are in the realm of around 4,200 rpm. In essence, the rate is higher for data on the outer tracks when the hard drive is rotating. A current widely used standard for the "buffer-to-computer" interface, which compromises of 3GB SATA solid drive. The key benefit for this is linked to data transfer. Since data transfer rate or how the hard drive can read and write can be measured by writing a large file to disk using special file generator tools, disk fragmentation can be executed. Another factor to consider for HDD is data recording density. Because heat and vibration limit is based on rotational speed as the hard drive revolves, advancing density is an excellent main method to improve sequential transfer rates. Higher transfer rates are directly related to Higher speeds require more power absorbed by the electric engine. This transfer of heat allows the device to be warmed up and go at a faster motion which in essence results in faster data processing. From a user’s standpoint, flash technology is more convenient and cheaper. Flash technology continues to expand from the capacity standpoint. For big organizations, SATA and hard drives will be an tough decision granting everything is moved to a cloud server. Works Cited About Seagate. (n.d.). The TCO of Hard Drives vs Flash Storage…not so fast – The Storage Effect. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://storageeffect.media.seagate.com/2013/04/storage-effect/the-tco-of-hard-drives-vs-flash-storage-not-so-fast/ External Hard Drives vs. USB Flash Drives. (n.d.). eBay. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.ebay.com/gds/External-Hard-Drives-vs-USB-Flash-Drives-/10000000177629220/g.html VentureBeat | News About Tech, Money and Innovation. (n.d.). VentureBeat. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/26/will-flash-or-disk-drives-own-the-future-of-data-storage/ The paradigm shift of technology shift has been one of the best technical shifts that has ever occurred in the revolution of humanity. During the 1900’s, the first radio was created. Prior to this innovation, here was no invention of data transmission nor wire. No real infrastructure was really laid down. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, technology really took a vital turn. For the first time, wire transmission media was executed. In addition, transistor and cell phones were invented. This boom initiated the growth for research and development in which innovation spurred. During the 1960’s, Cerf made a breakthrough discovery by creating the ARPANET from DARPA. In 1971, through the breakthrough of TCP/IP Cerf was able to manipulate the network to send its first e-mail. This was again a huge breakthrough as a precedent for communication was created. During the 1980s, convergence of media networks becomes a vital discovery. Suddenly with the boom of network convergence, the electronic protection act was introduced as a governing body of protocols that were still in the early process of being defined. The Computer Security Act of 1967 was the first proposal to define these standards that can govern the standards of ethics and standards. In 1994, Tim Berneers Lee invented the World Wide Web, which enhanced the functionality of Cerf’s discovery of the internet. With the innovation HTML, the internet became the new medium of communication for data transfer. Suddenly, the defense committee was able to share information within confidentiality. Soon, the concept of e-commerce was an idea that was fresh and allowed businesses to conduct business from a brick-and-mortar environment. During the era of 1990’s, another pivotal innovation was the pinnacle point of focus in data transmission. Before the advent of fiber, copper wires were utilized in order to transmit data. Although copper wire was the dominant source of transmitting information, the data rates that were achieved with fiber were much rapid and efficient. Without a doubt, sending it via fiber eliminated crosstalk and allowed data signals to be sent at very high rates. The concept of fiber was innovative as it expanded the horizons of communication and allowed international calling to be conducted. With the boom of technologies, the issue of security and fraud become a very critical issue. Due to these sensitive issues, the Sarbanes-Oaxley Act was introduced in order to remedy these plaguing issues. These issues were more prevalent in the healthcare industry. For instance, Data is stored online in which patients can download information, which is risky but must be fast enough to be downloaded. It was clear that firewall settings and unsecured networks can cause havoc as hackers can download sensitive information. Hence, this legislation was essential as it dictated industry wide practices. This also lead to emergence of IT internal auditors should have a solid understanding of test plans to attest and audit in a technology-drive industry in which practices of encryption and securing mediums become a focal point. The latest stature consists of FISA Amendments Act of 2008. The FISA Amendment Act of 2008 ensures that surveillance is conducted on a micro-basis, which has raised many red flags. It was clear that wiretapping conducted by federal agencies was deemed as unconstitutional, which may have influenced the creation of this law in a data-driven world. This statutory law set a precedent in which the FISA makes it illegal intentionally engaging in electronic surveillance without authorization. Although this again has created many scandals, it has established a foundation of laws to protect citizens from the issues that revolve around security. Read More