Initial Use of HOSTS.TXT

The `HOSTS.TXT` file began to be used as the primary method for mapping hostnames to IP addresses on the ARPANET, initially a manageable task for a small network.

Significance

This established the fundamental need for human-readable names on a network, but its centralized nature would later highlight the critical scalability problem DNS would solve.

Key facts

Year
1970
Type
milestone
Location
SRI International Network Information Center (NIC)