SRI NIC Maintains HOSTS.TXT
From the early 1970s, Elizabeth 'Jake' Feinler's team at SRI's Network Information Center (NIC) managed the central `HOSTS.TXT` file, the sole source for hostname-to-IP address mapping on the ARPANET.
Significance
This centralized system was the precursor to DNS and its eventual administrative burden and scalability issues directly motivated the creation of a distributed naming system.
Key facts
- Year
- 1970
- Type
- milestone
- Location
- Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Menlo Park, California, USA