For all its prominence today, much of the foundational technology that enables the global Internet developed out of sight from the public eye, driven by scientists in academic and defense department labs. Jon Postel stands out as one of the most influential yet little-known figures from the pioneering generation that built the hidden infrastructure powering our networked world.
Postel devoted his career to turning the ARPANET defense research network into a general purpose communications system for computers, laying the groundwork at a technical level for today‘s Internet behemoth. His vision and stewardship coordinating multiple key infrastructure bodies guided the Internet‘s standards and explosive early growth.
While not necessarily a household name, Postel played a seminal role in everything from enabling email to assigning domain addresses that connect billions of devices. He pioneered an engineering discipline that valued openness and flexibility, encapsulated in the enduring maxim Postel‘s Law.
| Key Accomplishments |
|---|
| Created SMTP protocol enabling Internet email |
| Edited RFC technical documents cementing early standards |
| Managed allocation of domain names and addresses via IANA |
| Helped govern Internet‘s development through IAB role |
| Formulated Postel‘s Law on system interoperability |
Decades after his passing, Postel‘s legacy lives on through the systems quietly keeping our modern Internet society humming. This article aims to give insight into Postel the man, his vision, and the unique niche he carved integrating cutting-edge technology to meet social needs.
Before the Internet – The ARPANET Days
Most histories of the Internet start with ARPANET, the research network created by the Pentagon‘s Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1969. Designed to connect scientists across the country, ARPANET developed methods for reliable computer networking which were revolutionary at the time.
UCLA graduate student Jon Postel got involved with ARPANET shortly after completing his PhD in 1974. In ARPANET‘s formative years, Postel took on the unglamorous yet vital task of documenting and implementing specifications for the fundamental transmission protocols that allow computers to talk to each other.
Postel made major contributions to the Network Control Protocol, which organized message routing on the network.[^1] He also worked on file transfer protocols for transmitting data between sites. These innovations evolved into TCP/IP, the standard that still undergirds modern Internet data transmission today.
[^1]: Barry M. Leiner et al, "Brief History of the Internet." ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review 39, no. 5 (2009): 22-31.Postel‘s networking protocols opened up possibilities for collaboration between scientists around the country using ARPANET sites. But the potential for more general social interaction also drew his attention…
From ARPANET Chatter to Email for Everyone
In addition to transferring technical reports and research data, ARPANET connected communities of scientists who were naturally inclined to discuss their work. Text chat programs sprouted up in the 1970s.[^2] Seeing this, Postel envisioned email built on similar protocols becoming a useful tool not just within elite circles but for communication between anyone with a computer.
[^2]: Rao, Leena, "From Arpanet To Internet: Stanford Engineer Details Origins Of Networking". TechCrunch, 2022, https://social.techcrunch.com/2022/04/30/from-arpanet-to-internet-stanf.Postel first proposed a Mail Transfer Protocol in 1980 through RFC 772 while working at ISI. A year later, this had evolved into the SMTP standard that still transfers billions of emails globally each day!
For reference, some key milestones in the development of this revolutionary protocol:
| Year | Milestone | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Introduces Mail Transfer Protocol in RFC 772 | First standardized internetworking mail system |
| 1981 | Publishes refined SMTP spec in RFC 788 | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol still used today |
| 1982 | RFC 821 and 822 cement SMTP | Core email protocol and message format standardized |
Though not the only player, Postel‘s early vision combined with his technical expertise in layering compatible transmission methods was crucial to shaping this technology we now take for granted. Who knows how delayed easy email access for the masses might have been without his groundwork decades ago!
Jon proved adept not just at engineering underlying systems, but also recognizing human needs these systems could address…
Shepherding Standards Across a Growing Internet
Throughout over two decades working on networking technology, Postel displayed tremendous foresight anticipating how experimental systems might evolve. He instinctively focused on what lasted rather than flashy short-term gains. His efforts concentrated on building underlying infrastructure, tools and organizations to support Internet growth.
Postel‘s famous law epitomizes this design philosophy favoring reliability and openness:
Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others
With the Internet expanding beyond academia into public and private spheres, Postel believed voluntary standards bodies would ensure continuity and cooperation moving forward.
- He helped launch the Internet Architecture Board to review technical standards
- As RFC editor he shepherded documents establishing best practices on everything from email formatting to multimedia protocols
- By 1990 over 850 RFCs provided a blueprint for interoperability between disparate systems
The iana.org organization Postel helped found allocated Internet addresses globally, avoiding fragmentation. Jon grasped sooner than most that cooperation and standardization – not proprietary technology – would let the Internet thrive in the long run.
Staying True to His Principles
Postel practiced what he preached when it came to liberal acceptance and following community standards. Those principles would guide him even when it meant standing up to stifling authority.
The connectivity and coordination Postel‘s efforts enabled allowed the Internet to escape niche academic origins. But the cold war infrastructure underpinning this networking revolution still biased it towards US governmental control in the 1980s and 90s.
As logging on meant connecting through central servers designated by US authorities, Postel perceived increasing meddling limiting open access. In 1998 he took a stand by redirecting DNS root nameservers to his own system for a day before reversing the change.
This symbolic act asserted the Internet‘s independence – its resistance to absolute control – while avoiding major disruption. It was the final legendary move from an idealist who always saw creating technology in service of people as the highest goal.
Carrying the Torch
Sadly, Jon Postel passed away shortly after the nameserver redirection caper at just 55 years old. Though the networks kept functioning without his stewardship, the Internet lost something more intangible.
We lost Postel‘s characteristic calm but steadfast focus on the rights of ordinary people. His stabilizing technical authority. The sense of purpose his lifelong tinkering imbued emerging technologies with.
Thankfully, Postel imparted enough wisdom through both engineering models and words to carry his legacy forward. The RFC series bears his name and still logs innovations built on those very first ARPANET networking breakthroughs Postel authored. Concepts like Postel‘s Law guide thoughtful engineers in constructing reliable infrastructure.
Few creators can claim their life‘s work genuinely empowers billions of humans worldwide. Without veering into hagiography, perhaps we can grant that Jon Postel‘s humble dedication advancing cooperation and open access places him in those special ranks.
So here‘s to carrying on the principles of this singularly influential man most of the world has never heard of! However vast the Internet grows, it rests on a foundation Postel helped cement, document and reasoned would support anything built on top. Thank you Jon, for creating technology in service of people first.
