Automatic digital network

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Automatic Digital Network System ( AUTODIN or ADNS ) was a data transmission system developed by the US Department of Defense . AUTODIN consisted of a large number of "AUTODIN Switching Centers" (ASCs, AUTODIN exchanges), which were distributed over the national territory of the United States as well as in other countries such as Great Britain and Japan.

The system was originally designed under the name "ComLogNet"; work on this began in 1958 by a consortium made up of Western Union , RCA and IBM . The client for this project was the US Air Force , which wanted to improve the profitability and speed of logistics for rocket parts between five logistics centers and approx. 350 rocket bases and suppliers. The official award of the contract was made in 1959 to Western Union as the main contractor and system integrator. RCA was commissioned to build 5 computers for exchanges and IBM was to build terminals with support for IBM punch cards and Telex . The first exchange went into operation in 1962. During the implementation it was determined by the US government that the system could be used by the entire armed forces and it was subordinated to the Defense Communications Agency (DCA, today Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)), which renamed it "AUTODIN". In 1962, the government put out a tender to expand the system by 9 exchanges, which Philco-Ford won. Development started in 1966. On March 22, 1968, the Autodin Multimedia Terminal in Europe went into operation at Ramstein Air Base . The system connected more than 300 Air Force bases, material stores, depots and other authorized agencies in a single communication network. In 1982 a follow-up project, the "AUTODIN II", was canceled in order to instead build the Defense Data Network using ARPANET technology .

The AUTODIN exchanges have been replaced by various hardware / software combinations. Here are two examples:

  • A program called NOVA to switch connections and route messages. The system was developed for a speed of 2400 baud , but connections up to 9600 baud were also possible. The transmission rate could be reduced to 15 baud if the connection required this.
  • A series of hardware / software systems called "DABS" (DoDIIS Autodin Bypass System), which allowed the transmission of messages via serial connections with up to 9600 baud as well as TCP / IP connections via Ethernet; with the latter, the connection speed was only limited by the available bandwidth.

The exchanges in the USA were operated by Western Union . The company itself had similar facilities for transmitting telegrams . Outside the United States, the Department of Defense operated .

At the beginning of the 21st century, all but one of the AUTODIN exchanges were shut down. This was done with the intention of moving the transmission of secured messages to the Defense Message System .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fritz E. Froehlich, Allen Kent: ARPANET, the Defense Data Network, and Internet . In: The Froehlich / Kent Encyclopedia of Telecommunications , Volume 1. CRC Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-8247-2900-4 , pp. 341-375.
  2. ↑ NOVA