Fidler, B and Acker, A
(2014)
Metadata and infrastructure in internet history: Sockets in the arpanet host-host protocol.
Proceedings of the ASIST Annual Meeting, 51 (1).
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Abstract
In this paper we describe the generation and utilization of metadata as part of normal network function on the early Arpanet. By using the Arpanet Host-Host Protocol and its sockets as an entry point for studying the generation of metadata, we show that the development and function of key Arpanet infrastructure cannot be studied without examining the creation and stabilization of metadata standards. More specifically, we use the Host-Host Protocol's sockets as an example of something that, at the level of the network, functions as both network infrastructure and metadata. By presenting the function of sockets in tandem with an overview of the Host-Host Protocol and a key application built atop it, Telnet, we illustrate the necessity of studying infrastructure and metadata in tandem. Finally, we draw on Esveld (1990) to reintroduce the concept of infradata to refer specifically to data that locates data throughout an infrastructure and is required by the infrastructure to function, separating it from established and stabilized standards. We argue for the future application of infradata as a concept for the study of histories and political economies of networks. Copyright is retained by Bradley Fidler and Amelia Acker.
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