Interlac (APA)

Interlac refers to a communication protocol developed by the Advanced Projects Agency (APA, a predecessor to DARPA) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a pioneering effort in packet switching and played a significant, albeit largely undocumented, role in the development of the ARPANET, considered the precursor to the modern internet.

Interlac was designed to facilitate communication between heterogeneous computer systems, a major challenge at the time due to the lack of standardized protocols and hardware architectures. Key features of Interlac included:

• Packet-Switched Network: Data was divided into small packets, each containing addressing information, which were then routed independently through the network. This allowed for more efficient use of bandwidth and improved resilience compared to circuit-switched networks.

• Host-to-Host Protocol: Interlac provided a set of rules and procedures for establishing and maintaining connections between host computers. It defined how data was to be formatted, addressed, and delivered.

• Error Detection and Correction: Mechanisms were incorporated to detect and correct errors that might occur during transmission. This ensured the reliability of data transfer.

The specifics of the Interlac protocol are not widely available in publicly accessible documents. Much of the information remains in archived technical reports and internal documentation within the historical records of organizations involved in early ARPANET development. While not directly used in its original form in subsequent internet protocols like TCP/IP, Interlac's concepts significantly influenced the design and evolution of network communication protocols. It served as an important stepping stone in the journey towards the interconnected network that we know today.

The term "Interlac" is often associated with early research and development efforts preceding the ARPANET, emphasizing the experimentation and innovation occurring in the field of computer networking during that era.