TCP/IP suite of protocols

TCP/IP suite of protocols

The TCP/IP suite is the set of protocols used on a computer networks today. It provides end-to-end connectivity by specifying how data should be packed, addressed, transmitted, routed and received on a TCP/IP network. This functionality is organized into four abstraction layers and each protocol in the suite resides in a particular layer.

The TCP/IP suite is named after its most important protocols, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). Some of the protocols included in the TCP/IP suite are:

1.            ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) – used to convert an IP address to a MAC address.

2.            IP (Internet Protocol) – used to deliver packets from the source host to the destination host based on the IP addresses.

3.           ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) – used to detects and reports network error conditions. Used in ping.

4.            TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) – a connection-oriented protocol that enables reliable data transfer between two computers.

5.            UDP (User Datagram Protocol) – a connection less protocol for data transfer. Since a session is not created before the data transfer, there is no guarantee of data delivery.

6.            FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – used for file transfers from one host to another.

7.            Telnet (Telecommunications Network) – used to connect and issue commands on a remote computer.

8.            DNS (Domain Name System) – used for host names to the IP address resolutions.