Internet protocol suite
When computers connect and transmit data between each other on the Internet, they follow a set of rules to do so. These rules are universal; all computers throughout the Internet must follow them. Otherwise, the Internet would not function as computers would not be able to transmit data in a meaningful and useful way. These rules are called protocols. There are many different protocols, each for different purposes, and they all together are called the Internet protocol suite. The two most important protocols are the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which ensure data is delivered at the right place, and without errors, and is what computers use when they access servers (computers that have the data that is accessed on the Internet) on the World Wide Web, as well as for email, and the like. Other protocols include the Network Time Protocol, which ensures clock synchronisation in computers, and there are many others.
The TCP/IP model and other related protocols are not maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force, whose parent organisation is the Internet Society, and which also cooperates closely with other standards bodies such as the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and ISO/IEC.
Internet Protocol Suite Media
Diagram of the first internetworked connection
An SRI International Packet Radio Van, used for the first three-way internetworked transmission
Conceptual data flow in a simple network topology of two hosts (A and B) connected by a link between their respective routers. The application on each host executes read and write operations as if the processes were directly connected to each other by some kind of data pipe.
Encapsulation of application data descending through the layers described in RFC 1122
Other websites
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Wikiversity has more on: Internet protocol suite |
- Internet History – Pages on Robert Kahn, Vinton Cerf, and TCP/IP (reviewed by Cerf and Kahn).
- Template:IETF RFC – Specification of Internet Transmission Control Program, December 1974 Version
- Template:IETF RFC A TCP/IP Tutorial – from the Internet Engineering Task Force (January 1991)
- TCP/IP FAQ
- The TCP/IP Guide – A comprehensive look at the protocols and the procedures/processes involved
- A Study of the ARPANET TCP/IP Digest
- TCP/IP Sequence Diagrams
- Daryl's TCP/IP Primer – Intro to TCP/IP LAN administration, conversational style
- Introduction to TCP/IP[dead link]
- A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication, Cerf & Kahn, IEEE Trans on Comms, Vol Com-22, No 5 May 1974
