We've spent the last year referring to IP as a convergence protocol. This week, we'd like to introduce some basics about TCP/IP as a primer for more detailed discussions that will follow in the coming weeks.
TCP/IP is actually a suite of many protocols that allow computers and networking devices to communicate. TCP/IP software resides in your local computer and puts your information into IP packets that have a 32-bit IP address. The address is expressed as a dotted decimal number, for example 125.10.18.99.
Using these addresses, the computer, the intranet or the Internet can send your data to a remote computer. That's where the IP part of TCP/IP comes in. It provides the most basic information to allow your information to be " routed " to the proper destination. But IP doesn't guarantee that your information will arrive in the same order it was sent, so TCP works with the IP protocol to reassemble the information into an uninterrupted data stream.
Address Resolution Protocol, another member of the TCP/IP protocol suite, maps the IP address to physical network addresses such as an Ethernet port, while Reverse Address Resolution Protocol translates physical addresses into IP addresses. Using these protocols, IP hides the underlying network hardware from the network applications.
Another key member of the TCP/IP suite is the Internet Message Control Protocol (ICMP). ICMP allows routers to send error and control messages between other routers and hosts, allowing the routing information to be distributed throughout a network.
Next time, we'll cover some more TCP/IP basics.
RELATED LINKS
Steve Taylor is President of Distributed Networking Associates and Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Webtorials.Com. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials.Com, the first Web site dedicated exclusively to market studies and technology tutorials in the Broadband Packet areas of Frame Relay, ATM, and IP.
Larry Hettick is an independent consultant, with 19 years of experience in telecommunications and data communications marketing and product management for service providers and equipment vendors. He can be reached at larry@larryhettick.com
You can reach the authors at taylor@webtorials.com or larry@larryhettick.com.
Convergence archive
Past newsletters.
Gary Kessler's TCP/IP tutorial
