The IP Protocol Suite (TCP/IP)

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The Internet protocol suite is the networking model and a set of communication protocols used for the Internet and similar networks. It is commonly known as TCP/IP.



TCP/IP provides end-to-end connectivity specifying how data should be formatted, addressed, transmitted, routed and received at the destination. This functionality has been organized into four abstraction layers which are used to sort all related protocols according to the scope of networking involved.

From lowest to highest, the layers are the

• link layer, containing communication technologies for a single network segment (link)
• Ethernet cable, WiFi, telephone network
• IEEE 802.15.4 (for short-range radio standards; eg., ZigBee)
• internet layer, connecting independent networks, thus establishing internetworking
• IP
• transport layer handling process-to-process communication
• TCP, UDP
• application layer, which interfaces to the user and provides support services
• web pages (HTTP), emails

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 See also: OSI 7 Layer Model