What is TCP/IP? What does the acronym stand for? Read on to find out.
TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. It is a set of network protocols that enable the computers over a network to communicate with each other. TCP/IP is a protocol suite which is named after the pair of its two most important protocols, TCP and IP.
The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is composed of a set of layers, wherein each layer is responsible for a particular network task and provides the upper layer with certain services.
The lower layer protocols translate data into forms that can be physically transmitted over a network. The upper layer protocols deal with abstract data and function at a level closer to the user.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency developed the Internet Protocol Suite in the 1970s. TCP and IP were the first two protocols to be defined under this standard. These protocols gave the protocol suite its name.
TCP
The Transmission Control Protocol, abbreviated as TCP operates on the transport layer of the Internet protocol suite and provides the network computers with reliable communication facilities. Email and file transfer are the common applications of TCP.
IP
IP, short for Internet Protocol, is a networking protocol used for communicating data over a packet-switched network. It operates on the Internet layer of the protocol suite and facilitates the delivery of datagrams based on IP addresses of the network hosts.
Indeed, TCP/IP protocol suite is the core of communication and computing over the Internet.