TCP/IP

Introduction
TCP/IP is the most used network protocol nowadays. In this tutorial we will explain how it works in a very easy to follow language.

So, what is a network protocol anyway? Protocol is like a language used to make two computers to talk to each other. Like in real world, if they are not talking the same language, they cannot communicate.

Before going further, we recommend you to read our tutorial The OSI Reference Model for Network Protocols, which is a primer for understanding how network protocols work. Consider the present tutorial as a sequel to our OSI Reference Model tutorial.

TCP/IP is not really a protocol, but a set of protocols – a protocol stack, as it is most commonly called. Its name, for example, already refers to two different protocols, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol). There are several other protocols related to TCP/IP like FTP, HTTP, SMTP and UDP – just to name a few

The Internet Protocol Suite is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet  and other similar networks. It is commonly also known as TCP/IP, named from two of the most important protocols in it: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which were the first two networking protocols defined in this standard. Modern IP networking represents a synthesis of several developments that began to evolve in the 1960s and 1970s, namely the Internet  and local area networks, which emerged during the 1980s, together with the advent of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s.

The Internet Protocol Suite, like many protocol suites, is constructed as a set of layers. Each layer solves a set of problems involving the transmission of data. In particular, the layers define the operational scope of the protocols within.

Often a component of a layer provides a well-defined service to the upper layer protocols and may be using services from the lower layers. Upper layers are logically closer to the user and deal with more abstract data, relying on lower layer protocols to translate data into forms that can eventually be physically transmitted.
The TCP/IP model consists of four layers.