What is the TCP/IP protocol suite?

Computers are becoming connected to local networks and the Internet more and more. In those networks, the TCP/IP protocol suite (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) has become the standard protocol collection for communication.

Rather than being a single protocol, TCP/IP consists of several protocols that work together. A simplified protocol stack looks like this:

Application > TCP/UDP > IP > Network Adapter

The IP (Internet Protocol) is responsible for addressing and routing packets between computers. The TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) provides reliable communication by ensuring that data is delivered correctly and in the proper order.

The UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is on a similar level than TCP, but offers a more lightweight option when reliability is less important than speed.

Other protocols are built on top of TCP/IP, including HTTP, FTP, SMTP, DNS, and Telnet.

Together, these protocols allow applications from different vendors and operating systems to communicate over the same network. The RFC document 1122 is a good start.

Hope this helps!