General Networking - Sunday, June 29, 2008 7:11 - 0 Comments

What is TCP/IP?

What Is TCP/IP

TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol.  This is the set of rules that govern data movement on the world wide web.  Not only do these rules regulate how your computer connects to your server, or your ISP, but they regulate how data is transfered on most networks throughout the world.

TCP regulates how one computer on a network transfers data back and forth, allowing a direct connection between the two machines.  All information across a TCP/IP network is handled by TCP rules to make the result, such as the display of a website, appear to be a seamless event between yourself and ISP.  In truth, the information is usually passed between multiple servers, and still seems to happen in the blink of an eye.

Internet Protocol gets the job done.  Rather than trying to emulate a seamless connection, IP expects the worst, and breaks all that data into small packets of information.  Each packet is given a unique ID, among other information, and this tag get inspected as it travels, in much the same way that a postcard is moved through the postal system.  This makes it possible for data to continue to flow even if a link gets disconnected for some reason.  In this way, IP supports the task of TCP, and makes a TCP/IP connection function as a single collection of rules.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com