Internet TCP/IP - Term Paper Example

TCP/IP In the today’s world, almost every person connects to the internet at least a couple of times everyday. People are aware of how to connect to the internet and how to download the desired pages from the internet. But a very few people know what actually makes them communicate with the internet. TCP/IP, which is a combination of two internet protocols, makes the host computers connect to the internet. “When a computer attempts to log on to the Internet, that computer's TCP/IP operations send a series of signals to Internet servers looking for a connection” (Harris). So it is evident from the above statement that TCP/IP plays an effective role in making people connect to the internet. TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol. TCP/IP is a communication protocol that is used by the internet to connect to hosts on the internet. Internet makes use of TCP/IP to enable and control communication over the internet. “The TCP/IP protocol is used by the largest network in the world, the Internet” (Ober). No communication can ever take place over the internet without using TCP/IP. TCP/IP makes use of two major communication protocols, which include TCP and IP, in order to transmit data over the networks. “IP corresponds to the Network layer (Layer 3) in the OSI model, whereas TCP corresponds to the Transport layer (Layer 4) in OSI” (Mitchell). A large number of operating networks support TCP/IP. Netware is an example of such networks, which supports TCP/IP for the transfer of data from one computer to another computer present on the network. TCP/IP is also known as the main driver of the internet because every node present over the network which include different computers used by the people, makes use of TCP/IP for sending and retrieving information from the internet. Both TCP and IP are used for the movement of data but the difference is that Transmission Control Protocol is used for the movement of data between different applications whereas Internet Protocol is used for the transfer of data between the host computers. There are some other protocols such as UDP and ICMP, which manage the transfer of data over the network. ICMP is used for the transmission of error messages whereas UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is also used for transfer of data between applications but TCP is much more reliable and efficient as compared to UDP. TCP/IP is one of the basic components of internet because working of internet without TC/IP cannot be possible for any network. TCP/IP is not only used by internet for enabling communication, but also intranet and extranet private networks make use of TCP/IP for transmission of messages. TCP/IP is provided to every computer that establishes link with the internet for retrieving any kind of information. The copy of TCP/IP program is just like any other program which a computer needs while setting up its connection with the internet. TCP/IP is basically a double layer protocol in which TCP is known as top layer program whereas IP is known as lower layer program. When a message is sent to another computer present on a network, transmission control protocol assembles the message into small packets, which are transmitted over the network. The TCP program of the second computer receives the packets from the network and reassembles them back into the original form in order to make it read by the second computer. The function of the lower layer is to handle the address of each packet being sent to the other computer. The address is an essential part of any packet because if there is no address part attached with the packet, the packet will not be able to reach its destination. There are some gateway computers present on the network, which are supposed to verify the address of each packet being sent. The gateway computers verify the addresses and make decisions about whether to allow a packet reach its desired computer or not. If the gateway computers do not find a valid address attached with packet, the packet is not sent to the desired computer. Therefore, we can say that TCP/IP is an essential protocol of the internet because without it, no message can be sent from one computer to any other computer present over the network. Some of the most important and recognized services of TCP/IP include FTP, TELNET, and computer mail. All of these services are related to the communication process, which takes place between host computers and the internet. FTP is a file transfer protocol, which is used to transfer files from one computer to another. For example, if a person wants to send a file to another person, file transfer protocol will make the file reach successfully to the other computer through internet because this protocol is specifically designed for this task. If we talk about TELNET, we can say that TELNET makes a person log on to some other computer present on the network by starting a remote session. Computer mails are also used to send messages to the computers of other people by adding a message to the other person’s mail file. Therefore, we can say that all of these services of TCP/IP are of extreme importance for the successful transfer of messages from one computer to another. Some of the computer services that are provided within the framework of TCP/IP include remote printing and remote execution. Remote printing makes a person get a print from the printer attached to some other computer using remote line printer protocol. Remote execution makes a person run a program on some other computer, as sometimes some programs require such resources, which are only present on larger computer systems. Remote execution provides the users with the facility to execute programs on larger computer systems. These were some of the computer services that are provided by TCP/IP. Summing it up, we can say that TCP/IP is a combination of two communication protocols, which are used to connect hosts to the internet. TCP/IP includes a set of functions that enable the process of communication between different computers. TCP breaks down the message into small packets and IP assigns address to each of the packets. At the receiving end, TCP of the second computer reassembles the packets into the form of a message making it understandable for the user of the second computer. Therefore, we can say that TCP/IP is extremely important for the successful communication between the host computers. Works Cited Harris, Bronwyn. “What is TCP/IP?.” Wisegeek.com, 07 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. . Mitchell, Bradley. “TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol.” About.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. . Ober, Jeffrey. “What is TCP Protocol?.” Ehow.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. . Read More