What is

Transmission
Control Protocol
TCP/IP?

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What is TCP?

Transmission Control Protocol /TCP0 is a

communications standard that enables
application programs and computing devices
to exchange messages over a network. It is
designed to send packets across the internet
and ensure the successful delivery of data and
messages over networks.

TCP is one of the basic standards that define

the rules of the internet and is included within
the standards defined by the Internet
Engineering Task Force HIETFI. It is one of the
most commonly used protocols within digital
network communications and ensures end-to-
end data delivery.

TCP organizes data so that it can be

transmitted between a server and a client. It
guarantees the integrity of the data being
communicated over a network. Before it
transmits data, TCP establishes a connection
between a source and its destination, which it
ensures remains live until communication
begins. It then breaks large amounts of data
into smaller packets, while ensuring data
integrity is in place throughout the process.

As a result, high-level protocols that need to

transmit data all use TCP Protocol. Examples
include peer-to-peer sharing methods like File
Transfer Protocol HFTPI, Secure Shell HSSHI,
and Telnet. It is also used to send and receive
email through Internet Message Access
Protocol HIMAPI, Post Office Protocol HPOPI,
and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol HSMTPI, and
for web access through the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol HHTTPI.

An alternative to TCP in networking is the User

Datagram Protocol HUDPI, which is used to
establish low-latency connections between
applications and decrease transmissions time.
TCP can be an expensive network tool as it
includes absent or corrupted packets and
protects data delivery with controls like
acknowledgments, connection startup, and
flow control.

UDP does not provide error connection or

packet sequencing nor does it signal a
destination before it delivers data, which
makes it less reliable but less expensive. As
such, it is a good option for time-sensitive
situations, such as Domain Name System
HDNSI lookup, Voice over Internet Protocol
HVoIPI, and streaming media.

What is IP?

The Internet Protocol HIPI is the method for

sending data from one device to another
across the internet. Every device has an IP
address that uniquely identifies it and enables
it to communicate with and exchange data
with other devices connected to the
internet. Today, it’s considered the standard
for fast and secure communication directly
between mobile devices.

IP is responsible for defining how applications

and devices exchange packets of data with
each other. It is the principal communications
protocol responsible for the formats and rules
for exchanging data and messages between
computers on a single network or several
internet-connected networks. It does this
through the Internet Protocol Suite HTCP/IPI, a
group of communications protocols that are
split into four abstraction layers.

IP is the main protocol within the internet layer

of the TCP/IP. Its main purpose is to deliver
data packets between the source application
or device and the destination using methods
and structures that place tags, such as
address information, within data packets.

TCP vs. IP/ What is the Difference?

TCP and IP are separate protocols that work

together to ensure data is delivered to its
intended destination within a network. IP
obtains and defines the address—the IP
address—of the application or device the data
must be sent to. TCP is then responsible for
transporting and routing data through the
network architecture and ensuring it gets
delivered to the destination application or
device that IP has defined. Both technologies
working together allow communication
between devices over long distances, making
it possible to transfer data where it needs to
go in the most efficient way possible.

In other words, the IP address is akin to a

phone number assigned to a smartphone. TCP
is the computer networking version of the
technology used to make the smartphone ring
and enable its user to talk to the person who
called them.

Now that we’ve looked at TCP and ICP

separately, what is TCP/IP? The two protocols
are frequently used together and rely on each
other for data to have a destination and safely
reach it, which is why the process is regularly
referred to as TCP/IP. With the right security
protocols in place, the combination of the
TCP/IP allows users to follow a safe and secure
process when they need to move data
between two or more devices.

How Does Transmission Control

Protocol ;TCP</IP Work?

The TCP/IP model is the default method of

data communication on the Internet. It was
developed by the United States Department of
Defense to enable the accurate and correct
transmission of data between devices. It
breaks messages into packets to avoid having
to resend the entire message in case it
encounters a problem during transmission.
Packets are automatically reassembled once
they reach their destination. Every packet can
take a different route between the source and
the destination computer, depending on
whether the original route used becomes
congested or unavailable.

TCP/IP divides communication tasks into layers

that keep the process standardized, without
hardware and software providers doing the
management themselves. The data packets
must pass through four layers before they are
received by the destination device, then
TCP/IP goes through the layers in reverse
order to put the message back into its original
format.

As a connection based protocol, the TCP

establishes and maintains a connection
between applications or devices until they
finish exchanging data. It determines how the
original message should be broken into
packets, numbers and reassembles the
packets, and sends them on to other devices
on the network, such as routers, security
gateways, and switches, then on to their
destination. TCP also sends and receives
packets from the network layer, handles the
transmission of any dropped packets, manages
flow control, and ensures all packets reach
their destination.

A good example of how this works in practice

is when an email is sent using SMTP from an
email server. To start the process, the TCP
layer in the server divides the message into
packets, numbers them, and forwards them to
the IP layer, which then transports each packet
to the destination email server. When packets
arrive, they are handed back to the TCP layer
to be reassembled into the original message
format and handed back to the email server,
which delivers the message to a user’s email
inbox.

TCP/IP uses a three-way handshake to

establish a connection between a device and a
server, which ensures multiple TCP socket
connections can be transferred in both
directions concurrently. Both the device and
server must synchronize and acknowledge
packets before communication begins, then
they can negotiate, separate, and transfer TCP
socket connections.

The 4 Layers of the

TCP/IP Model

The TCP/IP model defines how devices should

transmit data between them and enables
communication over networks and large
distances. The model represents how data is
exchanged and organized over networks. It is
split into four layers, which set the standards
for data exchange and represent how data is
handled and packaged when being delivered
between applications, devices, and servers.

The four layers of the TCP/IP model are as

follows:

!" Datalink layer: The datalink layer defines

how data should be sent, handles the
physical act of sending and receiving
data, and is responsible for transmitting
data between applications or devices on
a network. This includes defining how
data should be signaled by hardware and
other transmission devices on a network,
such as a computer’s device driver, an
Ethernet cable, a network interface card
HNICI, or a wireless network. It is also
referred to as the link layer, network
access layer, network interface layer, or
physical layer and is the combination of
the physical and data link layers of the
Open Systems Interconnection HOSII
model, which standardizes
communications functions on computing
and telecommunications systems.
$" Internet layer: The internet layer is
responsible for sending packets from a
network and controlling their movement
across a network to ensure they reach
their destination. It provides the
functions and procedures for transferring
data sequences between applications
and devices across networks.
%" Transport layer: The transport layer is
responsible for providing a solid and
reliable data connection between the
original application or device and its
intended destination. This is the level
where data is divided into packets and
numbered to create a sequence. The
transport layer then determines how
much data must be sent, where it should
be sent to, and at what rate. It ensures
that data packets are sent without errors
and in sequence and obtains the
acknowledgment that the destination
device has received the data packets.
&" Application layer: The application layer
refers to programs that need TCP/IP to
help them communicate with each other.
This is the level that users typically
interact with, such as email systems and
messaging platforms. It combines the
session, presentation, and application
layers of the OSI model.

Are Your Data Packets Private Over

TCP/IP?

Data packets sent over TCP/IP are not private,

which means they can be seen or intercepted.
For this reason, it is vital to avoid using public
Wi-Fi networks for sending private data and to
ensure information is encrypted. One way to
encrypt data being shared through TCP/IP is
through a virtual private network HVPNI.

What is My TCP/IP Address?

A TCP/IP address may be required to configure

a network and is most likely required in a local
network.

Finding a public IP address is a simple process

that can be discovered using various online
tools. These tools quickly detect the IP
address of the device being used, along with
the user’s host IP address, internet service
provider HISPI, remote port, and the type of
browser, device, and operating system they
are using.

Another way to discover the TCP/IP is through

the administration page of a router, which
displays the user’s current public IP address,
the router’s IP address, subnet mask, and other
network information.

Frequently Asked Questions about TCP

What is TCP used for?

TCP enables data to be transferred between
applications and devices on a network and is
used in the TCP IP model. It is designed to
break down a message, such as an email, into
packets of data to ensure the message
reaches its destination successfully and as
quickly as possible.

What does TCP mean?

TCP meaning Transmission Control Protocol, is
a communications standard for delivering data
and messages through networks. TCP is a
basic standard that defines the rules of the
internet and is a common protocol used to
deliver data in digital network communications.

What is TCP and what are its

types?
TCP is a protocol or standard used to ensure
data is successfully delivered from one
application or device to another. TCP is part of
the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol HTCP/IPI, which is a suite of protocols
originally developed by the U.S. Department of
Defense to support the construction of the
internet. The TCP/IP model consists of several
types of protocols, including TCP and IP,
Address Resolution Protocol HARPI, Internet
Control Message Protocol HICMPI, Reverse
Address Resolution Protocol HRARPI, and User
Datagram Protocol HUDPI.

TCP is the most commonly used of these

protocols and accounts for the most traffic
used on a TCP/IP network. UDP is an
alternative to TCP that does not provide error
correction, is less reliable, and has less
overhead, which makes it ideal for streaming.

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