Internet Protocol and Network Sockets

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and definitions related to Internet Protocol and network sockets, as discussed in the lecture.

Internet Protocol (IP)

A network layer protocol that contains addressing information necessary for routing packets, primarily documented in RFC 791.

RFC 791

The document that specifies the Internet Protocol (IP), providing guidelines for its implementation.

OSI Model

An abstract model that describes the layers involved in network communications, consisting of 7 layers: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Data Link, and Physical.

Socket

The logical software endpoint of a communication channel, enabling inter-process communication (IPC) using Internet Protocol.

BSD Sockets

A method for inter-process communication supported by most modern operating systems, including Linux.

Port

An additional identifier used by IP to differentiate between services running on the same device, similar to a telephone extension.

MAC Address

A unique identifier assigned to a network interface card (NIC) for communications on the physical network segment.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

A connectionless protocol that provides low overhead and does not guarantee delivery or order of packets.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

A connection-oriented protocol that ensures guaranteed delivery and order of packets, mainly used for reliable communication.

bind()

A function used to associate a local address (port) to a given socket.

Client/Server Model

A network communication model where clients initiate requests and servers provide responses, typically involving many clients communicating with a single server.

sendto()

A function used in UDP communications to send data to a specific address and port.

recvfrom()

A function in UDP communications used to receive data, blocking until data is available.

socket()

A function used to create a socket for network communications.

sockaddr structure

Data structures used to store addressing information for sockets, including IP and port details.

Stream Socket

A type of socket used for TCP communications, providing a reliable, ordered, and error-checked stream.

Datagram Socket

A type of socket used for UDP communications, allowing for sending and receiving packets without guarantees of delivery.