TCP/IP Model

TCP/IP
Application
Transport
Network
Network \n Interface

Diagram: The four layers of the TCP/IP networking model.

TCP/IP stands for transmission control protocol/internet protocol and is a set of protocols used to connect network devices to each other.

The TCP/IP networking model is made up of four layers:

  1. Application Layer: This layer is responsible for the communication protocols between nodes. The protocols in this layer include hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP and HTTPS), Secure Shell (SSH), and network time protocol (NTP), among many others.
  2. Transport Layer: This layer is responsible for the end-to-end transport of data. The protocols that live in this layer are transmission control protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP).
  3. Network Layer: This layer defines the logical transmission protocols for the whole network. The main protocols that live in this layer are internet protocol (IP), internet control message protocol (ICMP), and address resolution protocol (ARP).
  4. Network Interface Layer: This layer establishes how data should be physically sent through the network.

The TCP/IP model is used for practical application when locating specific protocol. It covers the same topics that will be found in the OSI model but in fewer layers.

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