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Networking Beginner

What is TCP/IP?

The fundamental communication protocol suite of the internet that defines how data is packaged, addressed, transmitted, and received.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a layered protocol stack. TCP provides reliable, ordered, error-checked data delivery. IP handles addressing and routing packets across networks.

The model has four layers: Application (HTTP, SMTP), Transport (TCP, UDP), Internet (IP), and Network Access (Ethernet, Wi-Fi). Together they enable all internet communication.

Related Terms

TCP vs UDP
Two transport layer protocols: TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery while UDP provides fast, connectionless delivery without guarantees.
DNS Propagation
The time it takes for DNS record changes to spread across all DNS servers worldwide, typically taking up to 48 hours.
Traceroute
A network diagnostic tool that shows the path packets take from source to destination, listing each hop along the way.
OSI Model
The seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection model that standardizes network communication functions from physical transmission to application protocols.
HTTP Keep-Alive
An HTTP mechanism that reuses a single TCP connection for multiple requests, reducing the overhead of establishing new connections.
Network Topology
The physical or logical arrangement of nodes and connections in a computer network, such as star, mesh, ring, or bus configurations.
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