Packets & Protocols - Revision

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Protocol- A set of agreed rules and standards. Often used in computer communications.

IP- Internet Protocol: IP addresses are used to uniquely identify computers on an IP-based network. Formed of 4 byte numbers.

TCP- Transmission Control Protocol: Used with IP to provide communication on the internet and many networks.

HTTP-Hyper Text Transfer Protocol: Used to transfer multimedia data over the internet.

FTP- File Transfer Protocol: Used to copy a file between locations over the internet.

Protocol stacks:

A protocol stack is the implementation of a computer protocol suite.

E.g: The TCP/IP stack shown as 4 layers dealing with:

Applications

Transport

Network

Link

Packet Switching:

Data communications are broken down into 'packets'

Each containing the source and destination addresses, tracking information, error handling check sum, re-assembly data, the actual data

In packet switched networks packets may take a different rout to their destination.

They will be reassembled in delivery

Routing:

Routers are hardware devices with software running on them which connect networks together. They can connect networks to the internet. A router chooses the best path for packets to travel so it is received swiftly. You may have a WiFi router at home connecting your devises to your ISP.

Routers use headers and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets.

They use protocols to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.