"A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any variation of a physical quantity."
Study of the principles and practices of network protocols used for the exchange of data or information between devices in a network and to control the flow of data.
Network Architecture: An overview of how networks are designed and the various models and topologies used.
OSI and TCP/IP Models: Two essential models that describe network communication, both of which are used for internet communication.
Physical Layer: Includes the basic hardware infrastructure used to connect devices, such as cables and connectors.
Data Link Layer: Manages communications between nodes in a network, especially error detection and control.
Network Layer: Concerned with handling data packets between layers and creating distinguished network addresses, whether at an IP or MAC level.
Transport Layer: Provides reliability, flow-control, and error recovery, often accomplished by TCP.
Session Layer: Establishes, maintains, and synchronizes communication between applications, acting as a liaison between lower and upper layers.
Presentation Layer: Ensures data is properly formatted and encoded in a provisional manner accessible by various types of applications.
Application Layer: Provides numerous protocols and interfaces to various applications, web services, and distributed systems.
Routing Protocols: Manage the distribution of network traffic, determining optimal routes for data packets to transverse the network.
Network Addressing: The allocation and management of unique logical addresses used to access network devices.
Domain Name System (DNS): The protocol used to translate human-readable domain names into IP addresses.
Internet Protocol (IP): The primary protocol used to transmit data over the internet, typically used in combination with Transport Layer protocols (TCP/UDP).
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): Provides reliable, ordered and error-checked delivery of data between applications.
User Datagram Protocol (UDP): A lightweight protocol that does not provide reliability or error checking, used when speed is more crucial than accuracy.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): The protocol used for communication between web servers and clients, formulating web pages and related data.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): Used to transfer files between servers and clients in a fast and secure manner.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): Used to facilitate email transfers between servers and clients.
Remote Procedure Call (RPC): Allows invoking procedures across a network, providing a framework for client/server programming.
Network Security: Concerned with managing threats like cyber attacks, information theft, and fraud in network communication.
TCP/IP Protocol: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is a widely used protocol that enables communication between devices on the Internet.
HTTP Protocol: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a communication protocol used for transferring data over the World Wide Web.
SMTP Protocol: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used for sending email messages between servers.
FTP Protocol: File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used for transferring files between devices on the Internet.
SSH Protocol: Secure Shell (SSH) is a protocol used to communicate securely over an unsecured network.
DNS Protocol: Domain Name System (DNS) is used to translate domain names into IP addresses.
SNMP Protocol: Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used to manage and monitor network devices.
SIP Protocol: Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used for initiating, maintaining, and terminating multimedia sessions in a VoIP environment.
RTP Protocol: Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) is used for transmitting audio and video data over the Internet.
DHCP Protocol: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to assign IP addresses to network devices.
ICMP Protocol: Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is used for error reporting and diagnostic messages between network devices.
IGMP Protocol: Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is used for managing multicast groups on a network.
TCP Protocol: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used for transmission of data between devices on the Internet.
UDP Protocol: User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is used for fast, low-latency data transfers between devices on the Internet.
MPLS Protocol: Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is used for traffic engineering and traffic management in a network.
SSL Protocol: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is used for secure, encrypted communication between network devices.
PPTP Protocol: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is used for virtual private networking (VPN) over the Internet.
L2TP Protocol: Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is used for VPNs and encapsulating various protocols on the Internet.
NTP Protocol: Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used for synchronizing clocks between network devices.
POP3 Protocol: Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) is used for retrieving email messages from servers.
"The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication and possible error recovery methods."
"Protocols may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of both."
"Communicating systems use well-defined formats for exchanging various messages. Each message has an exact meaning intended to elicit a response from a range of possible responses pre-determined for that particular situation."
"The specified behavior is typically independent of how it is to be implemented."
"To reach an agreement, a protocol may be developed into a technical standard."
"There is a close analogy between protocols and programming languages: protocols are to communication what programming languages are to computations."
"A group of protocols designed to work together is known as a protocol suite; when implemented in software, they are a protocol stack."
"Internet communication protocols are published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)."
"The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) handles wired and wireless networking."
"The ITU-T handles telecommunications protocols and formats for the public switched telephone network (PSTN)."
"As the PSTN and Internet converge, the standards are also being driven towards convergence."
"The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication and possible error recovery methods."
"Communication protocols have to be agreed upon by the parties involved."
"An alternate formulation states that protocols are to communication what algorithms are to computation."
"Multiple protocols often describe different aspects of a single communication."
"The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) handles other types."
"Protocols may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of both."
"Internet communication protocols are published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)."
"There is a close analogy between protocols and programming languages: protocols are to communication what programming languages are to computations."