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   What is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)?
  </title><base href=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/tcpip.htm><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/tcpip.htm rel=canonical><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/ch.css rel=stylesheet><script async src=https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js></script><meta content=text/html;charset=utf-8 http-equiv=Content-Type><meta content=width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0 name=viewport><meta content="Computer dictionary definition of what TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) means, including related links, information, and terms."name=description><meta content="What is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)?"itemprop=name><meta content="Computer dictionary definition of what TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) means, including related links, information, and terms."itemprop=description><meta content=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/tcpip.htm property=og:url><meta content="Computer dictionary definition of what TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) means, including related links, information, and terms."property=og:description><meta content="What is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)?"property=og:title><meta content=article property=og:type><meta content=summary name=twitter:card><meta content="What is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)?"name=twitter:title><meta content="Computer dictionary definition of what TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) means, including related links, information, and terms."name=twitter:description><meta content=@computerhope name=twitter:creator><meta content=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/packet.jpg property=og:image><meta content=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/packet.jpg itemprop=image><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/packet.jpg rel=image_src><link href=https://feeds.feedburner.com/LatestNewPagesOnComputerHope rel=alternate title=RSS-Feed type=application/rss+xml><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/apple-touch-icon.png rel=apple-touch-icon><link rel="shortcut icon"href=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/favicon.ico type=image/x-icon><script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
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More specifically, TCP/IP dictates how information should be packaged (turned into bundles of information called <a href=#packet> packets </a> ), sent, and received, and how to get to its destination. TCP/IP was developed in <a href=/history/1978.htm> 1978 </a> and driven by <a href=/people/bob_kahn.htm> Bob Kahn </a> and <a href=/people/vint_cerf.htm> Vint Cerf </a> .<div class="pagenav contents"><ul><li><a href=#packet> Example of a TCP/IP packet. </a><li><a href=#howwork> How does TCP/IP work? </a><li><a href=#common> Three of the most common TCP/IP protocols. </a><li><a href=#domainname> Domain names and TCP/IP addresses. </a><li><a href=#difflayer> What are the different layers of TCP/IP? </a><li><a href=#related> Related pages. </a></ul></div><h2 id=packet>Example of a TCP/IP packet</h2><p class=tab>Below is a visual example of a TCP/IP <a href=/jargon/p/packet.htm> packet </a> and the information contained within that packet. Each of the sections of packet are filled with information that help <a href=/jargon/r/route.htm> route </a> the packet to its proper destination.<p class=ce><img alt="Network TCP and IP packet"class=resize500 height=513 src=/jargon/p/packet.jpg width=500><h2 id=howwork>How does TCP/IP work?</h2><p class=tab>As the name implies, TCP/IP is a combination of two separate protocols: <a href=/jargon/t/tcp.htm> TCP </a> (transmission control protocol) and <a href=/jargon/i/ip.htm> IP </a> (Internet protocol). The Internet Protocol standard dictates the logistics of packets sent out over networks; it tells packets where to go and how to get there. IP allows any computer on the Internet to forward a packet to another computer that's one or more intervals closer to the packet's recipient. You can think of it like workers in a line passing boulders from a quarry to a mining cart.<p class=tab>The Transmission Control Protocol is responsible for ensuring the reliable transmission of data across Internet-connected networks. TCP checks packets for errors and submits requests for re-transmissions if any are found.<h2 id=common>Three of the most common TCP/IP protocols</h2><ul><li><b> HTTP </b> - Used between a web <a href=/jargon/c/client.htm> client </a> and a web <a href=/jargon/s/server.htm> server </a> , for <i> non-secure </i> data transmissions. A web client (i.e., Internet browser on a computer) sends a request to a web server to view a web page. The web server receives that request and sends the web page information back to the web client.<li><b> HTTPS </b> - Used between a web client and a web server, for <i> secure </i> data transmissions. Often used for sending credit card transaction data or private data from a web client (i.e., Internet browser on a computer) to a web server.<li><b> FTP </b> - Used between two or more computers. One computer sends data to or receives data from another computer directly.</ul><h2 id=domainname>Domain names and TCP/IP addresses</h2><p class=tab>The TCP/IP address for a website or web server is not easy to remember. To remedy this issue, a <a href=/jargon/d/domain.htm> domain name </a> is used instead. For example, <b> 216.58.216.164 </b> is one of the IP address for Google and <b> google.com </b> is the domain name. Using this method, instead of a set of numbers, makes it easier for users to remember Computer Hope's <a href=/jargon/a/address.htm> web address </a> .<h2 id=difflayer>What are the different layers of TCP/IP?</h2><p class=tab>There are four total layers of TCP/IP protocol, listed below with a brief description.<ul><li><b> Network Access Layer </b> - This layer is concerned with building <a href=/jargon/p/packet.htm> packets </a> .<li><b> Internet Layer </b> - This layer uses <a href=/jargon/i/ip.htm> IP </a> (Internet Protocol) to describe how packets are to be delivered.<li><b> Transport Layer </b> - This layer utilizes <a href=/jargon/u/udp.htm> UDP </a> (User Datagram Protocol) and <a href=/jargon/t/tcp.htm> TCP </a> (Transmission Control Protocol) to ensure the proper transmission of data.<li><b> Application Layer </b> - This layer deals with application network processes. These processes include <a href=/jargon/f/ftp.htm> FTP </a> (File Transfer Protocol), <a href=/jargon/h/http.htm> HTTP </a> (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), and <a href=/jargon/s/smtp.htm> SMTP </a> (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).</ul><div class=relatedpages><h2 id=related>Related pages</h2><ul><li><a href=/issues/ch000483.htm> How to find my IP address. </a><li><a href=/help/nic.htm> Network and network card help and support </a> .</ul></div><p class=alsosee><a href=/jargon/acronyms.htm> Computer acronyms </a> , <a href=/jargon/f/ftp.htm> FTP </a> , <a href=/jargon/i/ip.htm> IP </a> , <a href=/jargon/i/ipxspx.htm> IPX/SPX </a> , <a href=/jargon/n/netbeui.htm> NetBEUI </a> , <a href=/jargon/network.htm> Network terms </a> , <a href=/jargon/p/port.htm> Port </a> , <a href=/jargon/u/udp.htm> UDP </a></article><div class=bottomad><ins class=adsbygoogle data-ad-client=ca-pub-3999293766533555 data-ad-format=auto data-ad-slot=6514780129 style=display:block> </ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script><div class=related><ins class=adsbygoogle data-ad-client=ca-pub-3999293766533555 data-ad-format=autorelaxed data-ad-slot=9849691723 style=display:block> </ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script></div></div><div class=cf id=meta_wrap><ul class="options cf"><li class=useful-page><span class=nolink> Was this page useful? </span> <a class=first-child href=/cgi-bin/feedback.cgi?yes rel=nofollow> Yes </a> <a href=/cgi-bin/feedback.cgi?no rel=nofollow> No </a><li><ul><li class=feedback><a title="Give us your feedback about this page"href=/feedback/ rel=nofollow> Feedback </a><li class=email><a title="E-mail Computer Hope"href=/contact/ rel=nofollow> E-mail </a><li class=share><a title="Share this page with friends and social networks"href=/share/ rel=nofollow> Share </a><li class="first-child print"><a onclick="window.print();return false;"title="Print a copy of this page"href=# rel=nofollow> Print </a></ul></ul></div></div><footer><form action=https://www.computerhope.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi class=cf method=post><input class=sbar name=q title=Search><button>Search</button></form><ul class=cf><li class=recent-pages><ol><li class=widget-title><h5>Recently added pages</h5><li id=ra1><li id=ra2><li id=ra3><li id=ra4><li id=ra5><li><a href=/whatnew.htm> View all recent updates </a></ol><li class=useful-links><ol><li class=widget-title><h5>Useful links</h5><li><a href=/more.htm> About Computer Hope </a><li><a href=/sindex.htm> Site Map </a><li><a href=/forum/> Forum </a><li><a href=/contact/> Contact Us </a><li><a href=/issues/ch000586.htm> How to Help </a><li><a href=/chtop10.htm> Top 10 pages </a></ol><li class=social-networks><ol><li class="widget-title first-child"><h5>Follow us</h5><li><a class=facebook href=https://www.facebook.com/computerhope/> Facebook </a><li><a class=twitter href=https://twitter.com/computerhope/> Twitter </a><li><a class=pinterest href=https://www.pinterest.com/computerhope/> Pinterest </a><li><a class=youtube href=https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerhope/> YouTube </a><li><a class=rss href=/rss.htm> RSS </a></ol></ul><div class=copyright><a class=blogo href=/> </a> © 2021 Computer Hope <br><a class=legal href=/legal.htm> Legal Disclaimer - Privacy Statement </a></div></footer></div><script async src=https://www.computerhope.com/ch.js></script><div id=tt></div><script>(function(){window['__CF$cv$params']={r:'6a6e661fbc652cc5',m:'4oqFem_4wa1MOy.7F_dA5XrN_OihfG0BMw6BHHCHHsI-1635699199-0-AUqmFyADci1xZAwK/ATcjUK4OFX2lBFV3csT/2sRyr2GC8S4gi14rtZPIW+kgz3D+QD4DVnKjZUKcn/yuloORotv1aBJUsF6i6nCe+mCpoaePT/wTe8XjSEmBeYLOXg11sP3j32UcA6xLWJJcRvMyLI=',s:[0x763661bedb,0xadebc9a932],}})();</script>