Internetprotocolsuite

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TheInternetprotocolsuiteisthecomputernetworkingmodelandsetofcommunicationsprotocolsusedontheInternetandsimilarcomputer
networks.ItiscommonlyknownasTCP/IP,becauseitsmostimportantprotocols,theTransmissionControlProtocol(TCP)andtheInternetProtocol
(IP)werethefirstnetworkingprotocolsdefinedduringitsdevelopment.ItisoccasionallyknownastheDepartmentofDefense(DoD)model,
becausethedevelopmentofthenetworkingmodelwasfundedbyDARPA,anagencyoftheUnitedStatesDepartmentofDefense.

TCP/IPprovidesendtoenddatacommunicationspecifyinghowdatashouldbepacketized,addressed,transmitted,routedandreceived.This
functionalityisorganizedintofourabstractionlayerswhichareusedtosortallrelatedprotocolsaccordingtothescopeofnetworkinginvolved.[1][2]
Fromlowesttohighest,thelayersarethelinklayer,containingcommunicationmethodsfordatathatremainswithinasinglenetworksegment(link)the
internetlayer,connectingindependentnetworks,thusprovidinginternetworkingthetransportlayerhandlinghosttohostcommunicationandthe
applicationlayer,whichprovidesprocesstoprocessdataexchangeforapplications.

TheTCP/IPmodelandmanyofitsprotocolsaremaintainedbytheInternetEngineeringTaskForce(IETF).

Contents

1 History

1.1 Earlyresearch

1.2 Specification

1.3 Adoption

2 Keyarchitecturalprinciples

3 Abstractionlayers

3.1 Linklayer

3.2 Internetlayer
 3.3 Transportlayer

3.4 Applicationlayer

4 Layernamesandnumberoflayersintheliterature

5 ComparisonofTCP/IPandOSIlayering

6 Implementations

7 Seealso

8 Bibliography

9 References

10 Externallinks

History
Earlyresearch

TheInternetprotocolsuiteresultedfromresearchanddevelopmentconductedbytheDefenseAdvanced
ResearchProjectsAgency(DARPA)inthelate1960s.[3]AfterinitiatingthepioneeringARPANETin1969,
DARPAstartedworkonanumberofotherdatatransmissiontechnologies.In1972,RobertE.Kahnjoined
theDARPAInformationProcessingTechnologyOffice,whereheworkedonbothsatellitepacketnetworks
andgroundbasedradiopacketnetworks,andrecognizedthevalueofbeingabletocommunicateacrossboth.
Inthespringof1973,VintonCerf,thedeveloperoftheexistingARPANETNetworkControlProgram
(NCP)protocol,joinedKahntoworkonopenarchitectureinterconnectionmodelswiththegoalofdesigning
thenextprotocolgenerationfortheARPANET.
Diagramofthefirstinternetworked
Bythesummerof1973,KahnandCerfhadworkedoutafundamentalreformulation,inwhichthedifferences
connection
betweennetworkprotocolswerehiddenbyusingacommoninternetworkprotocol,and,insteadofthe
networkbeingresponsibleforreliability,asintheARPANET,thehostsbecameresponsible.Cerfcredits
HubertZimmermannandLouisPouzin,designeroftheCYCLADESnetwork,withimportantinfluenceson
thisdesign.

AlthoughKahnandCerfstartedworkingontheInternetandTCP/IPin1973,itwasntuntilJanuary1,1983
thattheARPANETswitchedtoTCP/IP(knownasflagday).Throughoutthistime,multipleversionsof
TCP/IPweredevelopeduntilTCPv4andIPv4werereadyforflagday.

InMay1974,KahnandCerfpublishedapapertitledAProtocolforPacketNetwork
Intercommunication[4]inwhichtheydescribedtheprotocolforsharingresourcesusingpacketswitching.The
AStanfordResearchInstitutepacket
paperdescribedindetailtheTransmissionControlProgram,whichwasamixtureofTCPandIP.Thepaper radiovan,siteofthefirstthreeway
setthebasisforhowTCP/IPwoulddevelop.
internetworkedtransmission.
Initially,TCPmanagedbothdatagramtransmissionsandrouting,asanticipatedbyCerfandKahnspaper,but
astheprotocolgrew,somepeople,suchasJonPostel,startedseeingtheneedtosplitthesinglelayerintotwo.JonPostelstatedwearescrewingupin
ourdesignofInternetprotocolsbyviolatingtheprincipleoflayering.[5]Postelwasconcernedthatthissinglelayerwasanattackontheveryidealsof
layering.Thisencapsulationofdifferentmechanismsweresupposedtocreateanenvironmentwheretheupperlayerscouldaccessonlywhatwasneeded
fromthelowerlayers,butbymixingbothprotocolsintoone,itforcedpeopletouseTCPinordertoalsouseIP.Inaddition,peoplewereconcerned
thatforcingeveryonetogothroughTCPtouseIPwouldcreateaboundaryonthepotentialoftheInternet.Thissinglelayercouldlimittheflexibilityof
theInternetandunanticipatedproblemswouldnotbeabletobesolvedeasily.Incontrast,otherswereconcernedthatanopentransportlayercouldlead
toscalabilityissues.KahnandCerfdesignedTCP/IPtoreplacetheprotocolssetbythemanypreviousnetworkssuchastheARPANET,
ALOHAnet,[6]PRnet,[7]andSATnet[8]andiftheycreatedaseparatetransportlayer,itcouldeasilyleadtoreemergenceofmultiplehostprotocols.In
addition,theNetworkControlProgram(NCP)developedbyKahnhandledthenetworkcommunicationonitsowninasinglelayer,soitseemednatural
forTCP/IPtoalsoexistinasinglelayer.[9]

Eventually,CerfandKahnagreedthatthelayersmustbesplitintotwoandtheTransmissionControlProgramwassplitintoTransmissionControl
Protocol(TCP)andInternetProtocol(IP).ThesplitwasfinalizedinthefourthversionofTCP(TCPv4)andalsocreatedIPv4,whichwasnamed
version4forthesakeofconsistency.

Thedesignofthenetworkincludedtherecognitionthatitshouldprovideonlythefunctionsofefficientlytransmittingandroutingtrafficbetweenend
nodesandthatallotherintelligenceshouldbelocatedattheedgeofthenetwork,intheendnodes.Usingasimpledesign,itbecamepossibletoconnect
almostanynetworktotheARPANET,irrespectiveofthelocalcharacteristics,therebysolvingKahn'sinitialproblem.Onepopularexpressionisthat
TCP/IP,theeventualproductofCerfandKahn'swork,willrunover"twotincansandastring."(Yearslater,asajoke,theIPoverAvianCarriers
formalprotocolspecificationwascreatedandsuccessfullytested.)

Acomputercalledarouterisprovidedwithaninterfacetoeachnetwork.Itforwardspacketsbackandforthbetweenthem.[10]Originallyarouterwas
calledgateway,butthetermwaschangedtoavoidconfusionwithothertypesofgateways.
Specification

From1973to1974,Cerf'snetworkingresearchgroupatStanfordworkedoutdetailsoftheidea,resultinginthefirstTCPspecification.[11]Asignificant
technicalinfluencewastheearlynetworkingworkatXeroxPARC,whichproducedthePARCUniversalPacketprotocolsuite,muchofwhichexisted
aroundthattime.

DARPAthencontractedwithBBNTechnologies,StanfordUniversity,andtheUniversityCollegeLondontodevelopoperationalversionsofthe
protocolondifferenthardwareplatforms.Fourversionsweredeveloped:TCPv1,TCPv2,TCPv3andIPv3,andTCP/IPv4.Thelastprotocolisstill
inusetoday.

In1975,atwonetworkTCP/IPcommunicationstestwasperformedbetweenStanfordandUniversityCollegeLondon(UCL).InNovember,1977,a
threenetworkTCP/IPtestwasconductedbetweensitesintheUS,theUK,andNorway.SeveralotherTCP/IPprototypesweredevelopedatmultiple
researchcentersbetween1978and1983.ThemigrationoftheARPANETtoTCP/IPwasofficiallycompletedonflagdayJanuary1,1983,whenthe
newprotocolswerepermanentlyactivated.[12]

Adoption

InMarch1982,theUSDepartmentofDefensedeclaredTCP/IPasthestandardforallmilitarycomputernetworking.[13]In1985,theInternetAdvisory
Board(laterrenamedtheInternetArchitectureBoard)heldathreedayworkshoponTCP/IPforthecomputerindustry,attendedby250vendor
representatives,promotingtheprotocolandleadingtoitsincreasingcommercialuse.

In1985,thefirstInteropconferencefocusedonnetworkinteroperabilitybybroaderadoptionofTCP/IP.TheconferencewasfoundedbyDanLynch,
anearlyInternetactivist.Fromthebeginning,largecorporations,suchasIBMandDEC,attendedthemeeting.Interoperabilityconferenceshavebeen
heldeveryyearsincethen.Everyyearfrom1985through1993,thenumberofattendeestripled.

IBM,AT&TandDECwerethefirstmajorcorporationstoadoptTCP/IP,despitehavingcompetinginternalprotocols(SNA,XNS,DECNET).In
IBM,from1984,BarryAppelman'sgroupdidTCP/IPdevelopment.(AppelmanlatermovedtoAOLtobetheheadofallitsdevelopmentefforts.)
TheynavigatedthecorporatepoliticstogetastreamofTCP/IPproductsforvariousIBMsystems,includingMVS,VM,andOS/2.Atthesametime,
severalsmallercompaniesbeganofferingTCP/IPstacksforDOSandMSWindows,suchasthecompanyFTPSoftware,andtheWollongong
Group.[14]ThefirstVM/CMSTCP/IPstackcamefromtheUniversityofWisconsin.[15]

ManyoftheseTCP/IPstackswerewrittensinglehandedlybyafewtalentedprogrammers.Forexample,JohnRomkeyofFTPSoftwarewasthe
authoroftheMITPC/IPpackage.[16]JohnRomkey'sPC/IPimplementationwasthefirstIBMPCTCP/IPstack.JayElinskyandOlegVishnepolskyof
IBMResearchwroteTCP/IPstacksforVM/CMSandOS/2,respectively.[17]
ThespreadofTCP/IPwasfueledfurtherinJune1989,whenAT&TagreedtoplacetheTCP/IPcodedevelopedforUNIXintothepublicdomain.
Variousvendors,includingIBM,includedthiscodeintheirownTCP/IPstacks.ManycompaniessoldTCP/IPstacksforWindowsuntilMicrosoft
releasedanativeTCP/IPstackinWindows95.ThiseventwasalittlelateintheevolutionoftheInternet,butitcementedTCP/IP'sdominanceover
otherprotocols,whichbegantoloseground.TheseprotocolsincludedIBMSystemsNetworkArchitecture(SNA),OpenSystemsInterconnection
(OSI),Microsoft'snativeNetBIOS,andXeroxNetworkSystems(XNS).

Keyarchitecturalprinciples
Anearlyarchitecturaldocument,RFC1122,emphasizesarchitecturalprinciplesoverlayering.[18]

Endtoendprinciple:Thisprinciplehasevolvedovertime.Itsoriginalexpressionputthemaintenanceofstateandoverallintelligenceattheedges,
andassumedtheInternetthatconnectedtheedgesretainednostateandconcentratedonspeedandsimplicity.Realworldneedsforfirewalls,
networkaddresstranslators,webcontentcachesandthelikehaveforcedchangesinthisprinciple.[19]
RobustnessPrinciple:"Ingeneral,animplementationmustbeconservativeinitssendingbehavior,andliberalinitsreceivingbehavior.Thatis,it
mustbecarefultosendwellformeddatagrams,butmustacceptanydatagramthatitcaninterpret(e.g.,notobjecttotechnicalerrorswherethe
meaningisstillclear)."[20]"Thesecondpartoftheprincipleisalmostasimportant:softwareonotherhostsmaycontaindeficienciesthatmakeit
unwisetoexploitlegalbutobscureprotocolfeatures."[21]

Abstractionlayers
Encapsulationisusedtoprovideabstractionofprotocolsandservices.Encapsulationis
usuallyalignedwiththedivisionoftheprotocolsuiteintolayersofgeneralfunctionality.
Ingeneral,anapplication(thehighestlevelofthemodel)usesasetofprotocolstosend
itsdatadownthelayers,beingfurtherencapsulatedateachlevel.

Thelayersoftheprotocolsuitenearthetoparelogicallyclosertotheuserapplication,
whilethosenearthebottomarelogicallyclosertothephysicaltransmissionofthedata.
Viewinglayersasprovidingorconsumingaserviceisamethodofabstractiontoisolate
upperlayerprotocolsfromthedetailsoftransmittingbitsover,forexample,Ethernet
andcollisiondetection,whilethelowerlayersavoidhavingtoknowthedetailsofeach
andeveryapplicationanditsprotocol.

Evenwhenthelayersareexamined,theassortedarchitecturaldocumentsthereisno
singlearchitecturalmodelsuchasISO7498,theOpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI)
modelhavefewerandlessrigidlydefinedlayersthantheOSImodel,andthusprovide
aneasierfitforrealworldprotocols.Onefrequentlyreferenceddocument,RFC1958,
doesnotcontainastackoflayers.Thelackofemphasisonlayeringisamajor
differencebetweentheIETFandOSIapproaches.Itonlyreferstotheexistenceofthe
internetworkinglayerandgenerallytoupperlayersthisdocumentwasintendedasa
1996snapshotofthearchitecture:"TheInternetanditsarchitecturehavegrownin
evolutionaryfashionfrommodestbeginnings,ratherthanfromaGrandPlan.Whilethis
processofevolutionisoneofthemainreasonsforthetechnology'ssuccess,it
neverthelessseemsusefultorecordasnapshotofthecurrentprinciplesoftheInternet
architecture."

RFC1122,entitledHostRequirements,isstructuredinparagraphsreferringtolayers,
butthedocumentreferstomanyotherarchitecturalprinciplesnotemphasizinglayering.
Itlooselydefinesafourlayermodel,withthelayershavingnames,notnumbers,as
follows:

Theapplicationlayeristhescopewithinwhichapplicationscreateuserdataand
communicatethisdatatootherapplicationsonanotherorthesamehost.The
applications,orprocesses,makeuseoftheservicesprovidedbytheunderlying,
lowerlayers,especiallytheTransportLayerwhichprovidesreliableorunreliable
pipestootherprocesses.Thecommunicationspartnersarecharacterizedbythe
applicationarchitecture,suchastheclientservermodelandpeertopeer
networking.Thisisthelayerinwhichallhigherlevelprotocols,suchasSMTP,
FTP,SSH,HTTP,operate.Processesareaddressedviaportswhichessentially
representservices.
TwoInternethostsconnectedviatworoutersandthe
Thetransportlayerperformshosttohostcommunicationsoneitherthesameor
correspondinglayersusedateachhop.Theapplicationon
differenthostsandoneitherthelocalnetworkorremotenetworksseparatedby
eachhostexecutesreadandwriteoperationsasifthe
routers.Itprovidesachannelforthecommunicationneedsofapplications.UDP
isthebasictransportlayerprotocol,providinganunreliabledatagramservice. processesweredirectlyconnectedtoeachotherbysome
TheTransmissionControlProtocolprovidesflowcontrol,connection kindofdatapipe.Everyotherdetailofthecommunicationis
establishment,andreliabletransmissionofdata. hiddenfromeachprocess.Theunderlyingmechanismsthat
Theinternetlayerhasthetaskofexchangingdatagramsacrossnetwork transmitdatabetweenthehostcomputersarelocatedinthe
boundaries.Itprovidesauniformnetworkinginterfacethathidestheactual lowerprotocollayers.
topology(layout)oftheunderlyingnetworkconnections.Itisthereforealso
referredtoasthelayerthatestablishesinternetworking,indeed,itdefinesand
establishestheInternet.Thislayerdefinestheaddressingandroutingstructures
usedfortheTCP/IPprotocolsuite.Theprimaryprotocolinthisscopeisthe
InternetProtocol,whichdefinesIPaddresses.Itsfunctioninroutingisto
transportdatagramstothenextIProuterthathastheconnectivitytoanetwork
 closertothefinaldatadestination.
Thelinklayerdefinesthenetworkingmethodswithinthescopeofthelocal
networklinkonwhichhostscommunicatewithoutinterveningrouters.Thislayer
includestheprotocolsusedtodescribethelocalnetworktopologyandthe
interfacesneededtoeffecttransmissionofInternetlayerdatagramstonext
neighborhosts.

TheInternetprotocolsuiteandthelayeredprotocolstackdesignwereinusebeforethe
OSImodelwasestablished.Sincethen,theTCP/IPmodelhasbeencomparedwiththe
OSImodelinbooksandclassrooms,whichoftenresultsinconfusionbecausethetwo
modelsusedifferentassumptionsandgoals,includingtherelativeimportanceofstrict
layering.

Thisabstractionalsoallowsupperlayerstoprovideservicesthatthelowerlayersdonot Encapsulationofapplicationdatadescendingthroughthe
provide.WhiletheoriginalOSImodelwasextendedtoincludeconnectionlessservices layersdescribedinRFC1122
(OSIRMCL),[22]IPisnotdesignedtobereliableandisabesteffortdeliveryprotocol.
Thismeansthatalltransportlayerimplementationsmustchoosewhetherorhowto
providereliability.UDPprovidesdataintegrityviaachecksumbutdoesnotguarantee
deliveryTCPprovidesbothdataintegrityanddeliveryguaranteebyretransmittinguntil
thereceiveracknowledgesthereceptionofthepacket.

ThismodellackstheformalismoftheOSImodelandassociateddocuments,butthe
IETFdoesnotuseaformalmodelanddoesnotconsiderthisalimitation,asillustrated
inthecommentbyDavidD.Clark,"Wereject:kings,presidentsandvoting.Webelieve
in:roughconsensusandrunningcode."Criticismsofthismodel,whichhavebeenmade
withrespecttotheOSImodel,oftendonotconsiderISO'slaterextensionstothatmodel.

Formultiaccesslinkswiththeirownaddressingsystems(e.g.Ethernet)anaddressmappingprotocolisneeded.Suchprotocolscanbeconsideredtobe
belowIPbutabovetheexistinglinksystem.WhiletheIETFdoesnotusetheterminology,thisisasubnetworkdependentconvergencefacilityaccording
toanextensiontotheOSImodel,theinternalorganizationofthenetworklayer(IONL).[23]

ICMP&IGMPoperateontopofIPbutdonottransportdatalikeUDPorTCP.Again,thisfunctionalityexistsaslayermanagementextensionstothe
OSImodel,initsManagementFramework(OSIRMMF)[24]

TheSSL/TLSlibraryoperatesabovethetransportlayer(usesTCP)butbelowapplicationprotocols.Again,therewasnointention,onthepartofthe
designersoftheseprotocols,tocomplywithOSIarchitecture.
Thelinkistreatedasablackbox.TheIETFexplicitlydoesnotintendtodiscusstransmissionsystems,whichisalessacademicbutpracticalalternative
totheOSImodel.

ThefollowingisadescriptionofeachlayerintheTCP/IPnetworkingmodelstartingfromthelowestlevel.

Linklayer

Thelinklayerhasthenetworkingscopeofthelocalnetworkconnectiontowhichahostisattached.ThisregimeiscalledthelinkinTCP/IPliterature.It
isthelowestcomponentlayeroftheInternetprotocols,asTCP/IPisdesignedtobehardwareindependent.Asaresult,TCP/IPmaybeimplementedon
topofvirtuallyanyhardwarenetworkingtechnology.

ThelinklayerisusedtomovepacketsbetweentheInternetlayerinterfacesoftwodifferenthostsonthesamelink.Theprocessesoftransmittingand
receivingpacketsonagivenlinkcanbecontrolledbothinthesoftwaredevicedriverforthenetworkcard,aswellasonfirmwareorspecialized
chipsets.Theseperformdatalinkfunctionssuchasaddingapacketheadertoprepareitfortransmission,thenactuallytransmittheframeoveraphysical
medium.TheTCP/IPmodelincludesspecificationsoftranslatingthenetworkaddressingmethodsusedintheInternetProtocoltodatalinkaddressing,
suchasMediaAccessControl(MAC).Allotheraspectsbelowthatlevel,however,areimplicitlyassumedtoexistinthelinklayer,butarenotexplicitly
defined.

Thisisalsothelayerwherepacketsmaybeselectedtobesentoveravirtualprivatenetworkorothernetworkingtunnel.Inthisscenario,thelinklayer
datamaybeconsideredapplicationdatawhichtraversesanotherinstantiationoftheIPstackfortransmissionorreceptionoveranotherIPconnection.
Suchaconnection,orvirtuallink,maybeestablishedwithatransportprotocolorevenanapplicationscopeprotocolthatservesasatunnelinthelink
layeroftheprotocolstack.Thus,theTCP/IPmodeldoesnotdictateastricthierarchicalencapsulationsequence.

TheTCP/IPmodel'slinklayercorrespondstotheOpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI)modelphysicalanddatalinklayers,layersoneandtwoofthe
OSImodel.

Internetlayer

Theinternetlayerhastheresponsibilityofsendingpacketsacrosspotentiallymultiplenetworks.Internetworkingrequiressendingdatafromthesource
networktothedestinationnetwork.Thisprocessiscalledrouting.[25]

TheInternetProtocolperformstwobasicfunctions:

Hostaddressingandidentification:ThisisaccomplishedwithahierarchicalIPaddressingsystem.
Packetrouting:Thisisthebasictaskofsendingpacketsofdata(datagrams)fromsourcetodestinationbyforwardingthemtothenextnetwork
routerclosertothefinaldestination.
Theinternetlayerisnotonlyagnosticofdatastructuresatthetransportlayer,butitalsodoesnotdistinguishbetweenoperationofthevarioustransport
layerprotocols.IPcarriesdataforavarietyofdifferentupperlayerprotocols.Theseprotocolsareeachidentifiedbyauniqueprotocolnumber:for
example,InternetControlMessageProtocol(ICMP)andInternetGroupManagementProtocol(IGMP)areprotocols1and2,respectively.

SomeoftheprotocolscarriedbyIP,suchasICMPwhichisusedtotransmitdiagnosticinformation,andIGMPwhichisusedtomanageIPMulticast
data,arelayeredontopofIPbutperforminternetworkingfunctions.ThisillustratesthedifferencesinthearchitectureoftheTCP/IPstackoftheInternet
andtheOSImodel.TheTCP/IPmodel'sinternetlayercorrespondstolayerthreeoftheOpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI)model,whereitis
referredtoasthenetworklayer.

TheinternetlayerprovidesanunreliabledatagramtransmissionfacilitybetweenhostslocatedonpotentiallydifferentIPnetworksbyforwardingthe
transportlayerdatagramstoanappropriatenexthoprouterforfurtherrelayingtoitsdestination.Withthisfunctionality,theinternetlayermakespossible
internetworking,theinterworkingofdifferentIPnetworks,anditessentiallyestablishestheInternet.TheInternetProtocolistheprincipalcomponentof
theinternetlayer,anditdefinestwoaddressingsystemstoidentifynetworkhosts'computers,andtolocatethemonthenetwork.Theoriginaladdress
systemoftheARPANETanditssuccessor,theInternet,isInternetProtocolversion4(IPv4).Itusesa32bitIPaddressandisthereforecapableof
identifyingapproximatelyfourbillionhosts.Thislimitationwaseliminatedin1998bythestandardizationofInternetProtocolversion6(IPv6)whichuses
128bitaddresses.IPv6productionimplementationsemergedinapproximately2006.

Transportlayer

Thetransportlayerestablishesbasicdatachannelsthatapplicationsusefortaskspecificdataexchange.Thelayerestablishesprocesstoprocess
connectivity,meaningitprovidesendtoendservicesthatareindependentofthestructureofuserdataandthelogisticsofexchanginginformationforany
particularspecificpurpose.Itsresponsibilityincludesendtoendmessagetransferindependentoftheunderlyingnetwork,alongwitherrorcontrol,
segmentation,flowcontrol,congestioncontrol,andapplicationaddressing(portnumbers).Endtoendmessagetransmissionorconnectingapplications
atthetransportlayercanbecategorizedaseitherconnectionoriented,implementedinTCP,orconnectionless,implementedinUDP.

Forthepurposeofprovidingprocessspecifictransmissionchannelsforapplications,thelayerestablishestheconceptoftheport.Thisisanumbered
logicalconstructallocatedspecificallyforeachofthecommunicationchannelsanapplicationneeds.Formanytypesofservices,theseportnumbershave
beenstandardizedsothatclientcomputersmayaddressspecificservicesofaservercomputerwithouttheinvolvementofserviceannouncementsor
directoryservices.

BecauseIPprovidesonlyabesteffortdelivery,sometransportlayerprotocolsofferreliability.However,IPcanrunoverareliabledatalinkprotocol
suchastheHighLevelDataLinkControl(HDLC).

Forexample,theTCPisaconnectionorientedprotocolthataddressesnumerousreliabilityissuesinprovidingareliablebytestream:

dataarrivesinorder
datahasminimalerror(i.e.,correctness)
 duplicatedataisdiscarded
lostordiscardedpacketsareresent
includestrafficcongestioncontrol

ThenewerStreamControlTransmissionProtocol(SCTP)isalsoareliable,connectionorientedtransportmechanism.Itismessagestreamoriented
notbytestreamorientedlikeTCPandprovidesmultiplestreamsmultiplexedoverasingleconnection.Italsoprovidesmultihomingsupport,inwhich
aconnectionendcanberepresentedbymultipleIPaddresses(representingmultiplephysicalinterfaces),suchthatifonefails,theconnectionisnot
interrupted.Itwasdevelopedinitiallyfortelephonyapplications(totransportSS7overIP),butcanalsobeusedforotherapplications.

TheUserDatagramProtocolisaconnectionlessdatagramprotocol.LikeIP,itisabesteffort,"unreliable"protocol.Reliabilityisaddressedthrough
errordetectionusingaweakchecksumalgorithm.UDPistypicallyusedforapplicationssuchasstreamingmedia(audio,video,VoiceoverIPetc.)
whereontimearrivalismoreimportantthanreliability,orforsimplequery/responseapplicationslikeDNSlookups,wheretheoverheadofsettingupa
reliableconnectionisdisproportionatelylarge.RealtimeTransportProtocol(RTP)isadatagramprotocolthatisdesignedforrealtimedatasuchas
streamingaudioandvideo.

TheapplicationsatanygivennetworkaddressaredistinguishedbytheirTCPorUDPport.Byconventioncertainwellknownportsareassociatedwith
specificapplications.

TheTCP/IPmodel'stransportorhosttohostlayercorrespondstothefourthlayerintheOpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI)model,alsocalledthe
transportlayer.

Applicationlayer

Theapplicationlayerincludestheprotocolsusedbymostapplicationsforprovidinguserservicesorexchangingapplicationdataoverthenetwork
connectionsestablishedbythelowerlevelprotocols,butthismayincludesomebasicnetworksupportservices,suchasmanyroutingprotocols,andhost
configurationprotocols.ExamplesofapplicationlayerprotocolsincludetheHypertextTransferProtocol(HTTP),theFileTransferProtocol(FTP),the
SimpleMailTransferProtocol(SMTP),andtheDynamicHostConfigurationProtocol(DHCP).[26]Datacodedaccordingtoapplicationlayerprotocols
areencapsulatedintotransportlayerprotocolunits(suchasTCPorUDPmessages),whichinturnuselowerlayerprotocolstoeffectactualdata
transfer.

TheTCP/IPmodeldoesnotconsiderthespecificsofformattingandpresentingdata,anddoesnotdefineadditionallayersbetweentheapplicationand
transportlayersasintheOSImodel(presentationandsessionlayers).Suchfunctionsaretherealmoflibrariesandapplicationprogramminginterfaces.

Applicationlayerprotocolsgenerallytreatthetransportlayer(andlower)protocolsasblackboxeswhichprovideastablenetworkconnectionacross
whichtocommunicate,althoughtheapplicationsareusuallyawareofkeyqualitiesofthetransportlayerconnectionsuchastheendpointIPaddresses
andportnumbers.Applicationlayerprotocolsareoftenassociatedwithparticularclientserverapplications,andcommonserviceshavewellknown
portnumbersreservedbytheInternetAssignedNumbersAuthority(IANA).Forexample,theHyperTextTransferProtocolusesserverport80and
Telnetusesserverport23.Clientsconnectingtoaserviceusuallyuseephemeralports,i.e.,portnumbersassignedonlyforthedurationofthetransaction
atrandomorfromaspecificrangeconfiguredintheapplication.

Thetransportlayerandlowerlevellayersareunconcernedwiththespecificsofapplicationlayerprotocols.Routersandswitchesdonottypically
examinetheencapsulatedtraffic,rathertheyjustprovideaconduitforit.However,somefirewallandbandwidththrottlingapplicationsmustinterpret
applicationdata.AnexampleistheResourceReservationProtocol(RSVP).Itisalsosometimesnecessaryfornetworkaddresstranslator(NAT)
traversaltoconsidertheapplicationpayload.

TheapplicationlayerintheTCP/IPmodelisoftencomparedasequivalenttoacombinationofthefifth(Session),sixth(Presentation),andtheseventh
(Application)layersoftheOpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI)model.

Furthermore,theTCP/IPreferencemodeldistinguishesbetweenuserprotocolsandsupportprotocols.[27]Supportprotocolsprovideservicestoa
system.Userprotocolsareusedforactualuserapplications.Forexample,FTPisauserprotocolandDNSisasystemprotocol.

Layernamesandnumberoflayersintheliterature
Thefollowingtableshowsvariousnetworkingmodels.Thenumberoflayersvariesbetweenthreeandseven.
 RFC1122, MikePadlipsky's1982
Cisco Kurose,[29]Forouzan Comer,[31] [33] Tanenbaum[34]
InternetSTD3 [32] Stallings "ArpanetReference OSImodel
Academy[28] [30] Kozierok
(1989) Model"(RFC871)
Four+one Seven
Fourlayers Fourlayers Fivelayers Fivelayers Fivelayers Threelayers
layers layers
"FivelayerInternet "TCP/IP5 "TCP/IP5
"Internet "TCP/IP
"Internetmodel" model"or"TCP/IP layerreference layerreference "Arpanetreferencemodel" OSImodel
model" model"
protocolsuite" model" model"
Application
Application Application Application Application Application Application Application/Process Presentation
Session
Hostto
Transport Transport Transport Transport hostor Transport Transport
transport Hosttohost
Internet Internetwork Network Internet Internet Internet Network
Datalink
Network Network
Link Datalink (Network Datalink Networkinterface Datalink
interface access
interface)
Physical (Hardware) Physical Physical Physical

Someofthenetworkingmodelsarefromtextbooks,whicharesecondarysourcesthatmayconflictwiththeintentofRFC1122andotherIETFprimary
sources.[35]

ComparisonofTCP/IPandOSIlayering
ThethreetoplayersintheOSImodel,i.e.theapplicationlayer,thepresentationlayerandthesessionlayer,arenotdistinguishedseparatelyinthe
TCP/IPmodelwhichonlyhasanapplicationlayerabovethetransportlayer.WhilesomepureOSIprotocolapplications,suchasX.400,alsocombined
them,thereisnorequirementthataTCP/IPprotocolstackmustimposemonolithicarchitectureabovethetransportlayer.Forexample,theNFS
applicationprotocolrunsovertheeXternalDataRepresentation(XDR)presentationprotocol,which,inturn,runsoveraprotocolcalledRemote
ProcedureCall(RPC).RPCprovidesreliablerecordtransmission,soitcansafelyusethebesteffortUDPtransport.

DifferentauthorshaveinterpretedtheTCP/IPmodeldifferently,anddisagreewhetherthelinklayer,ortheentireTCP/IPmodel,coversOSIlayer1
(physicallayer)issues,orwhetherahardwarelayerisassumedbelowthelinklayer.
SeveralauthorshaveattemptedtoincorporatetheOSImodel'slayers1and2intotheTCP/IPmodel,sincethesearecommonlyreferredtoinmodern
standards(forexample,byIEEEandITU).Thisoftenresultsinamodelwithfivelayers,wherethelinklayerornetworkaccesslayerissplitintotheOSI
model'slayers1and2.

TheIETFprotocoldevelopmenteffortisnotconcernedwithstrictlayering.SomeofitsprotocolsmaynotfitcleanlyintotheOSImodel,althoughRFCs
sometimesrefertoitandoftenusetheoldOSIlayernumbers.TheIETFhasrepeatedlystatedthatInternetprotocolandarchitecturedevelopmentisnot
intendedtobeOSIcompliant.RFC3439,addressingInternetarchitecture,containsasectionentitled:"LayeringConsideredHarmful".[35]

Forexample,thesessionandpresentationlayersoftheOSIsuiteareconsideredtobeincludedtotheapplicationlayeroftheTCP/IPsuite.The
functionalityofthesessionlayercanbefoundinprotocolslikeHTTPandSMTPandismoreevidentinprotocolslikeTelnetandtheSessionInitiation
Protocol(SIP).SessionlayerfunctionalityisalsorealizedwiththeportnumberingoftheTCPandUDPprotocols,whichcoverthetransportlayerinthe
TCP/IPsuite.FunctionsofthepresentationlayerarerealizedintheTCP/IPapplicationswiththeMIMEstandardindataexchange.

ConflictsareapparentalsointheoriginalOSImodel,ISO7498,whennotconsideringtheannexestothismodel,e.g.,theISO7498/4Management
Framework,ortheISO8648InternalOrganizationoftheNetworklayer(IONL).WhentheIONLandManagementFrameworkdocumentsare
considered,theICMPandIGMParedefinedaslayermanagementprotocolsforthenetworklayer.Inlikemanner,theIONLprovidesastructurefor
"subnetworkdependentconvergencefacilities"suchasARPandRARP.

IETFprotocolscanbeencapsulatedrecursively,asdemonstratedbytunnelingprotocolssuchasGenericRoutingEncapsulation(GRE).GREusesthe
samemechanismthatOSIusesfortunnelingatthenetworklayer.

Implementations
TheInternetprotocolsuitedoesnotpresumeanyspecifichardwareorsoftwareenvironment.Itonlyrequiresthathardwareandasoftwarelayerexists
thatiscapableofsendingandreceivingpacketsonacomputernetwork.Asaresult,thesuitehasbeenimplementedonessentiallyeverycomputing
platform.AminimalimplementationofTCP/IPincludesthefollowing:InternetProtocol(IP),AddressResolutionProtocol(ARP),InternetControl
MessageProtocol(ICMP),TransmissionControlProtocol(TCP),UserDatagramProtocol(UDP),andIGMP.InadditiontoIP,ICMP,TCP,UDP,
InternetProtocolversion6requiresNeighborDiscoveryProtocol(NDP),ICMPv6,andIGMPv6andisoftenaccompaniedbyanintegratedIPSec
securitylayer.

Applicationprogrammersaretypicallyconcernedonlywithinterfacesintheapplicationlayerandoftenalsointhetransportlayer,whilethelayersbelow
areservicesprovidedbytheTCP/IPstackintheoperatingsystem.MostIPimplementationsareaccessibletoprogrammersthroughsocketsandAPIs.

UniqueimplementationsincludeLightweightTCP/IP,anopensourcestackdesignedforembeddedsystems,andKA9QNOS,astackandassociated
protocolsforamateurpacketradiosystemsandpersonalcomputersconnectedviaseriallines.
Microcontrollerfirmwareinthenetworkadaptertypicallyhandleslinkissues,supportedbydriversoftwareintheoperatingsystem.Nonprogrammable
analoganddigitalelectronicsarenormallyinchargeofthephysicalcomponentsbelowthelinklayer,typicallyusinganapplicationspecificintegrated
circuit(ASIC)chipsetforeachnetworkinterfaceorotherphysicalstandard.Highperformanceroutersaretoalargeextentbasedonfastnon
programmabledigitalelectronics,carryingoutlinklevelswitching.

Seealso
BBNReport1822
FLIP(protocol)(fastlocalInternetprotocolstack)
Listofautomationprotocols
Listofinformationtechnologyacronyms
Listofnetworkprotocols
ListofTCPandUDPportnumbers

Bibliography
DouglasE.Comer.InternetworkingwithTCP/IPPrinciples,ProtocolsandArchitecture.ISBN8679911429
JosephG.DaviesandThomasF.Lee.MicrosoftWindowsServer2003TCP/IPProtocolsandServices.ISBN0735612919
Forouzan,BehrouzA.(2003).TCP/IPProtocolSuite(2nded.).McGrawHill.ISBN0072460601.
CraigHuntTCP/IPNetworkAdministration.O'Reilly(1998)ISBN1565923227
Maufer,ThomasA.(1999).IPFundamentals.PrenticeHall.ISBN0139754830.
IanMcLean.Windows(R)2000TCP/IPBlackBook.ISBN157610687X
AjitMungalePro.NET1.1NetworkProgramming.ISBN1590593456
W.RichardStevens.TCP/IPIllustrated,Volume1:TheProtocols.ISBN0201633469
W.RichardStevensandGaryR.Wright.TCP/IPIllustrated,Volume2:TheImplementation.ISBN020163354X
W.RichardStevens.TCP/IPIllustrated,Volume3:TCPforTransactions,HTTP,NNTP,andtheUNIXDomainProtocols.ISBN0201
634953
AndrewS.Tanenbaum.ComputerNetworks.ISBN0130661023
Clark,D.(1988)."TheDesignPhilosophyoftheDARPAInternetProtocols"(PDF).SIGCOMM'88Symposiumproceedingson
Communicationsarchitecturesandprotocols(ACM):106114.doi:10.1145/52324.52336.ISBN0897912799.Retrieved20111016.

References
1. RFC1122,RequirementsforInternetHostsCommunicationLayers,R.Braden(ed.),October1989.
2. RFC1123,RequirementsforInternetHostsApplicationandSupport,R.Braden(ed.),October1989
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EdwardCain,ComputerNetworks,7(1983),NorthHolland,pp.307318
4. [1](https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/fall06/cos561/papers/cerf74.pdf),VintonG.CerfandRobertE.Kahn,AProtocolforPacketNetwork
Intercommunication,5(1974)
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1C7E3CE77%2E79535EF926D6BC05%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35&CFID=629051973&CFTOKEN=44130697&__acm__=146566
3088_c4f902161cc11de56b66495b29fc6bb1),NormanAbramson,TheAlohaSystemAnotheralternativeforcomputercommunications,(1970)
7. [4](http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/370000/360253/p395metcalfe.pdf?ip=128.97.245.227&id=360253&acc=ACTIVE%20SERVICE&key=CA367851C7
E3CE77%2E79535EF926D6BC05%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35&CFID=629051973&CFTOKEN=44130697&__acm__=146566328
9_329f0c668c78e6397f895ad9fb4564ac),RobertM.MetcalfeandDavidR.Boggs,Ethernet:DistributedPacketSwitchingorLocalComputerNetworks,
(1976)
8. VintonRobertE.Kahn,TheIntroductionofPacketSatelliteCommunications,(1979)
9. MITPressCambridgeInventingtheInternet,J.Abbate(2000)
10. RFC1812,RequirementsforIPVersion4Routers,F.Baker(June1995)
11. RFC675,SpecificationofInternetTransmissionControlProtocol,V.Cerfetal.(December1974)
12. InternetHistory(http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii.htm)
13. RondaHauben."FromtheARPANETtotheInternet".TCPDigest(UUCP).Retrieved20070705.
14. Wollongong(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/108007)
15. AShortHistoryofInternetProtocolsatCERN(http://www.weblab.isti.cnr.it/education/ssfs/lezioni/slides/archives/cern.htm)
16. About|"romkey"(http://www.romkey.com/about/)
17. BarryAppelman
18. RFC1958,ArchitecturalPrinciplesoftheInternet,B.Carpenter(June1996)
19. RethinkingthedesignoftheInternet:Theendtoendargumentsvs.thebravenewworld(http://www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy558/papers/Rethinking_2001.pdf),
MarjoryS.Blumenthal,DavidD.Clark,August2001
20. p.23INTERNETPROTOCOLDARPAINTERNETPROGRAMPROTOCOLSPECIFICATIONSeptember1981JonPostelEditor(http://www.ietf.org/r
fc/rfc0791.txt?number=791)
21. RequirementsforInternetHostsCommunicationLayersp.13October1989R.Braden,Editor(http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1122#page12)
22. [OSI:ReferenceModelAddendum1:ConnectionlessmodeTransmission,ISO7498/AD1],ISO7498/AD1,May1986
23. "InformationprocessingsystemsOpenSystemsInterconnectionInternalorganizationoftheNetworkLayer"(http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/cata
logue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=16011),ISO8648:1988.
24. "InformationprocessingsystemsOpenSystemsInterconnectionBasicReferenceModelPart4:Managementframework"(http://www.iso.org/is
o/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=14258),ISO74984:1989.
25. IPPacketStructure(http://www.comsci.us/datacom/ippacket.html)
26. TCP/IPIllustrated:theprotocols(http://www.kohala.com/start/tcpipiv1.html),ISBN0201633469,W.RichardStevens,February1994
27. RFC1122(https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1122#page9),RequirementsforInternetHostsCommunicationLayers,1.1.3InternetProtocolSuite,1989
28. MarkA.Dye,RickMcDonald,AntoonW.Rufi,NetworkFundamentals:CCNAExplorationCompanionGuide,2007,ISBN1587132087(http://books.g
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29. JamesF.Kurose,KeithW.Ross,ComputerNetworking:ATopDownApproach,2008,ISBN0321497708(http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educato
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an+%22computer+networks%22&ei=RPZ9SOCvMofctAO02di0AQ&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U2Hh_n83pPtf5uCreCih0HnWvNcxg#PPA29,M1)
31. DouglasE.Comer,InternetworkingwithTCP/IP:Principles,ProtocolsandArchitecture,PearsonPrenticeHall2005,ISBN0131876716(http://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=jonyuTASbWAC&pg=PA155&hl=sv&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0&sig=ACfU3U18gHAia1pU_PxnrhkCnH1v70M6Q#PPA161,M1)
32. CharlesM.Kozierok,"TheTCP/IPGuide",NoStarchPress2005(http://books.google.com/books?id=Pm4RgYV2w4YC&pg=PA131&dq=%22TCP/IP+m
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33. WilliamStallings,DataandComputerCommunications,PrenticeHall2006,ISBN0132433109(http://books.google.com/books?id=c_AWmhkovR0C&p
g=PA35&dq=%22internet+layer%22+%22network+access+layer%22&ei=O99SI3EJo32sgOQpPThDw&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U38aXznzeAnQdbLcPFXfCg
xAd4lFg)
34. AndrewS.Tanenbaum,ComputerNetworks,PrenticeHall2002,ISBN0130661023(http://books.google.com/books?id=Pdz64SJRBAC&pg=PA42&v
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35. R.BushD.Meyer(December2002),SomeInternetArchitecturalGuidelinesandPhilosophy,InternetEngineeringTaskForce

Externallinks
InternetHistory(http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii.htm)PagesonRobertKahn,VintonCerf,and
Wikiversityhaslearning
TCP/IP(reviewedbyCerfandKahn).
materialsaboutInternet
RFC675(http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc0675.txt)SpecificationofInternetTransmissionControlProgram, protocolsuite
December1974Version
RFC1180ATCP/IPTutorialfromtheInternetEngineeringTaskForce(January1991)
TCP/IPFAQ(http://www.itprc.com/tcpipfaq/)
TheTCP/IPGuide(http://www.tcpipguide.com/free/)Acomprehensivelookattheprotocolsandtheprocedures/processesinvolved
AStudyoftheARPANETTCP/IPDigest(http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/other/tcpdigest_paper.txt)
TCP/IPSequenceDiagrams(http://www.eventhelix.com/RealtimeMantra/Networking/)
Daryl'sTCP/IPPrimer(http://www.ipprimer.com/)IntrotoTCP/IPLANadministration,conversationalstyle
IntroductiontoTCP/IP(http://www.linuxtutorial.info/MContent142)
AProtocolforPacketNetworkIntercommunication,Cerf&Kahn,IEEETransonComms,VolCom22,No5May1974(https://www.cs.princ
eton.edu/courses/archive/fall06/cos561/papers/cerf74.pdf)

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