TCP/IP is the networking protocol of the internet that incorporates a suite of protocols. The TCP/IP suite of protocols is used to for computers to communicate on the internet. TCP/IP and its protocol suite is a set of standards which defines how information is sent across the internet. TCP/IP provides the standard that supports the ability for data to reach its proper destination (address) and be processed by the proper computer program (port).

The TCP/IP suite of protocols is the set of protocols used to communicate across the internet. TCP/IP is also widely used on many organizational networks due to its flexiblity and wide array of functionality provided.

The TCP/IP protocol suite include the following protocols at the various network layers:

  1. Physical layer - none
  2. Data link layer - ARP, RARP, DCAP
  3. Network layer - DHCP, DVMRP, ICMP, IGMP, IP, MARS, PIM, RIP2, RSVP, VRRP
  4. Transport layer - ICMP, ISTP, OSPF, RUDP, TALI, TCP, UDP
  5. Session layer - BGMP, DIS, DNS, LDAP
  6. Presentation layer - none
  7. Application - BGP, Finger, FTP, Gopher, HTTP, IMAP4, IPDC, IRC, ISAKMP, NTP, Ping, POP3, Radius, RIP, RLOGIN, RTSP, SHTTP, SLP, SMTP, SNMP, SOCKS, TACACS+, TELNET, TFTP, Whois