Network Protocol 

A protocol is a set of rules that governs the communications between computers on a network. These rules include guidelines that regulate the following characteristics of a network: access method, allowed physical topologies, types of cabling, and speed of data transfer. 

Protocols are software and must be installed in network components. Computers can communicate only if the protocol used by a computer in the network is compatible with the protocol used by another computer. 

 

The most commonly used protocols today are: 

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) 

UDP (User Datagram Protocol) 

IP (Internet Protocol) 

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) 

POP (Post Office Protocol) 

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 

  

Internet Protocol (IP) 

The Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet. Each computer (known as a host) on the Internet has at least one IP address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on the Internet.  

 

TCP 

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a standard that defines how to establish and maintain a network conversation via which application programs can exchange data. TCP works with the Internet Protocol (IP), which defines how computers send packets of data to each other. Together, TCP and IP are the basic rules defining the Internet.  

 

UDP 

UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is an alternative communications protocol to Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) used primarily for establishing low-latency and loss tolerating connections between applications on the Internet. Both UDP and TCP run on top of the Internet Protocol (IP) and are sometimes referred to as UDP/IP or TCP/IP. Both protocols send short packets of data, called datagrams.  

 

SMPT 

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a TCP/IP protocol used in sending and receiving email. However, since it is limited in its ability to queue messages at the receiving end, it is usually used with one of two other protocols, POP3 or IMAP, that let the user save messages in a server mailbox and download them periodically from the server. 

 

POP 

Post Office Protocol is the primary protocol for email communication. POP works through a supporting email software client that integrates POP for connecting to the remote email server and downloading email messages to the recipient’s computer machine.  

 

FTP 

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard Internet protocol for transmitting files between computers on the Internet over TCP/IP connections. 

FTP is a client-server protocol that relies on two communications channels between client and server: a command channel for controlling the conversation and a data channel for transmitting file content. Clients initiate conversations with servers by requesting to download a file. Using FTP, a client can upload, download, delete, rename, move and copy files on a server. 

HTTP 

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. As soon as a Web user opens their Web browser, the user is indirectly making use of HTTP. HTTP is an application protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP suite of protocols (the foundation protocols for the Internet).