Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

• The protocols used by the Internet are called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, universally abbreviated as TCP/IP.
• TCP/IP is originally associated with UNIX hosts; TCP/IP is the protocol of the Internet and is required on any computer that must communicate across the Internet.
• TCP/IP is now the default networking protocol of Windows 2000 and many other operating systems.
• Include the specifications that identify individual computers and that enable computers to exchange data.
• Include rules for several categories of applications programs, so programs that run on different kinds of computers can talk to one another. Example, someone using a Macintosh computer can exchange data with a UNIX computer on the Internet.
• TCP/IP software looks different on different kinds of computers, but it always presents the same appearance to the network.
• It does not matter if the system at the other end of a connection is a supercomputer, a pocket-size personal communications device, or anything in between; as long as the system recognizes TCP/IP protocols, it can send and receive data through the Internet.