By Julian Moss
Everyone knows that TCP/IP is a network protocol used on LANs, WANs and the Internet, but not everyone who uses it understands howitworks. It’s possible to use TCP/IP with little more than a knowledge of how to configure the protocol stack, but a better understanding will give you a clearer picture of what is going on in your network and why the protocol needs to be set up in a particular way.
The aim of this multi-part article is to explain the key concepts behind TCP/IP. TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. If this leads you to think that it is not just one protocol, you’re right. In fact, it is not just two protocols, either. TCP/IP is a suite of protocols. We’ll cover the most important ones in the course of this article.