Subject areaChannels and tools
Also known asTransmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
TCP/IP is the pair of protocols (the shared rules by which two computers agree to communicate) that internet rests on.
IP, Internet Protocol, gives every device an address and sends data split into packets; TCP, Transmission Control Protocol, checks that all the packets arrive and puts them back in order. The first deals with the route, the second with reliability.
This division of labour has a European origin: the idea that the network should only carry packets, leaving control to the computers at either end, was tested by the French network Cyclades and taken up by the designers of ARPANET. That is why the Cyclades datagram and the IP packet are close relatives. TCP/IP protocols were adopted on ARPANET, and they are still the ones internet rests on today.
An example
The case that follows is constructed, because the term does not yet appear in the articles. When a web page is opened from a phone, TCP/IP splits the request into packets, routes them to the server and reassembles them in order, whatever networks they cross.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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