Network Protocol

A network protocol contains a set of rules that determine how to transmit and receive data between devices in the same network. Standardized network protocols are important for providing a common language so that the network devices can successfully send and receive information. Rules of network protocol include guidelines that regulate the following characteristics of a network: access method, allowed physical topologies, types of cabling, and speed of data transfer. One of the most popular models that are used to build open communication between two network systems is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.

Network protocols incorporate all the processes, requirements and constraints of initiating and accomplishing communication between computers, servers, routers and other network-enabled devices. They must be confirmed and installed by the sender and receiver to ensure network/data communication and apply to software and hardware nodes that communicate on a network. Network protocols are developed and published by several groups according to certain industry standards. The most important ones include:

• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

A protocol suite is a set of different network protocols that cooperate to exchange information and enable internet connectivity across various layers. For example: the TCP/IP suite comprehends the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Each one of them allow the transmission of data between devices at the information packet level (mainly TCP, and UDP as well to add an additional layer of stability), Internet address level (IP), and display level (HTTP and FTP).