BASIC NETWORK PROTOCOLS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS Created by: Ghadeer H. Abosaeed June 23,2012

LEARNING OBJECTIVES  Students will be able to a- list the network protocols, describe the functions of each protocol and the differences between them.

NETWORK PROTOCOLS  What is a 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.

SOME TIPS OF NETWORK PROTOCOLS  Network protocols include mechanisms for devices to identify and make connections with each other.  Some protocols also support message acknowledgement and data compression designed for reliable and/or high-performance network communication.  Hundreds of different computer network protocols have been developed each designed for specific purposes and environments.

TYPES OF NETWORK PROTOCOLS 1- The Internet Protocol (IP) family contains a set of the most widely used network protocols, including:  Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)  User Datagram Protocol (UDP)  Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)  File Transfer Protocol (FTP ) 2- Ethernet protocol.

TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL (TCP)  On the Internet and many other networks, IP is often used together with the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and referred to interchangeably as TCP/IP.  However, TCP/IP has become standard terminology to refer to either or both of the protocols.  The term TCP/IP refers to network communications where the TCP transport is used to deliver data across IP networks.  TCP/IP is the MAIN protocol of the internet. Popular also for intranets using the internet. It is also widely used on many organizational networks due to its flexibility and wide array of functionality provided. Also, it enables computers to exchange data with each other in a meaningful, organized, and efficient way.

USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL (UDP)  UDP is the main alternative to TCP and one of the oldest network protocols in existence.  UDP is often used in video conferencing applications or computer games specially tuned for real-time performance.  UDP allows individual packets to be dropped (with no retries) and UDP packets to be received in a different order than they were sent as dictated by the application.

UDP PROTOCOL

THE DIFFERENCES AMONG TCP & UDP

HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL (HTTP)  HTTP provides a standard for Web browsers and servers to communicate.  The definition of HTTP is a technical specification of a network protocol that software must implement.  HTTP is an application layer network protocol built on top of TCP.  HTTP clients (such as Web browsers) and servers communicate via HTTP request and response messages.  The three main HTTP message types are GET, POST, and HEAD.

FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP )  FTP allows you to transfer files between two computers on the Internet.  FTP is a simple network protocol based on Internet Protocol and also a term used when referring to the process of copying files when using FTP technology.  FTP supports two modes of data transfer: plain text (ASCII), and binary.  A common error when using FTP is attempting to transfer a binary file (such as a program or music file) while in text mode, causing the transferred file to be unusable.

ETHERNET PROTOCOL  The Ethernet protocol is by far the most widely used because it strikes a good balance between speed, cost and ease of installation.  Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs).  Ethernet uses an access method called CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection).  Ethernet protocol allows for linear bus, star, or tree topologies. Data can be transmitted over wireless access points, twisted pair, coaxial, or fiber optic cable at a speed of 10 Mbps up to 1000 Mbps.  The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) defines the Ethernet standard as IEEE Standard

FAST ETHERNET  To allow for an increased speed of transmission, the Ethernet protocol has developed a new standard that supports 100 Mbps. This is commonly called Fast Ethernet.  Fast Ethernet requires the use of different, more expensive network concentrators/hubs and network interface cards. In addition, category 5 twisted pair or fiber optic cable is necessary.  Fast Ethernet is becoming common in schools that have been recently wired.

REFERENCES protocol (network), ols.htm Basic Networking Tutorial, focus on Ethernet and Protocols, 072

OTHER IMPORTANT RESOURCES Networking & Ethernet : Ethernet Protocols, Computer Basics : What Is a Protocol? Network Protocols, Protocols.htm