The purpose of the network layer is to help route messages between different local networks. Central to this layer is the concept of exclusive network addresses, where every terminal connected to the ...

Ethernet is a layer 2 data link protocol that is widely used with the TCP/IP protocol, which resides at layers 3 and 4. To understand network communications, it is essential to learn about the ...

The Web pages you visit, the e-mail you read, the music you download and the radio stations you listen to on the Internet are all delivered to you by applications using TCP/IP. TCP/IP makes it ...

Do you remember when we used multi-protocol routing for IPX, AppleTalk, and TCP/IP running on the same network? In the 1980s and early 1990s many enterprises had multiple protocols running on the ...

A wealth of reference material on the subject of networking andthe TCP/IP protocols is currently available, but embedded systemsprogrammers often find it difficult, if not impossible, to siftthrough ...

What is a network protocol? Most textbook writers state something like this: A network protocol is a set of guidelines or standards for the operation of network devices, the methods of operation, and ...

Joel is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of security, networking and messaging. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @joelsnyder. Building enterprise networks with routers and switches ...

Networks function and flourish because they deliver reliable and fast communication over large distances. And while people often marvel at the speed, it's the reliability -- made possible through the ...

Layers 7 through 4 are geared more to the application than the lower layers, which are designed to move packets from one place to another no matter what they contain. This top layer defines the ...

In the past few newsletters, we described in considerable detail the mechanisms that are in place in TCP to ensure efficient transport of information. In particular, we concentrated on the ability of ...