What Protocols do Exist?
As it has already been mentioned protocols are a kind of rules for computers to understand and communicate to each other. All the protocols have names and are described by means of RFC (Request For Comment) documents. Let's put all the protocols into two groups for simplicity - Low Level and Application Level. The Low Level protocols are responsible for data to reach the right destination and, if necessary, - safely while the Application level protocols declare the operating system processes (services) by means of which an application-initiator receives the requested data of specific organization (the e-mail, web-page, shared folder etc.).
For instance,
Low Level protocols are:
- IP – Internet Protocol. It performs addressing and selects a route so that the sent data reach the destination computer;
- ARP – Address Resolution Protocol. This protocol is used to translate a computer logical network address into a physical one so that a member of a certain network can interact with the members of others;
- TCP - Transmission Control Protocol. This protocol provides the transmission of data in the right order and controls traffic regulating the speed of data communication;
- UDP – User Datagram Protocol. Like TCP this protocol provides the transmission of data but no control is applied. It is used when the speed of transferring is more important than reliability.
Some
Application Level protocols are described
here.