Protocols

Remember
1. Define the term `protocol'.
The term protocol is a set of (agreed) rules enable and control
communication between computers. Protocols are essential for
any communications across networks and computers. They
establish rules for transmission of data, and it also helps for error
detection. If the same protocol is used then different types of
computers can communicate with one another although they
could be using different operating systems.

2. Explain what `TCP/IP' stands for and describe the main features
of this protocol.
TCP/IP stands for transmission control protocol/ internet protocol.
It can communicate to any PC in the world using a desktop or
network system as long as it supports the TCP/IP suite. It can also
turn numbers into a domain name that people are more likely to
remember for a website for example.

Think

3. Discuss why there are so many different protocols.

There are so many different protocols because they all have
different abilities to manage different things and they can all
interact differently to the networks.
Investigate

4. Find out what IEEE stands for. What are the main IEEE standards
for networking? In IEEE 802.11, what do the letters at the end
stand for (e.g. IEEE 802.11g)?
IEEE stands for ‘Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’. They
develop, define, and review electronics and computers. The main IEEE
standards for networking are that they distribute the WLAN (Wireless Local
Area Network). The letters at the end are upgrades for the original, each one
is faster and have different upgrades to the last