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TCP IP Model Explained | TCP IP Model Animation |

TCP IP Protocol Suite | TCP IP Layers | TechTerms
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. THE PHYSICAL LAYER
3. THE DATA LINK LAYER
3.1. Medium-access control or MAC sublayer
3.2. Logical link control or LLC sub-layer
4. THE NETWORK LAYER
4.1. Logical Addressing
4.2. Routing
4.3. Path determination
5. THE TRANSPORT LAYER
5.1. Connection Establishment phase
5.2. Data Transfer
5.2.1. Error-Free Data Transfer
5.2.2. Ordered-Data Transfer
5.2.3. Retransmission of Lost segments
5.2.4. Discarding Duplicate segments
5.2.5. Congestion Throttling or flow control
5.3. Connection Termination.
6. THE APPLICATION LAYER
6.1. DNS
6.2. DHCP
6.3. FTP
6.4. HTTP
6.5. IMAP
6.6. IRC
6.7. POP3
6.8. SMTP

Introduction
Suppose two persons are to communicate with one another. To communicate successfully, they should be
sharing a common language. Therefore, both ends should be able to understand what the other person is
saying. Similarly, in computer networks, the computers should be sharing a common message format. They
should know how long the message is? Which part of the message is the actual data? Which part of the
message is the sender’s and receiver’s address? Such information will result in successful communication
between computers. If one computer speaks ASCII and the other speaks Unicode, successful communication
will not occur unless they are prepared to perform the translations back and forth. So, some ground rules are
required to communicate successfully.

In computer networks, the agreed-upon set of ground rules that make communication possible are called
protocols. TCP/IP is a set of protocols that support network communication, but what is a network and what is
communication?

In the most basic form, two computers connected via LAN Cable sharing data with the help of Network
Interface Cards (hardware present in each computer) forms a network, and the process of sending messages
from one place to another through a wired or wireless medium is called communication. The message can be a
file, a voice conversation, a streaming video or anything which can be communicated in digital form. These
messages are not sent as a single unit; instead, they are broken into small data units. These data units are
transmitted through the network and restored at the receiver into the original message.

In TCP/IP protocol suite, TCP breaks messages into small data units called segments and hands them off to IP,
which deals with routing segments through the networks to their final destination. TCP module in the receiver
combines the segments to form the original message.

Note that TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and IP stands for Internet Protocol. An alternative to
TCP is UDP. It stands for User Datagram Protocol. The main difference is that TCP is highly reliable, but it is
slow, whereas UDP is less reliable but generally faster. Both TCP and UDP are a part of the protocol suite.
However, due to heavy dependence on TCP, and for historical reasons, the entire set of protocols is referred to
as TCP/IP.

TCP/IP is a network model designed to support network communication, even if the computers are from
different manufacturers. There is one more network model called the OSI model or Open System
Interconnection reference model. It is primarily used for research. On the other hand, TCP/IP is a practical
model developed to meet the needs of the original Internet design.

As per the name, TCP/IP seems to be a set of two protocols only – TCP and IP. However, it consists
of numerous protocols bundled at different layers.
The topmost layer is the Application layer which generates a message. The message is passed to the lower
layers at the sending node, where each layer encapsulates the message from the above layer. So, the
message sent becomes larger and larger as it passes down the chain.

The data unit in the data link layer is called an Ethernet frame; in the network layer, it is called an IP packet; if it
is in the transport layer, it is called TCP segment in case of TCP protocol, and UDP datagram in case of UDP
protocol. In the application layer, it is called an application message.

The peer layer removes the header at the receiving node and passes the remainder upwards layer-by-layer till
the message finally reaches the application layer.

Let us discuss each layer one-by-one in more detail.

THE PHYSICAL LAYER

The physical layer is the place where actual communication takes place. We know that a sequence of 0s and
1s digitally represents the messages. The physical layer converts this binary sequence into signals and
transmits them over local media. The signal can be electrical if the local media is Copper Cable or LAN cable,
the Light signal in case of Optical Fiber and a Radio signal in case of Air/Vacuum.

So, the signal generated by the Physical Layer depends on the type of media used to connect two devices.

The most common protocol used at the physical layer is Ethernet. The protocol also specifies the type of cables
that can be used for data transmission. For example, if the protocol used is Ethernet, then twisted pair cable,
coaxial cable, or fiber optic cable can be used for data transmission.
If the protocol used is fast Ethernet or gigabit ethernet, then twisted pair or fiber optic cable can be used as
local media.

THE DATA LINK LAYER

The data unit in the data link layer is called an Ethernet frame. The data link layer is divided into two sublayers:

Medium-access control or MAC sublayer, and

Logical link control or LLC sub-layer

Medium-access control or MAC sublayer

The MAC sublayer is responsible for

Data encapsulation, and

Accessing the media

In data encapsulation, the MAC sublayer adds a header and a trailer to the IP packet received from the
network layer. The header contains the MAC addresses of the sender and receiver. The trailer contains 4 bytes
of error checking data used to detect errors in the received Ethernet frame.

What is the MAC address? It is a unique 6-byte address embedded in the NIC of a device by its manufacturer.

For accessing the media, the access method Ethernet uses is called Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision
Detection or CSMA/CD. In this method, each computer listens to the cable before sending data through the
network. If the network is clear, the computer will transmit. If the first computer is already transmitting on the
cable, the second computer will wait and try again when the line is clear.

Sometimes, two computers attempt to transmit at the same instant. When this happens, a collision occurs.
Each computer then stops transmission and waits a random amount of time before attempting to retransmit.

Please note, with this access method; it is normal to have collisions. However, the delay caused by collisions
and retransmitting is very small and does not normally affect the speed of transmission on the network.

Logical link control or LLC sub-layer

The next is the LLC sub-layer. It offers

flow control, and

error control
Flow control is a technique that restricts the amount of data that a sender can send without overwhelming the
receiver. The receiving devices have a limited processing speed and a limited memory to store the incoming
data. If these limits are exceeded, then the incoming data will be lost. To avoid this, the receiver should inform
the sender to slow down the transmission rate before these limits are met. In the data link layer, flow control
restricts the number of frames the sender can send without overwhelming the receiver.

Error control in the data link layer primarily refers to error detection and retransmission.

Error detection is done by using the error checking bytes added in the trailer of the frame. The frame
retransmission is done using Automatic Repeat Request or ARQ. The receiver sends an ACK to the sender
when a frame is received. When the ACK is not received, the sender sends the frame again. So, if a frame gets
lost or damaged, then the ACK is not sent. As a result, the sender sends the frame again. This process is called
Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ).

LLC layer can also re-size the IP packets received from the network layer to fit them in the data link layer
frames.

The transport layer provides most of the services of the LLC sublayer, including flow control, error control, and
sizing of packets; therefore, the services of the LLC layer are usually bypassed.

The remaining three layers of the TCP/IP protocol stack, including network, transport, and application layers,
are implemented as software programs within the computer’s operating system.

THE NETWORK LAYER

The transport layer passes TCP segments or UDP datagrams to the Network Layer. The network layeradds
logical addresses or IP addresses to the TCP segments or UDP datagrams to form IP packets and then uses
routers to send the IP packets to other networks. The network layer also determines the best path for data
delivery. So the functions of the network layer are:

1. Logical Addressing
2. Routing
3. Path determination

IP is the single standard protocol for this layer. The TCP/IP network layer is also called the internetworking
layer or IP layer.

Logical Addressing
Every computer in a network has a unique IP address. The network layer assigns sender and receiver’s IP
addresses to each segment or datagram to form an IP Packet. IP addresses are assigned to ensure that each
IP packet can reach the correct destination present in different networks.
Routing
Routing is a method of moving an IP packet from source to destination present in different networks. Routing is
not needed if the source and destination computers are present in the same network.

For communications within a network, the task is usually simple. The ARP module takes the destination IP
address from the IP packet and returns the MAC address of the destination computer. It is then used to create
an Ethernet frame which is delivered directly to the destination as it is present in the same network, . no routing
is needed.

However, when the message is being sent to a node outside a network, for example, to the Internet, the
network layer moves the message from sender to receiver through routers. Consider two networks connected
with a router. Computer A needs to send data to computer B. Please note that both computers are present in
different networks. Hence, in this case, routing is needed.

To create an Ethernet frame, we need the MAC address of the destination computer. However, in this case, the
destination is present in a different network. So, the ARP module cannot provide us with the destination’s MAC
address because it can provide the MAC address only if the computers are present in the same network. So,
the ARP module in network one cannot provide the MAC addresses of the computers present in network two
and vice-versa. Since the intermediate to the networks is the router R, the destination MAC address is kept as
the router’s MAC address, and the frame is forwarded to the router.

Router finds that the MAC address in the frame matches its address. So, it extracts the IP packet from the
frame and forwards it to the network layer. The network layer finds a mismatch for the destination IP address.
So it sends the IP packet down to the data link layer and updates the destination MAC address with the MAC
address of computer B. But how router knows the MAC address of computer B? Simple, by using the ARP
module.
It is one network, so the ARP module works here. Finally, the ethernet frame is delivered to computer B. Please
note that the destinations IP address never changes for inter-network communication, but the physical address
or the MAC address changes with every hop.

So, IP addresses are a must to transfer data among multiple networks.

Path determination
A computer can be connected to an internet server or a computer in several ways. Choosing the best possible
path for data delivery from source to destination is called Path Determination. Layer 3 devices use protocols
such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), IS-IS (Intermediate System to
Intermediate System) to determine the best possible path for data delivery.

Because routing takes place at the network layer or layer 3, routers and gateways are sometimes called layer
three switches.

IP is unreliable. It does not guarantee delivery nor check for errors. These tasks are the responsibility of the
transport layer.

THE TRANSPORT LAYER

At the sending node, the transport layer receives the message from the application layer. When the message
reaches the transport layer, one of the transport layer protocols, i.e., TCP or UDP, is selected.

TCP supports segmentation. So, if the message is large, TCP divides it into smaller pieces and adds a header
to form a TCP segment.
On the other hand, UDP does not support segmentation, so the applications using UDP should send messages
short enough to fit into one UDP datagram.

Note that the data unit in TCP is called TCP segment, and the data unit in UDP is called UDP datagram.

UDP datagrams are considered unreliable because there is no guarantee that all datagrams sent will be
received in the destination and in the correct order. So, if reliability is needed, UDP should not be used.

UDP lacks error checking and correction. It makes UDP fast and efficient for DNS, DHCP, SNMP, and RIP
protocols. UDP is also suited for streaming videos.

When the application layer invokes the UDP protocol, UDP encapsulates the application message into UDP
datagrams. The datagram is then passed to the network layer for transmission.

At the receiving end, the network layer sends the UDP datagram to the transport layer. UDP then extracts the
application message from the datagram and passes it to the application layer.

TCP, on the other hand, is reliable and guarantees in-order delivery of data from the sender to the receiver. The
data transmission via TCP has three phases:

Connection establishment
Data transfer, and
Connection termination

Connection Establishment phase

In the Connection Establishment phase, the sender TCP or client sends a packet to the receiver TCP or
server requesting a connection. The server then sends an acknowledgement to the client. The client further
acknowledges the server. It completes the process of connection establishment. Since a connection is set up
before data transmission, TCP is a connection-oriented protocol, and the connection establishment process is
called Three-Way TCP Connection Handshake.

Data Transfer
Once the connection is established, the next phase is the Data Transfer. During data transfer, TCP offers some
key features which UDP does not provide, and it includes

Error-free data transfer

Ordered-data transfer
Retransmission of lost data
Discarding duplicate packets, and
Congestion throttling
Let us discuss each feature one-by-one.

Error-Free Data Transfer

Error-Free Data Transfer is provided by using the field Checksum. The sender calculates and enters a value
in this field. At the receiving end, the receiver performs the same process and calculates the checksum value. If
it does not match with the value present in the checksum field, the TCP segment is discarded, and no ACK is
sent to the sender. Because the sending side does not receive an acknowledgement of the discarded packet, it
is retransmitted.

Ordered-Data Transfer

TCP adds a sequence number in the TCP segments. At the receiving end, the TCP module uses the sequence
numbers to reconstruct the application message in the correct order.

Retransmission of Lost segments

For reliable data transfer, the receiver TCP sends an acknowledgement to the sender TCP for each TCP
segment it receives. If an acknowledgement is not received, the TCP segment is retransmitted. Therefore, if a
TCP segment is lost, the receiver will not send an ACK message to the sender. As a result, the sender TCP
sends the lost segment again.

Discarding Duplicate segments

The TCP client retransmits packets that it determines to be lost. However, the receiver TCP may receive
segments that were considered to be lost after the sending side has retransmitted the segments. As a result,
the receiving end will have two or more copies of the same segment. In such cases, the unique sequence
numbers in the TCP header of every segment helps to determine the duplicate segments, which are then
discarded.

Congestion Throttling or flow control

The goal for TCP is to send segments to the receiving end as fast as possible without losing them. When TCP
first sends the segments, it sets a timer. If the segments are acknowledged before the timer expires, TCP
increases the transmission speed until the segments begin to become unacknowledged. Since the ACK for
some segments is not received within the time, the sending TCP module retransmits the segments. When a
significant number of packets have to be retransmitted, TCP slows down the data transfer rate. In this way, TCP
handles congestion throttling or flow control.

Connection Termination.
When an endpoint wishes to stop its connection, it sends a finished message to the other endpoint. The other
end acknowledges the message. Both ends do this two-phase handshake process. Therefore, the connection
termination follows a four-way handshake process.

THE APPLICATION LAYER

The application layer is used by user applications that pass messages from one computer to another in a
network. For example, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Outlook, and so on. Note that the
user applications do not reside on the application layer, but they use application layer protocols to perform their
activities.

For example, web browsers use HTTP or HTTPS – to do web surfing. Email programs, such as Microsoft
Outlook, use post office protocol (POP) or the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for transferring emails.

So, the application layer provides means to access information on the network.

This is a list of protocols provided by the application layer

DNS
Domain Name System translates IP addresses into Domain Names and vice-versa.

DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol automatically assign IP addresses to computers present in the network.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol is used to transfer files on the Internet

HTTP
HyperText Transfer Protocol is used for sending and receiving webpages

IMAP
Internet Message Access Protocol is used for email messages on the Internet

IRC
Internet Relay Chat protocol is used for Internet chat.
POP3

Post Office Protocol Version 3 is used by email clients to retrieve messages

from remote servers

SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is used for email messages on the Internet

It completes the TCP/IP protocol suite.

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