Scope

The material in this technical reference is divided into 7 main sections: Architecture: This section covers the basic structure of TCP/IP and how the various protocols in the suite work together. It includes comparisons of the OSI Network Reference Model and the TCP/IP Networking Protocol model. Network Access Layer: This section covers the types of activities that take place at the Network Access Layer of the TCP/IP model, the lowest level of the protocol stack structure. It discusses serial line communications and the SLIP and PPP protocols, as well as network access servers and the authentication protocols TACACS and RADIUS. Internet Layer: This section covers the Internet Layer of the TCP/IP model, and the Internet Protocol (IP) which constitutes the primary protocol at this level. It discusses the IP protocol, IP datagram definition, moving data between protocol layers, routing, datagram fragmentation, IP addressing, classed or classic IP addresses, classless IP, reserved addresses, private IP addresses, networks and subnetting, IP routing, routing tables, troubleshooting routing, multiplexing, protocols and ports, the interaction between transport layer and application layer protocols, and the Internet Control Message Protocol. Transport Layer: This section covers the Transport Layer of the TCP/IP model. It focuses primarily on the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the two major protocols of this layer. Application Layer: This section covers the Application Layer of the TCP/IP model, the highest level of the protocol stack structure. It discusses general information about application layer protocols, and specific information about Telnet, FTP, SMTP, and POP-3. Networking Examples: This section contains some examples using TCP/IP in specific application implementations. RFCs: This section contains some RFCs that relate directly to TCP/IP and some of it's major protocols that are covered in this technical reference document.