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Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) represent the coding systems employed by machines for online communication, and establish the rules governing the web.
TCP/IP enables the internet to run in a similar way to a mail network. It includes a directory that holds the identifying details for each device present on the network, together with a collection of standardized formats for encapsulating data. These formats should feature the source address, the destination address, and specifics concerning the bundled content.
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According to PC Magazine, all computers are given a unique IP address when establishing a connection to the internet. You can discover yours by searching “what’s my IP” using Google. You’ll see it lacks user-friendliness, comprising either four numbers between 0 and 255, partitioned by periods, or eight sequences of four digits separated by colons.
You could also observe that your IP address isn’t permanent. Citing Business Insider, your home IP address comes from your internet provider, whereas on the move, it could originate from a coffee shop’s wi-fi, or your workplace network.
How TCP/IP works
To access a site, your device should learn the IP address linked to the web server hosting the information. Similarly, this consists of a lengthy string of alphanumeric characters, with potential fluctuations.
Thankfully, a secondary addressing system supports steering your device correctly. Called the Domain Name System, or simply DNS, it allocates servers with user-friendly names, known as domains, according to Cloudflare. Your browser uses them to identify the right IP address for use.
Following this, your device can establish a link to the server through a three-phase handshake, as explained in the CISSP Study Guide. The first stage includes sending a message to the server to confirm its readiness to engage, achieved by sending an empty format with the notation “synchronize?”.
An affirmative response from the server prompts it to write “acknowledge” onto a fresh format and relay it back. To finalize the link, your device delivers a third format also marked “acknowledge”.
Rule sets connect your devices to the internet.
Now, you are clear to commence the data exchange.
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For this purpose, the server decomposes website content into small portions, embedding each within separate formats. As noted by Cloudflare, its IP address, the recipient’s IP address, together with a sequence number are inscribed outwardly. This number serves as a guide for your computer to reassemble the portions.
As soon as your device accepts a format, it scrutinizes the data and echoes an “acknowledge” message, confirming the faultless receipt of the data.
As stated by IR Technologies, when the server misses a return “acknowledge” after a specific duration, it posits the format either lost or corrupted, thus retransmitting the same.
Upon the successful arrival of all data on your system, the remaining action involves shutting down the connection using an additional three-phase handshake. Here, a device initiates with a “finish” format, eliciting an “acknowledge” in response. The initiator subsequently replies with a final “acknowledge” to finalize the disconnection.
Additional resources
For an expanded grasp on internet operation, explore the many guides provided by the Internet Society and “Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works” authored by DR. Charles R Severance.
Bibliography
- Eric Conrad, et al, “CISSP Study Guide (Second Edition)”, Syngress, 2012.
- IR Media, “What Is Network Packet Loss?”, accessed April 2022.
- Cloudflare, “What is DNS? | How DNS works”, accessed April 2022.
- Cloudflare, “What is TCP/IP?”, accessed April 2022.
- Dave Johnson, “How to change your IP address to troubleshoot your internet connection or protect your privacy” Business Insider, May 2021.
Laura Mears
Laura Mears transitioned from lab duties as a biologist to the detailed task of a full-time software engineer and dedicated science writer. Her portfolio includes contributions to How It Works and T3 magazines. Laura expresses a strong affinity for science, technology and video games.
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