Security is Everyone's Job
Network protocols are a set of rules, conventions, or data structures that allow communication between devices in a network.
They are essential for allowing two or more devices to identify and connect with each other, regardless of any differences in their internal processes, structure, or design
These protocols are essential for different types of devices, such as a laptop and a MacBook, to communicate over a network.
Without these protocols, the devices would not be able to understand each other’s data formats, addresses, or commands.
These protocols ensure that the devices can exchange data in a standardized and interoperable way.
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how web browsers and web servers communicate and exchange data over the Internet. It uses a request-response model, where the browser sends a request for a web page or a resource, and the server responds with the requested data or an error message
HTTPS: HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, and it is a secure version of the HTTP protocol that uses encryption and authentication to protect the data transfer between a web browser and a website.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how email messages are sent and received over the Internet. It uses a client-server model, where the email client connects to the email server and sends or receives messages using commands and responses
FTP: File Transfer Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how files are transferred between two devices over a network. It uses a client-server model, where the client initiates a connection to the server and requests or uploads files using commands and responses
POP3: Post Office Protocol version 3. It is a protocol that defines how email messages are retrieved from an email server by an email client. It uses a client-server model, where the client connects to the server and downloads or deletes messages using commands and responses
SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how network devices are monitored and managed over a network. It uses a manager-agent model, where the manager sends queries or commands to the agent, and the agent responds with information or actions
DNS: Domain Name System. It is a protocol that defines how domain names are translated into IP addresses over a network. It uses a hierarchical and distributed database of name servers that store and resolve the mapping information. It also supports various types of records, such as A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, etc
SSH: Secure Shell. It is a protocol that defines how secure and encrypted communication can be established between two devices over a network. It uses public-key cryptography to authenticate the devices, and symmetric-key cryptography to encrypt the data exchanged. It also supports various functions, such as remote login, command execution, file transfer, port forwarding, etc
SIP: Session Initiation Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how multimedia sessions, such as voice, video, or chat, can be initiated, maintained, and terminated over a network. It uses a request-response model, where the devices exchange messages to establish and control the session parameters. It also supports various features, such as call transfer, hold, conferencing, etc
SOAPSimple Object Access Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how structured and standardized messages can be exchanged between web services over a network. It uses XML to format the messages, and HTTP or SMTP to transport them. It also supports various functions, such as discovery, description, invocation, etc
MPEG: Moving Picture Experts Group. It is a standard that defines how video and audio data are compressed and encoded for transmission and storage. It uses various algorithms to reduce the size of the data without losing much quality
ASCH: American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is a standard that defines how text characters are encoded using 7-bit binary numbers. It covers 128 characters, including letters, numbers, symbols, and control codes
SSL: Secure Sockets Layer. It is a protocol that defines how data are encrypted and decrypted for secure communication over a network. It uses public-key cryptography to establish a secure connection between two parties, and symmetric-key cryptography to encrypt and decrypt the data exchanged.
TLS: Transport Layer Security. It is an updated version of SSL that provides more security features and enhancements for network communication. It also uses public-key cryptography and symmetric-key cryptography to establish a secure connection and encrypt and decrypt the data exchanged.
XDR: External Data Representation. It is a protocol that defines how data structures, such as integers, floats, strings, arrays, etc., are represented in a standard format for cross-platform communication. It uses a binary encoding scheme that is independent of the machine architecture and byte order. It is used by some remote procedure call (RPC) protocols, such as NFS and ONC RPC
MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. It is a protocol that defines how different types of data, such as text, images, audio, video, etc., are formatted and encoded for email transmission. It uses various headers to specify the content type, character set, transfer encoding, etc., of the data. It also supports multipart messages that contain multiple data parts with different formats and encodings
ASN.1: Abstract Syntax Notation One. It is a protocol that defines how data types and values are represented in a generic and abstract way for network communication. It uses a notation that is independent of any programming language or platform. It also supports various encoding rules that specify how the abstract data are converted into binary or textual formats for transmission. It is used by some application layer protocols, such as LDAP and SNMP
NETBIOS: Network Basic Input/Output System. It is a protocol that defines how applications on different computers can communicate over a local area network (LAN). It provides services such as name resolution, session establishment, message transmission, and session termination.
SAP: Session Announcement Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how multimedia sessions are announced and advertised over a network. It uses multicast messages to inform potential participants about the session details, such as name, description, location, time, etc.
RTP: Real-time Transport Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how real-time multimedia data, such as audio and video, are transmitted over a network. It uses UDP as the underlying transport protocol, and adds information such as sequence numbers, timestamps, and payload types to the data packets. It also supports features such as synchronization, quality of service, and feedback
RTSP: Real Time Streaming Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how streaming media sessions, such as live or on-demand audio and video, are controlled over a network. It uses a request-response model, where the client sends commands to the server to initiate, pause, resume, or terminate a session. It also supports features such as authentication, authorization, and bandwidth management
SCP: Secure Copy Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how files are securely transferred between two devices over a network. It uses SSH as the underlying protocol to establish a secure connection and encrypt the data exchange. It also supports features such as authentication, authorization, and compression
SMB: Server Message Block. It is a protocol that defines how files and other resources are shared over a network. It uses a client-server model, where the client requests access to the resources on the server using commands and responses. It also supports features such as authentication, authorization, locking, caching, and notification
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol. It is a protocol that provides connection-oriented, reliable, and ordered delivery of data over a network. It establishes a connection between two hosts before sending data, and uses acknowledgments, retransmissions, and timeouts to ensure that no data is lost or duplicated. It also uses sliding window mechanism to control the rate of data transmission and avoid congestion.
UDP: User Datagram Protocol. It is a protocol that provides connectionless, unreliable, and unordered delivery of data over a network. It does not establish a connection before sending data, and does not use acknowledgments, retransmissions, or timeouts to ensure data delivery. It also does not use any flow control mechanism to avoid congestion. It is faster and simpler than TCP, but less reliable and more prone to errors.
SCTP: Stream Control Transmission Protocol. It is a protocol that provides connection-oriented, reliable, and unordered delivery of data over a network. It establishes a connection between two hosts before sending data, and uses acknowledgments, retransmissions, and timeouts to ensure that no data is lost or duplicated. It also uses congestion control mechanism to avoid congestion. It supports multiple streams of data within a single connection, which allows for parallel transmission and better performance.
QUIC: QUIC is a new transport layer protocol that was initially designed by Google, and is now being standardized by the IETF. QUIC stands for Quick UDP Internet Connections, and it aims to improve the performance and security of web applications that use TCP and HTTP
IL: Fibre Channel Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a high-speed network using optical fibers. It uses a frame-based structure, where each frame contains a header, a payload, and a trailer. It also supports various features, such as multiplexing, error detection and correction, flow control, and security
FCP: File Control Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how files are transferred over a network using the Fibre Channel Protocol. It uses a client-server model, where the client initiates a connection to the server and requests or uploads files using commands and responses. It also supports features such as authentication, authorization, locking, caching, and notification
MPTCP: Multipath TCP. It is a protocol that defines how multiple TCP connections can be used simultaneously over different network paths to improve the performance and reliability of data transmission. It uses a subflow mechanism, where each subflow corresponds to a TCP connection over a single path. It also supports features such as path management, congestion control, and security
RDP: Reliable Datagram Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how reliable and ordered delivery of datagrams can be achieved over a network. It uses UDP as the underlying transport protocol, and adds information such as sequence numbers and acknowledgments to the datagrams. It also supports features such as retransmission, timeout, and flow control
IP: Internet Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how data packets are formatted, addressed, routed, and delivered over a network. It uses a hierarchical addressing scheme that consists of network ID and host ID to identify each device on the network. It also uses routing tables and algorithms to find the optimal route for each packet. It does not guarantee the delivery of packets, and may drop or reorder them if there is congestion or error.
ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how error and control messages are sent and received over a network. It uses special packets called ICMP messages to report problems or provide information about the network status. Some of the common ICMP messages are echo request/reply (ping), destination unreachable, time exceeded (traceroute), etc.
ARP: Address Resolution Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how physical addresses, such as MAC addresses, are mapped to logical addresses, such as IP addresses, on a local area network (LAN). It uses special packets called ARP requests and ARP replies to query and respond to the address mapping information.
EIGRP: Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how routers exchange routing information within an autonomous system. It uses a hybrid approach that combines distance vector and link state algorithms. It also supports features such as load balancing, fast convergence, and authentication
BGP: Border Gateway Protocol. It is a protocol that defines how routers exchange routing information between autonomous systems. It uses a path vector algorithm that considers various attributes of the routes, such as origin, preference, length, etc. It also supports features such as policy-based routing, route aggregation, and security
IS-IS: Intermediate System to Intermediate System. It is a protocol that defines how routers exchange routing information within or between autonomous systems. It uses a link state algorithm that floods the network with link state packets containing information about the topology and metrics. It also supports features such as hierarchical routing, traffic engineering, and multicast
OSPF: Open Shortest Path First. It is a protocol that defines how routers exchange routing information within an autonomous system. It uses a link state algorithm that floods the network with link state advertisements containing information about the topology and metrics. It also supports features such as hierarchical routing, load balancing, and authentication
Ethernet: It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a wired network using a shared medium. It uses a bus topology, where all nodes are connected to a single cable called an Ethernet cable. It also uses a contention-based access method called CSMA/CD, where nodes compete for the medium and detect and resolve collisions.
Wi-Fi: It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a wireless network using radio waves. It uses a star topology, where all nodes are connected to a central device called an access point. It also uses a contention-based access method called CSMA/CA, where nodes avoid collisions by waiting for a clear channel before transmitting.
Bluetooth: It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a short-range wireless network using radio waves. It uses a piconet topology, where up to eight devices form a small network called a piconet. It also uses a frequency-hopping spread spectrum technique, where devices change their frequency of transmission randomly to avoid interference.
ARCnet: Attached Resource Computer Network. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a wired network using a token-passing access method. It uses a star or bus topology, where all nodes are connected to a central device called a hub or a single cable. It also supports features such as variable packet size, priority levels, and broadcast mode
ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a high-speed network using fixed-length cells. It uses a virtual circuit or connection-oriented approach, where each cell contains a header with information about the source and destination of the connection. It also supports features such as quality of service, traffic management, and multiplexing
Econet: Economy Network. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a low-cost network using a simple access method. It uses a bus topology, where all nodes are connected to a single cable with terminators at each end. It also supports features such as broadcast mode, collision detection, and addressing scheme
FDDI: Fiber Distributed Data Interface. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a fiber-optic network using a token-passing access method. It uses a dual-ring topology, where two rings of nodes operate in opposite directions to provide redundancy and fault tolerance. It also supports features such as priority levels, synchronous and asynchronous transmission, and self-healing mechanism.
RS-232: It is a standard that defines how serial data are transmitted and received over a wired connection between two devices. It uses a single wire for each direction of transmission, and another wire for ground. It also uses different voltage levels to represent binary values, such as +12V for 0 and -12V for 1.
RJ-45: It is a standard that defines how twisted pair cables are terminated with connectors for Ethernet networks. It uses eight wires arranged in four pairs, each with a different color code. It also uses different pin assignments for different types of Ethernet networks, such as 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, or 1000BASE-T.
IEEE 802.11: It is a standard that defines how radio waves are used for wireless communication over Wi-Fi networks. It specifies various parameters such as frequency bands, channels, modulation schemes, data rates, etc. It also defines different versions of Wi-Fi networks, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.11ac.
SONET: Synchronous Optical Network. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a fiber-optic network using a synchronous and hierarchical structure. It uses frames of fixed size and duration that contain information about the payload, overhead, and synchronization. It also supports features such as multiplexing, error detection and correction, and protection switching
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line. It is a protocol that defines how data are transmitted and received over a copper wire network using a modulation technique called discrete multitone. It uses different frequency bands for upstream and downstream data transmission, and can coexist with voice signals on the same line. It also supports features such as adaptive rate control, interleaving, and filtering
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network. It is a protocol that defines how voice and data are transmitted and received over a digital network using a circuit-switched approach. It uses channels of fixed bandwidth that can be allocated to different services, such as voice, video, or data. It also supports features such as signaling, multiplexing, and compression
CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. It is a protocol that defines how multiple users can share the same frequency band for wireless communication using a spread spectrum technique. It uses codes to differentiate the signals from different users, and can accommodate more users than other techniques, such as frequency division multiple access or time division multiple access. It also supports features such as power control, handoff, and encryption.