Protocol:

Protocol Type Description

Protocols enable two or more devices to communicate over one or more networks.
Network
The Ethernet family of technologies involves a variety of protocols such as IP,
Communications
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and
Protocols
many more.

Protocols secure data to provide authentication, data integrity, and data encryption.
Network Security
Examples of secure protocols include Secure Shell (SSH), Secure Sockets Layer
Protocols
(SSL), and Transport Layer Security (TLS).

Protocols enable routers to exchange route information, compare path information,

and then to select the best path to the destination network. Examples of routing
Routing Protocols
protocols include Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Border Gateway Protocol
(BGP).

Protocols are used for the automatic detection of devices or services. Examples of
Service Discovery service discovery protocols include Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
Protocols which discovers services for IP address allocation, and Domain Name System
(DNS) which is used to perform name-to-IP address translation.

TCP/IP Protocol Suite

Application Layer

Name System

 DNS - Domain Name System. Translates domain names such as cisco.com, into IP
addresses.

Host Config

 DHCPv4 - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv4. A DHCPv4 server dynamically
assigns IPv4 addressing information to DHCPv4 clients at start-up and allows the addresses
to be re-used when no longer needed.

 DHCPv6 - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6. DHCPv6 is similar to DHCPv4. A
DHCPv6 server dynamically assigns IPv6 addressing information to DHCPv6 clients at start-
up.

 SLAAC - Stateless Address Autoconfiguration. A method that allows a device to obtain its
IPv6 addressing information without using a DHCPv6 server.

Email

 SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Enables clients to send email to a mail server and
enables servers to send email to other servers.

 POP3 - Post Office Protocol version 3. Enables clients to retrieve email from a mail server
and download the email to the client's local mail application.

 IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol. Enables clients to access email stored on a mail
server as well as maintaining email on the server.

File Transfer

 FTP - File Transfer Protocol. Sets the rules that enable a user on one host to access and
transfer files to and from another host over a network. FTP is a reliable, connection-oriented,
and acknowledged file delivery protocol.
  SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol. As an extension to Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, SFTP
can be used to establish a secure file transfer session in which the file transfer is encrypted.
SSH is a method for secure remote login that is typically used for accessing the command
line of a device.

 TFTP - Trivial File Transfer Protocol. A simple, connectionless file transfer protocol with best-
effort, unacknowledged file delivery. It uses less overhead than FTP.

Web and Web Service

 HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A set of rules for exchanging text, graphic images,
sound, video, and other multimedia files on the World Wide Web.

 HTTPS - HTTP Secure. A secure form of HTTP that encrypts the data that is exchanged over
the World Wide Web.

 REST - Representational State Transfer. A web service that uses application programming
interfaces (APIs) and HTTP requests to create web applications.

Transport layer

Connection-Oriented

 TCP - Transmission Control Protocol. Enables reliable communication between processes

running on separate hosts and provides reliable, acknowledged transmissions that confirm
successful delivery.

Connectionless

 UDP - User Datagram Protocol. Enables a process running on one host to send packets to a
process running on another host. However, UDP does not confirm successful datagram
transmission.

Internet Layer

Internet Protocol

 IPv4 - Internet Protocol version 4. Receives message segments from the transport layer,
packages messages into packets, and addresses packets for end-to-end delivery over a
network. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address.

 IPv6 - IP version 6. Similar to IPv4 but uses a 128-bit address.

 NAT - Network Address Translation. Translates IPv4 addresses from a private network into
globally unique public IPv4 addresses.

Messaging

 ICMPv4 - Internet Control Message Protocol for IPv4. Provides feedback from a destination
host to a source host about errors in packet delivery.

 ICMPv6 - ICMP for IPv6. Similar functionality to ICMPv4 but is used for IPv6 packets.

 ICMPv6 ND - ICMPv6 Neighbor Discovery. Includes four protocol messages that are used for
address resolution and duplicate address detection.

Routing Protocols

 OSPF - Open Shortest Path First. Link-state routing protocol that uses a hierarchical design
based on areas. OSPF is an open standard interior routing protocol.

 EIGRP - EIGRP - Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol. An open standard routing
protocol developed by Cisco that uses a composite metric based on bandwidth, delay, load
and reliability.
  BGP - Border Gateway Protocol. An open standard exterior gateway routing protocol used
between Internet Service Providers (ISPs). BGP is also commonly used between ISPs and
their large private clients to exchange routing information.

Network Access Layer

Address Resolution

 ARP - Address Resolution Protocol. Provides dynamic address mapping between an IPv4
address and a hardware address.

Note: You may see other documentation state that ARP operates at the Internet Layer (OSI Layer 3).
However, in this course we state that ARP operates at the Network Access layer (OSI Layer 2)
because it's primary purpose is the discover the MAC address of the destination. A MAC address is a
Layer 2 address.

Data Link Protocols

 Ethernet - Defines the rules for wiring and signaling standards of the network access layer.

 WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network. Defines the rules for wireless signaling across the 2.4
GHz and 5 GHz radio frequencies.

The OSI Reference Model

OSI Model
Description
Layer

7-
The application layer contains protocols used for process-to-process communications.
Application

6- The presentation layer provides for common representation of the data transferred
Presentation between application layer services.

The session layer provides services to the presentation layer to organize its dialogue
5 - Session
and to manage data exchange.

The transport layer defines services to segment, transfer, and reassemble the data for
4 - Transport
individual communications between the end devices.

The network layer provides services to exchange the individual pieces of data over the
3 - Network
network between identified end devices.

The data link layer protocols describe methods for exchanging data frames between
2 - Data Link
devices over a common media

The physical layer protocols describe the mechanical, electrical, functional, and
1 - Physical procedural means to activate, maintain, and de-activate physical connections for a bit
transmission to and from a network device.

The TCP/IP Protocol Model

TCP/IP Model Layer Description

4 - Application Represents data to the user, plus encoding and dialog control.

Supports communication between various devices across diverse

3 - Transport
networks.

2 - Internet Determines the best path through the network.

1 - Network Access Controls the hardware devices and media that make up the network.

What did I learn in this module?

The Rules
All communication methods have three elements in common: message source (sender), message
destination (receiver), and channel. Sending a message is governed by rules called protocols.
Protocols must include: an identified sender and receiver, common language and grammar, speed
and timing of delivery, and confirmation or acknowledgment requirements. Common computer
protocols include these requirements: message encoding, formatting and encapsulation, size, timing,
and delivery options. Encoding is the process of converting information into another acceptable form,
for transmission. Decoding reverses this process to interpret the information. Message formats
depend on the type of message and the channel that is used to deliver the message. Message timing
includes flow control, response timeout, and access method. Message delivery options include
unicast, multicast, and broadcast.

Protocols

Protocols are implemented by end-devices and intermediary devices in software, hardware, or both. A
message sent over a computer network typically requires the use of several protocols, each one with
its own functions and format. Each network protocol has its own function, format, and rules for
communications. The Ethernet family of protocols includes IP, TCP, HTTP, and many more. Protocols
secure data to provide authentication, data integrity, and data encryption: SSH, SSL, and TLS.
Protocols enable routers to exchange route information, compare path information, and then to select
the best path to the destination network: OSPF and BGP. Protocols are used for the automatic
detection of devices or services: DHCP and DNS. Computers and network devices use agreed-upon
protocols that provide the following functions: addressing, reliability, flow control, sequencing, error-
detection, and application interface.

Protocol Suites

A protocol suite is a group of inter-related protocols necessary to perform a communication function. A

protocol stack shows how the individual protocols within a suite are implemented. Since the 1970s
there have been several different protocol suites, some developed by a standards organization and
others developed by various vendors. TCP/IP protocols are available for the application, transport,
and internet layers. TCP/IP is the protocol suite used by today’s networks and internet. TCP/IP offers
two important aspects to vendors and manufacturers: open standard protocol suite, and standards-
based protocol suite. The TCP/IP protocol suite communication process enables such processes as a
web server encapsulating and sending a web page to a client, as well as the client de-encapsulating
the web page for display in a web browser.

Standards Organizations

Open standards encourage interoperability, competition, and innovation. Standards organizations are
usually vendor-neutral, non-profit organizations established to develop and promote the concept of
open standards. Various organizations have different responsibilities for promoting and creating
standards for the internet including: ISOC, IAB, IETF, and IRTF. Standards organizations that develop
and support TCP/IP include: ICANN and IANA. Electronic and communications standards
organizations include: IEEE, EIA, TIA, and ITU-T.

Reference Models

The two reference models that are used to describe network operations are OSI and TCP/IP. The OSI
model has seven layers:

7 - Application

6 - Presentation

5 - Session

4 - Transport

3 - Network

2 - Data Link
1 - Physical

The TCP/IP model has four layers:

4 - Application

3 - Transport

2 - Internet

1 - Network Access

Data Encapsulation

Segmenting messages has two primary benefits:

 By sending smaller individual pieces from source to destination, many different conversations
can be interleaved on the network. This is called multiplexing.

 Segmentation can increase the efficiency of network communications. If part of the message
fails to make it to the destination only the missing parts need to be retransmitted.

TCP is responsible for sequencing the individual segments. The form that a piece of data takes at any
layer is called a protocol data unit (PDU). During encapsulation, each succeeding layer encapsulates
the PDU that it receives from the layer above in accordance with the protocol being used. When
sending messages on a network, the encapsulation process works from top to bottom. This process is
reversed at the receiving host and is known as de-encapsulation. De-encapsulation is the process
used by a receiving device to remove one or more of the protocol headers. The data is de-
encapsulated as it moves up the stack toward the end-user application.

Data Access

The network and data link layers are responsible for delivering the data from the source device to the
destination device. Protocols at both layers contain a source and destination address, but their
addresses have different purposes:

 Network layer source and destination addresses - Responsible for delivering the IP packet
from the original source to the final destination, which may be on the same network or a
remote network.

 Data link layer source and destination addresses - Responsible for delivering the data link
frame from one network interface card (NIC) to another NIC on the same network.

The IP addresses indicate the original source IP address and final destination IP address. An IP
address contains two parts: the network portion (IPv4) or Prefix (IPv6) and the host portion (IPv4) or
Interface ID (IPv6). When the sender and receiver of the IP packet are on the same network, the data
link frame is sent directly to the receiving device. On an Ethernet network, the data link addresses are
known as Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. When the sender of the packet is on a
different network from the receiver, the source and destination IP addresses will represent hosts on
different networks. The Ethernet frame must be sent to another device known as the router or default
gateway.