TCP/IP is not a single protocol, nor is it, as its name might suggest, a pair of protocols. TCP/IP is actually a suite of protocols. In other words, it's a large group of protocols that work together. The TCP/IP designers' original intent was to create a protocol that could traverse various heterogeneous network environments while having the ability to take multiple routes to a final destination. This flexibility was crucial. TCP/IP, originally called NCP (Network Control Protocol), was a product of an experimental project commissioned by the Department of Defense of ARPANet (Advanced Research Project Agency Network) as an experimental protocol that traveled over packet-switched networks. The goal was to ensure that if a single part of the network became damaged or unreachable, transmission of critical data would continue to reach its destination on the network through alternate routes.
Despite its roots in the defense community, the development and evolution of TCP/IP cannot be attributed to any one group of individuals. TCP/IP is nonproprietary, and it's the accepted communications protocol on the Internet. Like other matters related to the Internet, TCP/IP standards are publicly available and published as RFCs (Requests For Comments) that are maintained by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
The IAB allows any individual or company to submit or evaluate an RFC. RFCs can contain a variety of information; one use of RFCs is to publish proposals or new ideas for standards that might add to or change the functionality of the TCP/IP protocol suite in some way. RFCs are posted to the Internet for public review and are reviewed by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), a division of the IAB. After an appropriate amount of discussion and scrutiny, a newly proposed draft can be made into a standard that will then be adopted by the entire Internet development community. Because TCP/IP is based on open, nonproprietary standards, it has been scrutinized and revised by numerous people from all over the world, and has thus been continuously developed and improved since its inception.
TCP/IP is based on the idea of an open system (nonproprietary) model. With regard to system architecture, TCP/IP's functionality maps loosely to the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Reference Model, a basic system architectural reference designed for programmers to provide a common framework and design for network protocols. By using the OSI Model, protocol designers can ensure that the protocols they design meet at least the basic levels of functionality and that there is some degree of standardization between their implementation of a protocol and someone else's. Microsoft's TCP/IP is compliant with RFC-published TCP/IP standards. However, the Microsoft implementation includes support for a number of features not found in other versions of TCP/IP.
Requests For Comments (RFCs)
As mentioned earlier, one way that RFCs are used is to document Internet standards. Keep in mind that the RFCs that actually document standards are merely a subset of all the RFCs that exist. In other words, all Internet standards are documented by at least on RFC, but not all RFCs become Internet standards.
A number of different types of RFCs exist, including FYIs, Drafts, and STDs (Standards). Anyone can submit an RFC or make comments in support of, or against, a current RFC. The IETF then makes this documentation available to the public. If the RFC is a proposal for a new Internet protocol or service, it is reviewed by the IETF and recommendations for revisions are made. To allow ample time for review and revision of an RFC, there is a minimum six-month waiting period before a Proposed Standard can become a Draft Standard; there's then an additional four-month time period before a Draft Standard can become a Standard.
RFC's are referenced by a specific number, such as RFC 1880 "Internet Official Protocol Standards." These numbers are issued sequentially and are never reused. If a current Standard is revised, a new number is issued to the revised Standard, and the older version becomes obsolete. Always make sure you have the most recent RFC on any topic you are researching. RFC 1880, for example, contains an index of the most current RFCs for Internet Standards.
Author;-Harold Hisona
Despite its roots in the defense community, the development and evolution of TCP/IP cannot be attributed to any one group of individuals. TCP/IP is nonproprietary, and it's the accepted communications protocol on the Internet. Like other matters related to the Internet, TCP/IP standards are publicly available and published as RFCs (Requests For Comments) that are maintained by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
The IAB allows any individual or company to submit or evaluate an RFC. RFCs can contain a variety of information; one use of RFCs is to publish proposals or new ideas for standards that might add to or change the functionality of the TCP/IP protocol suite in some way. RFCs are posted to the Internet for public review and are reviewed by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force), a division of the IAB. After an appropriate amount of discussion and scrutiny, a newly proposed draft can be made into a standard that will then be adopted by the entire Internet development community. Because TCP/IP is based on open, nonproprietary standards, it has been scrutinized and revised by numerous people from all over the world, and has thus been continuously developed and improved since its inception.
TCP/IP is based on the idea of an open system (nonproprietary) model. With regard to system architecture, TCP/IP's functionality maps loosely to the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Reference Model, a basic system architectural reference designed for programmers to provide a common framework and design for network protocols. By using the OSI Model, protocol designers can ensure that the protocols they design meet at least the basic levels of functionality and that there is some degree of standardization between their implementation of a protocol and someone else's. Microsoft's TCP/IP is compliant with RFC-published TCP/IP standards. However, the Microsoft implementation includes support for a number of features not found in other versions of TCP/IP.
Requests For Comments (RFCs)
As mentioned earlier, one way that RFCs are used is to document Internet standards. Keep in mind that the RFCs that actually document standards are merely a subset of all the RFCs that exist. In other words, all Internet standards are documented by at least on RFC, but not all RFCs become Internet standards.
A number of different types of RFCs exist, including FYIs, Drafts, and STDs (Standards). Anyone can submit an RFC or make comments in support of, or against, a current RFC. The IETF then makes this documentation available to the public. If the RFC is a proposal for a new Internet protocol or service, it is reviewed by the IETF and recommendations for revisions are made. To allow ample time for review and revision of an RFC, there is a minimum six-month waiting period before a Proposed Standard can become a Draft Standard; there's then an additional four-month time period before a Draft Standard can become a Standard.
RFC's are referenced by a specific number, such as RFC 1880 "Internet Official Protocol Standards." These numbers are issued sequentially and are never reused. If a current Standard is revised, a new number is issued to the revised Standard, and the older version becomes obsolete. Always make sure you have the most recent RFC on any topic you are researching. RFC 1880, for example, contains an index of the most current RFCs for Internet Standards.
Author;-Harold Hisona
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