Communications protocol

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

In networking, a communications protocol or network protocol is the specification of a set of rules for a particular type of communication.

Different protocols often describe different aspects of a single communication; taken together, these form a protocol stack. The terms "protocol" and "protocol stack" also refer to the software that implements a protocol.

Most recent protocols are assigned by the IETF for internet communications, and the IEEE, or the ISO organizations for other types. The ITU-T handles telecommunications protocols and formats.

Index page for network protocols and protocol layers, categorised by the nearest matching layers of the OSI seven layer model.

Systems engineering principles have been applied to design network protocols.

Contents

1 Protocol families

2 Individual protocols

2.1 Layer 1 protocols (physical layer)
2.2 Layer 2 protocols
2.3 Layer 2+3 protocols
2.4 Layer 3 protocols
2.5 Layer 3+4 protocols
2.6 Layer 4 protocols
2.7 Layer 5+ protocols
2.8 Layer 7 protocols

Protocol families

Various protocol stacks or families

There are many articles about network protocols. One of the sites with high quality protocol information is by Javvin (www.javvin.com [1]).

Individual protocols

Layer 1 protocols (physical layer)

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
PDH Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy
- T-carrier (T1, T3 etc)
RS-232, a serial line interface originally developed to connect modems and computer terminals
SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
SONET Synchronous Optical NETworking

Layer 2 protocols

ARP Address Resolution Protocol
Ethernet
FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Interface
HDLC High Level Data Link Control
PPP Point-to-point protocol
Token ring

Layer 2+3 protocols

X.25
Frame relay, a simplified version of X.25
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
MPLS Multi-protocol label switching
Signalling System 7, also called SS7, C7 and CCIS7; a common PSTN control protocol.

Layer 3 protocols

ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol
IP the Internet Protocol itself
- IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4, the current standard
- IPv6 Internet Protocol version 6, in the process of deployment
IPX
Routing protocols:
- Routing between autonomous systems
  - Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP) (obsolete)
  - Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
- Routing within a single autonomous system
  - Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
  - Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP)
  - Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
  - Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

Layer 3+4 protocols

Xerox network services (XNS)

Layer 4 protocols

SPX Sequenced Packet Exchange
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
UDP User Datagram Protocol
SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol
RTP Real-time Transport Protocol

Layer 5+ protocols

NFS Network File System
SMB Server Message Block (aka CIFS Common Internet FileSystem)

Layer 7 protocols

FTP File Transfer Protocol
HTTP HyperText Transport Protocol, used in the World Wide Web
POP3 Post Office Protocol Version 3
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Telnet, a remote terminal access protocol
Gnutella, a peer-to-peer file-swapping protocol
DNS Domain Name Service
SSH Secure SHell
IMAP Internet Message Access Protocol
NTP Network Time Protocol
Gopher, a precursor of web search engines
Finger, which gives user profile information
NNTP News Network Transfer Protocol
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
IRC Internet Relay Chat
Jabber, an instant-messenging protocol
WebDAV Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning
DICT Dictionary protocol
BACnet Building Automation and Control Network protocol

and secure versions of the above (as HTTPS, etc.)