Protocols

In my article "Configuring Windows 98 LAN Sensitive Areas", I explained something about the Network applet which is in Control Panel. Under the Configuration sheet, you installed some software components, i.e.:

1. TCP/IP
2. NWLink IPX/SPX-compatible Protocol, and
3. NetBEUI

You may ask that why did we install them?

Actually, these software components are called Protocols. These protocols have to be installed when you want to make the computer to communicate with another computer.

What are the protocols and why do we need them?

This question needs some elaboration:

Protocols and their Functions

Protocols are rules and procedures for communicating. For example, diplomats from one country adhere to protocol to guide them in interacting with diplomats from other countries. The use of communication rules applies in the same way in the computer environment. When several computers are networked, the rules and technical procedures, which must be there to govern their communication and interaction, called the Protocols.

There are three points to keep in mind when thinking about protocols in a network environment:

1. There are many protocols. While each protocol allows basic communication, they have different purposes and accomplish different tasks. Each protocol has its own advantages and restrictions.

2. Some protocols work at various OSI Layers (see my article "The OSI Reference model"). The layer at which a protocol works describes its function.

For example, a certain protocol works at the Physical layer, meaning that the protocol at that layer ensures that the data packet passes through the network adapter card and out onto the network cable.

3. Several protocols may work together in what is known as a protocol stack, or suite (for instance; TCP/IP Stack, or TCP/IP Protocol Suite).

Just as a network incorporates functions at every layer of the OSI model, different protocols also work together at different levels in a single protocol stack. The levels in the protocol stack map or correspond to the layers of the OSI model. Taken together, the protocols describe the entire stack's functions and capabilities.

How Protocols Work?

The entire technical operation of transmitting data over the network has to be broken down into discrete systematic steps. At each step, certain actions take place, which cannot take at any other step. Each step has its own rules and procedures, or protocols.

The steps must be carried out in a consistent order that is the same on every computer in the network. In the sending computer, these steps must be carried out from the top down. In the receiving machine, these steps must be carried out from the bottom up.

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