SMTP: Explanation of TCP/IP (87029)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Mail Gateway to SMTP 3.0
This article was previously published under Q87029

SUMMARY

TCP/IP is a protocol suite containing two protocols: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP).

TCP is a connection oriented protocol that compensates for the underlying network's lack of reliability. It ensures the correct sequence of packets and provides end-to-end acknowledgment.

IP is a connectionless protocol. Each packet contains routing information that allows the network nodes to route the packet toward its destination. The nodes themselves do not try to understand the packet data.

TCP functionality is comparable with that of the Open Systems Interconnection's (OSI's) transport service class 4; that is, TP4.

REFERENCES

TCP is specified in RFC-793.

IP is specified in RFC-791.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/5/1999
Keywords:KB87029
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