TCP/IP protocols and configurations

Almost all networks are dependent and rely on TCP/IP because of its reliability and how it acts as the glue to hold systems together. Due to its universal acceptance, programmers use it as the lingua franca of all communications in the network.

Many standard connectivity tools are used to access and transfer data between systems. Windows XP Professional has many of these standard tools like Telnet, FTP and browsers such as Internet Explorer. These tools are very common in the network and are user-friendly.

TCP/IP supports a variety of interfaces. A commonly known interface such as Microsoft Windows Sockets (Winsock) is ideal for a user to develop client and server applications. All TCP/IP socket-based applications are easily ported with Winsock and it also is an excellent tool for developing socket applications for other platforms.

TCP/IP is also the backbone for users to route data from one network to another. The protocol of TCP/IP provides standards that are set for how computers interact, connect and communicate with one another.

Operating systems such as Windows XP Professional heavily rely on certain internet protocols to logon, print on a network, sending and copying files over a network. This is where the primary function of the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) comes in.

Addressing packets and routing them between hosts is the main responsibility of the IP (Internet Protocol). This does not however guarantee the arrival of packets and does not guarantee the packets sequence when it was first sent over the network. It basically provides connectionless delivery of packets for all other protocols. It also does not deal with recovery of packet errors such as lost information with in the packet. Higher protocols are responsible for packet error checks and proper sequence arrival. This is the responsibility of the TCP.

Windows has a default setting where it uses TCP/IP configurations that is automatically presented by the DHCP service. The responsibility of the DHCP is a service that is configured to hand out IP addresses to client systems. A static IP address is a term used when the DHCP Service is unavailable or not even used by organizations. When the DHCP service is down, or unavailable, users can configure TCP/IP to a static address by changing the settings under IP address, default gateway and subnet mask.

Every computer that runs a TCP/IP must have a network card, each with its own unique IP address. These IP addresses are uniquely assigned to each computer and are giving addresses such as 190.172.0.109. Two parts deal with identifying the IP address. The network ID identifies what hosts are on the same physical network and a host ID is simply the identification of a host on the network. These too parts within the IP address are given specific numbers. In this address, 190.172.0 is the network ID and 109 is the ID of the host.

To divide a larger network into multiple networks connected with routers, you must configure the Subnet Mask which is responsible for blocking out some of the IP addresses so the TCP/IP can be divided and distinguished on the network ID, separate from the host ID. When the subnet mask is configured to do this, it determines when the TCP/IP hosts try's to communicate and if its destination is on the local network or possibly a remote network. In order to communicate on the local network, the network address must be defined by the subnet mask for computers to communicate with it.

Other devices on a network like routers are used to store network ID's of other networks on the Internet or other enterprises. For a computer within a network to be able to connect to another computer inside a separate network, the IP address must be configured for the default gateway. This is why the router is known as the intermediate device. When packets are sent to the default gateway, it's essentially being sent to the router where it is collected and forwarded to a gateway connected to a particular destination.

If an IP address is duplicated or cloned on the network, meaning two specific locations with the same IP address exist, communication within the network can fail. So when configuring a valid static IP address, make sure to consult your network administrator.