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IP Datagram Encapsulation and Formatting
The primary job of the Internet Protocol
is the delivery of data between devices over an internetwork. On its
journey between two hosts in an internet, this data may travel across
many physical networks. To help ensure that the data is sent and received
properly, it is encapsulated within a message called an IP
datagram. This datagram includes several fields that help manage
the operation of IP and ensure that data gets where it needs to go.
In this section I take a look at
how the Internet Protocol takes data passed to it from higher layers
and packages it for transmission. I begin with a general discussion
of IP datagrams and encapsulation. I then describe the general format
of IP datagrams, including the fields used in the IP header and how
they are interpreted. I also include a brief discussion of IP datagram
options and their use.
 Note: IP datagrams are sometimes called IP packets. Whether “datagram” or “packet” is the preferred term seems to depend on whom you ask; even the standards don’t use one term exclusively. On the other hand, I have seen IP datagrams called IP frames, and that’s definitely not correct! The topic on messages and names in the fundamentals chapter describes these terms more completely.
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Version 3.0 - Version Date: September 20, 2005
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Background Information: this section assumes at least passing familiarity with