Please Whitelist This Site?

I know everyone hates ads. But please understand that I am providing premium content for free that takes hundreds of hours of time to research and write. I don't want to go to a pay-only model like some sites, but when more and more people block ads, I end up working for free. And I have a family to support, just like you. :)

If you like The TCP/IP Guide, please consider the download version. It's priced very economically and you can read all of it in a convenient format without ads.

If you want to use this site for free, I'd be grateful if you could add the site to the whitelist for Adblock. To do so, just open the Adblock menu and select "Disable on tcpipguide.com". Or go to the Tools menu and select "Adblock Plus Preferences...". Then click "Add Filter..." at the bottom, and add this string: "@@||tcpipguide.com^$document". Then just click OK.

Thanks for your understanding!

Sincerely, Charles Kozierok
Author and Publisher, The TCP/IP Guide


NOTE: Using software to mass-download the site degrades the server and is prohibited.
If you want to read The TCP/IP Guide offline, please consider licensing it. Thank you.

The Book is Here... and Now On Sale!

Get The TCP/IP Guide for your own computer.
The TCP/IP Guide

Custom Search







Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  TCP/IP Lower-Layer (Interface, Internet and Transport) Protocols (OSI Layers 2, 3 and 4)
      9  TCP/IP Internet Layer (OSI Network Layer) Protocols
           9  Internet Protocol (IP/IPv4, IPng/IPv6) and IP-Related Protocols (IP NAT, IPSec, Mobile IP)

Previous Topic/Section
Internet Protocol (IP/IPv4, IPng/IPv6) and IP-Related Protocols (IP NAT, IPSec, Mobile IP)
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
Next Page
IP Overview and Key Operational Characteristics
Next Topic/Section

Internet Protocol Concepts and Overview

IP is a very important protocol in internetworking; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that you can't really comprehend modern networking without a good understanding of IP. Unfortunately, IP can be somewhat difficult to understand. This is probably because due to its importance, a large amount of complexity has become associated with the protocol over the years, to allow it to meet the many demands placed upon it.

Before diving into the details of how IP works, I feel it is worthwhile to take a high-level look at IP and what it does. In this section I provide a brief examination of basic concepts related to the Internet Protocol and how it works. I begin with an overview of IP, how it operates in basic terms and the most important characteristics of how it does its job. I then expand on this discussion by describing the main functions of the Internet Protocol, which can be used as an introduction to the remainder of the sections that explain IP in considerably more detail. I conclude with a brief look at the history of development of IP, its versions, and how it has spawned the development of several IP-related protocols.

Quick navigation to subsections and regular topics in this section



Previous Topic/Section
Internet Protocol (IP/IPv4, IPng/IPv6) and IP-Related Protocols (IP NAT, IPSec, Mobile IP)
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
Next Page
IP Overview and Key Operational Characteristics
Next Topic/Section

If you find The TCP/IP Guide useful, please consider making a small Paypal donation to help the site, using one of the buttons below. You can also donate a custom amount using the far right button (not less than $1 please, or PayPal gets most/all of your money!) In lieu of a larger donation, you may wish to consider purchasing a download license of The TCP/IP Guide. Thanks for your support!
Donate $2
Donate $5
Donate $10
Donate $20
Donate $30
Donate: $



Home - Table Of Contents - Contact Us

The TCP/IP Guide (http://www.TCPIPGuide.com)
Version 3.0 - Version Date: September 20, 2005

© Copyright 2001-2005 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.
Not responsible for any loss resulting from the use of this site.