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!

Read offline with no ads or diagram watermarks!
The TCP/IP Guide

Custom Search







Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  Networking Fundamentals
      9  Fundamental Network Characteristics

Previous Topic/Section
Connection-Oriented and Connectionless Protocols
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
Next Page
Message Formatting: Headers, Payloads and Footers
Next Topic/Section

Messages: Packets, Frames, Datagrams and Cells
(Page 1 of 2)

Many networking technologies are based on packet switching, which involves the creation of small chunks of data to be sent over a network. Even though the word “packet” appears in the name of this method, the data items sent between networked devices are most generically called messages. “Packet” is one of a variety of similar words that are used in different contexts to refer to messages sent from one device to another.

In some cases these different terms can be very useful; simply the type of name used for the message can tell you something about what the message contains. In particular, different message names are usually associated with protocols and technologies operating at specific layers of the OSI Reference Model. Thus, the use of these different names can help clarify discussions that involve multiple protocols operating at different layers.

Unfortunately, these terms can also cause confusion, because they are not always applied in a universal or even consistent manner. Some people are strict about applying particular message designations only to the appropriate technologies where they are normally used, while others use the different terms completely interchangeably. This means that you should be familiar with the different message types and how they are normally used, but be prepared for the unexpected.


Previous Topic/Section
Connection-Oriented and Connectionless Protocols
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
Next Page
Message Formatting: Headers, Payloads and Footers
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.