Chapter 2

TCP/IP and the Internet

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Introducing the Internet

check Familiarizing yourself with TCP/IP standards

check Figuring out how TCP/IP lines up with the OSI Reference Model

check Discovering important TCP/IP applications

Many years ago, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was known primarily as the protocol of the Internet. The biggest challenge of getting a local area network (LAN) connected to the Internet was figuring out how to mesh TCP/IP with the proprietary protocols that were the basis of the LANs — most notably Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX) and NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI).

But then, some years ago, network administrators realized that they could save the trouble of combining TCP/IP with IPX/SPX and NetBEUI by eliminating IPX/SPX and NetBEUI from the equation altogether. As a result, TCP/IP is not just the protocol of the Internet now, but it’s also the protocol on which most LANs are based.

This chapter is a gentle introduction to the Internet in general and the TCP/IP suite of protocols in particular. ...

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