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ICMP Protocol Overview

ICMP is a protocol that works with IP to provide out-of-band messages about network operations and errors. It is used to announce issues like unreachable networks or hosts, network congestion through source quench messages, and assist tools for troubleshooting through functions like ping which measures response times and packet loss. ICMP also announces timeouts when a packet's TTL reaches zero.

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113 views

ICMP Protocol Overview

ICMP is a protocol that works with IP to provide out-of-band messages about network operations and errors. It is used to announce issues like unreachable networks or hosts, network congestion through source quench messages, and assist tools for troubleshooting through functions like ping which measures response times and packet loss. ICMP also announces timeouts when a packet's TTL reaches zero.

Uploaded by

harryrp
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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20/10/2010 ICMP Protocol Overview

Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia


ICMP Protocol Overview

Up: Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia


Up: Topics
Up: Functions
Up: Transport
Prev: Transport
Next: IGMP Protocol Overview

ICMP Protocol Overview

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), documented in RFC 792, is a required protocol tightly integrated
with IP. ICMP messages, delivered in IP packets, are used for out-of-band messages related to network
operation or mis-operation. Of course, since ICMP uses IP, ICMP packet delivery is unreliable, so hosts can't
count on receiving ICMP packets for any network problem. Some of ICMP's functions are to:

Announce network errors, such as a host or entire portion of the network being unreachable, due to
some type of failure. A TCP or UDP packet directed at a port number with no receiver attached is also
reported via ICMP.

Announce network congestion. When a router begins buffering too many packets, due to an inability to
transmit them as fast as they are being received, it will generate ICMP Source Quench messages.
Directed at the sender, these messages should cause the rate of packet transmission to be slowed. Of
course, generating too many Source Quench messages would cause even more network congestion, so
they are used sparingly.

Assist Troubleshooting. ICMP supports an Echo function, which just sends a packet on a round--trip
between two hosts. Ping, a common network management tool, is based on this feature. Ping will transmit
a series of packets, measuring average round--trip times and computing loss percentages.

Announce Timeouts. If an IP packet's TTL field drops to zero, the router discarding the packet will
often generate an ICMP packet announcing this fact. TraceRoute is a tool which maps network routes by
sending packets with small TTL values and watching the ICMP timeout announcements.

Next: IGMP Protocol Overview

Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia


ICMP Protocol Overview

lincoln.edu/math/rmyrick/…/81.htm 1/1

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