TCP/IP Model

The OSI Model we just looked at is just a reference/logical model. It was designed to
describe the functions of the communication system by dividing the communication
procedure into smaller and simpler components. But when we talk about the TCP/IP
model, it was designed and developed by Department of Defense (DoD) in 1960s and is
based on standard protocols. It stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol. The TCP/IP model is a concise version of the OSI model. It contains four
layers, unlike seven layers in the OSI model. The layers are:
1. Process/Application Layer
2. Host-to-Host/Transport Layer
3. Internet Layer
4. Network Access/Link Layer
The diagrammatic comparison of the TCP/IP and OSI model is as follows:

Difference between TCP/IP and OSI Model:

TCP/IP OSI

TCP refers to Transmission Control Protocol. OSI refers to Open Systems Interconnection.

TCP/IP has 4 layers. OSI has 7 layers.

TCP/IP is more reliable OSI is less reliable

TCP/IP does not have very strict boundaries. OSI has strict boundaries

TCP/IP uses both session and presentation OSI uses different session and presentation
 layer in the application layer itself. layers.

TCP/IP developed protocols then model. OSI developed model then protocol.

Transport layer in TCP/IP does not provide In OSI model, transport layer provides
assurance delivery of packets. assurance delivery of packets.

While in OSI model, Protocols are better

Protocols cannot be replaced easily in TCP/IP covered and is easy to replace with the
model. change in technology.

The first layer is the Process layer on the behalf of the sender and Network Access
layer on the behalf of the receiver. During this article, we will be talking on the behalf of
the receiver.

1. Network Access Layer –

This layer corresponds to the combination of Data Link Layer and Physical Layer of the
OSI model. It looks out for hardware addressing and the protocols present in this layer
allows for the physical transmission of data.

2. Internet Layer –
This layer parallels the functions of OSI’s Network layer. It defines the protocols which
are responsible for logical transmission of data over the entire network. The main
protocols residing at this layer are:
1. IP – stands for Internet Protocol and it is responsible for delivering packets from
the source host to the destination host by looking at the IP addresses in the packet
headers. IP has 2 versions:

IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 is the one that most of the websites are using currently. But
IPv6 is growing as the number of IPv4 addresses are limited in number when
compared to the number of users.
2. ICMP – stands for Internet Control Message Protocol. It is encapsulated within IP
datagrams and is responsible for providing hosts with information about network
problems. Ping is the ICMP echo message.
The Ping tool is used to test whether a particular host is reachable across an IP
network. A Ping measures the time it takes for packets to be sent from the local host
to a destination computer and back. The Ping tool measures and records the round-
trip time of the packet and any losses along the way.

3. ARP – stands for Address Resolution Protocol. Its job is to find the hardware
address of a host from a known IP address. ARP has several types: Reverse ARP,
Proxy ARP, Gratuitous ARP and Inverse ARP.
 4. RARP - The basic purpose of the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) is to
convert ethernet addresses to IP addresses. RARP enables diskless machines to find
their IP addresses at boot time.

3. Host-to-Host Layer –

This layer is analogous to the transport layer of the OSI model. It is responsible for end-
to-end communication and error-free delivery of data. It shields the upper-layer
applications from the complexities of data. The two main protocols present in this layer
are :
1. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) – It is known to provide reliable and error-
free communication between end systems. It performs sequencing and
segmentation of data. It also has acknowledgment feature and controls the flow of
the data through flow control mechanism. It is a very effective protocol but has a lot
of overhead due to such features. Increased overhead leads to increased cost.
2. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) – On the other hand does not provide any such
features. It is the go-to protocol if your application does not require reliable
transport as it is very cost-effective. Unlike TCP, which is connection-oriented
protocol, UDP is connectionless.

Differences between TCP and UDP

TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL (TCP) USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL (UDP)

TCP is a connection-oriented protocol. UDP is the Datagram oriented protocol. This is

Connection-orientation means that the because there is no overhead for opening a
communicating devices should establish a connection, maintaining a connection, and
connection before transmitting data and terminating a connection. UDP is efficient for
should close the connection after transmitting broadcast and multicast type of network
 TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL (TCP) USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL (UDP)

the data. transmission.

TCP is reliable as it guarantees delivery of data The delivery of data to the destination cannot
to the destination router. be guaranteed in UDP.

TCP provides extensive error checking

mechanisms. It is because it provides flow UDP has only the basic error checking
control and acknowledgment of data. mechanism using checksums.

Sequencing of data is a feature of Transmission There is no sequencing of data in UDP. If

Control Protocol (TCP). this means that packets ordering is required, it has to be managed by
arrive in-order at the receiver. the application layer.

UDP is faster, simpler and more efficient than

TCP is comparatively slower than UDP. TCP.

Retransmission of lost packets is possible in There is no retransmission of lost packets in

TCP, but not in UDP. User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

TCP has a (20-80) bytes variable length header. UDP has a 8 bytes fixed length header.

TCP is heavy-weight. UDP is lightweight.

TCP doesn’t supports Broadcasting. UDP supports Broadcasting.

TCP is used by HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SMTP and UDP is used by DNS, DHCP, TFTP, SNMP, RIP,
Telnet. and VoIP.

4. Application Layer –

This layer performs the functions of top three layers of the OSI model: Application,
Presentation and Session Layer. It is responsible for node-to-node communication and
controls user-interface specifications. Some of the protocols present in this layer are:
HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, TFTP, Telnet, SSH, SMTP, SNMP, NTP, DNS, DHCP, NFS, X
Window, LPD. Have a look at Protocols in Application Layer for some information about
these protocols. Protocols other than those present in the linked article are:

1. HTTP and HTTPS – HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. It is used by the
World Wide Web to manage communications between web browsers and servers.
HTTPS stands for HTTP-Secure. It is a combination of HTTP with SSL(Secure
Socket Layer). It is efficient in cases where the browser need to fill out forms, sign
in, authenticate and carry out bank transactions.
2. SSH – SSH stands for Secure Shell. It is a terminal emulations software similar to
Telnet. The reason SSH is more preferred is because of its ability to maintain the
encrypted connection. It sets up a secure session over a TCP/IP connection.
3. NTP – NTP stands for Network Time Protocol. It is used to synchronize the clocks
on our computer to one standard time source. It is very useful in situations like
bank transactions. Assume the following situation without the presence of NTP.
Suppose you carry out a transaction, where your computer reads the time at 2:30
PM while the server records it at 2:28 PM. The server can crash very badly if it’s
out of sync.

4. DNS - The Domain Network System (DNS) protocol helps Internet users and network
devices discover websites using human-readable hostnames, instead of numeric IP
addresses.
5. FTP: File transfer protocol (FTP) is a set of rules that computers follow for the transferring
of files from one system to another over the internet. It may be used by a business to
transfer files from one computer system to another, or websites may use FTP to upload or
download files from a website's server.

6. Telnet - TELNET stands for TErminaL NETwork. It is a type of protocol that enables one
computer to connect to local computer. It is a used as a standard TCP/IP protocol for virtual
terminal service which is given by ISO. Computer which starts connection known as the local
computer. Computer which is being connected to i.e. which accepts the connection known
as remote computer. When the connection is established between local and remote
computer. During telnet operation whatever that is performing on the remote computer will
be displayed by local computer. Telnet operates on client/server principle. Local computer
uses telnet client program and the remote computers uses telnet server program.