| Protocol |
Description |
| Ethernet |
Ethernet is actually a family of related protocols that determines how data is transmitted over ethernet cables on a network. It breaks data up into small chunks known as frames and uses the MAC address of devices
to send data to the right locations. |
| Wifi |
Wifi is actually a trademark and the generic name you should use is WLAN. A wireless access point connected to a network converts its data to radio waves and broadcasts it to devices with a wireless network adapter
that are within range. It also receives wireless signals and converts them to digital signals so user can send data to the network. Wifi is also in fact a family of related protocols. |
| TCP |
TCP short for transmission control protocol is used to break up data that is to be sent across the internet into small chunks called packets. It labels packets with senders and receivers IP addresses, total number
of packets in the transmission and the number of this packet and uses this information to check for errors when the data is received at the other end. |
| UDP |
UDP short for user datagram protocol is another method for splitting up data to be sent over the internet. Messages known as datagrams are sent between devices. Key differences from TCP include that no error checking
takes place with UDP and it maintains an open connection between the two devices throughout the transmission. This makes it faster and suitable for things like online gaming and video streaming. |
| IP |
IP short for internet protocol is used to route packets from source to destination. It does this using network address tables that update the fastest way to each of the routers they are connected to every time a packet
is sent. By consulting these tables packets are each sent the fastest way to the destination, though they may not all go the same way as the fastest route is always changing. |
| HTTP |
HTTP short for hyper text transfer protocol is the protocol used to request HTML web pages from a web server for viewing in a web browser. |
| HTTPS |
HTTPS short for hyper text transfer protocol secure serves the same purpose as HTTP but in addition it encrypts information before it is transmitted so if it were intercepted it could not be read. This is why it is used
when sensitive details like banking login details are being transmitted. A padlock can be seen in the URL when using HTTPS. |
| FTP |
FTP short for file transfer protocol is used to transfer files between a client and a server on a network. FTP is commonly used to transfer web pages to a hosting server. |
| SMTP |
SMTP short for simple mail transfer protocol is responsible for sending emails you compose and send to your email server. It is also responsible for sending the email from your mail server to the recipients. |
| IMAP |
IMAP short for internet messaging access protocol is the protocol used to allow users to view email messages on the server as though they were on their local device. This includes being able to organise messages into
groups, set reminders, store draft messages and more. It has largely replaced the post office protocol(POP) because it had a flaw where messages were downloaded from the server to the device that accessed them and therefore
were not visible if then viewed on a different device. |