Ideally, TCP/IP is used whenever Windows-based computers communicate over networks.
This subject describes the components of the TCP/IP Protocol Suite, the protocol architecture, which functions TCP/IP performs, how addresses are structured and assigned, and how packets are structured and routed.
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 provides extensive support for the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite, as both a protocol and a set of services for connectivity and management of IP internetworks. Knowledge of the basic concepts of TCP/IP is an absolute requirement for the proper understanding of the configuration, deployment, and troubleshooting of IP-based Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 intranets.
TCP/IP Protocol Architecture
TCP/IP protocols map to a four-layer conceptual model known as the DARPA model, named after the U.S. government agency that initially developed TCP/IP. The four layers of the DARPA model are: Application, Transport, Internet, and Network Interface. Each layer in the DARPA model corresponds to one or more layers of the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.
The following figure shows the TCP/IP protocol architecture.
TCP/IP Protocol Architecture
Note
The architectural diagram above corresponds to the Internet Protocol TCP/IP and does not reflect IP version 6. To see a TCP/IP architectural diagrm that includes IPv6, see How IPv6 Works in this technical reference.
Network Interface Layer
The Network Interface layer (also called the Network Access layer) handles placing TCP/IP packets on the network medium and receiving TCP/IP packets off the