What you will learn in this module:
- Gain an understanding of the TCP/IP protocol suite
- Review the Microsoft TCP/IP architecture
- Define the purpose of the various TCP/IP utilities provided by Microsoft
- See how ARP works, and identify the various packet structures in use by TCP/IP
- Differentiate between ports and sockets
The TCP/IP Protocol Suite
TCP/IP is an industry standard set of network transport protocols.
The major benefit in utilizing TCP/IP is the wide support for the protocol. It is the primary protocol of the Internet and the World Wide Web. It is also the primary protocol for many private internets, which are networks that connect local area networks (LANs) together.
Benefits of Using TCP/IP
Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Professional offers the following advantages:
- A standard, routable networking protocol
- The protocol can be used in complex, mixed network environments
- TCP/IP facilitates connection of Windows 2000 to the Internet
Microsoft TCP/IP includes the following:
- Core TCP/IP protocols, such as TCP, UDP, ARP, ICMP, IGMP and IP
- Support for PPP, SLIP, PPTP and L2TP which facilitate dialup connections to the Internet
- Support for NetBIOS and Windows Sockets
- Simple utilities such as PING, Finger etc
- Diagnostic tools, including NSLOOKUP, TRACERT etc
- Server side services, like WINS, DNS and DHCP
- Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent for network monitoring purposes
TCP/IP Utilities and Programs
The TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Defined within the four layers of TCP/IP are protocols that dictate how computers connect and communicate.
The most common of these protocols are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP).
The following sections introduce these protocols, explain how they relate to Windows 2000 networking, and describe where and how TCP/IP configuration parameters are stored on Windows 2000.
Four Main Layers of the TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Network Interface Layer
This layer is responsible for putting frames onto the physical network. In Windows 2000 this is handled by NDIS.
Internet Layer
Internet protocols encapsulate packets into Internet datagrams and deal with routing. The four protocols used at this layer are :
- ARP which is used for hardware address resolution
- ICMP which sends messages and reports on errors regarding packet delivery
- IGMP is used for multicast routing
- IP which is responsible for addressing and routing packets between hosts and networks
Transport Layer
Transport protocols provide communication sessions between computers. There are two transport protocols :
- TCP provides connection orientated delivery
- UDP which provides connectionless delivery
Application Layer
The top level of the architecture is the application layer. Microsoft provide a number of programming interfaces at this level :
- Windows Sockets which provides a standard set of APIs to several transport protocols (TCP/IP and IPX/SPX)
- NetBIOS which is a widely implemented programming interface, providing standard naming and messaging services widely used in Windows 2000 to Windows 2000 communication
