TCPIP Definition / How Does TCPIP Work ?

It can be found on virtually all types of operating systems today, this includes Windows, UNIX & Macintosh Operating systems.

As you can see from above TCPIP is actually 2 protocols, this stack of profiles is generally written as TCP/IP to signify this.

If you’re connected to the internet to read this you’ll be using TCPIP right now.



To find out your IP address simply go to the start menu, type CMD, click OK, you’ll get a black dos shell screen, now type IPCONFIG, hit the enter key, there you have it your IP address, something like 192.168.0.55.

This address is allocated to you by your router, your router will also have an IP address which is allocated by your ISP (internet service provider), an IP address is made up of 4 sets of numbers ranging from 0 to 255.

On each network an IP address must be unique, two computers having the same IP address clash, the first pc being logged on being the dominant of the two with the other being unable to access the internet/network

IP addresses are allocated by two methods, the first of these is the static IP address, this basically means that the IP address has been manually setup on a computer.

The second type of allocation is DHCP or dynamic host control protocol , this is the most common type, where the IP address is dynamically allocated to the computer from a device such as a switch or router.

computer adviser TCPIP definition article

When you connect to the internet your computer uses TCPIP of course, but it also uses a special port and protocol called HTTP or hypertext transfer protocol, every time you perform a particular function on the internet it uses a different universally assigned port, so browsing will use one type of port, downloading email another, uploading email another and so on.

The best way to explain software ports is to apply them to your house, the IP address is your house number and each port is a different opening to your house, for example the front door would be one type of port, the back door another, the chimney another and so forth

The most common ports are
Port 80 HTTP which is used for browsing the internet.
Port 21 FTP or file transfer protocol which a test based way used for transferring files.
Port 443 HTTPS or hypertext transfer protocol secure allows files to be transferred securely, often used when you are browsing a secure website such as your bank account, this can normally be recognized as HTTPS at the front of the URL or website address.
Port 25 SMTP or simple mail transfer protocol is used when you send an email from a mail program such as Outlook.
Port 110 POP3 or post office protocol is used when you receive an email through an email application.
Port 3389 RDC or remote desktop and terminal services, this is used when connecting and controlling another pc.

Unfortunately software ports can provide access to you pc for hackers so a good firewall is essential, checkout our firewall guides

After our TCPIP definition article, checkout our firewall pages

computer adviser tcpip definition article