---
title: "What is TCP/IP?"  
description: "What is TCP/IP?"  
author: "Abhay Srivastava"  
published: 2017-11-14  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/30559/what-is-tcp-ip  
category: "technology"  
tags: ["computer networking"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# What is TCP/IP?

What is [TCP](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/1309/which-tcp-ip-port-does-sql-server-run-on-how-can-it-be-changed)/IP?

## Answers

### Answer by Harshal Vispute

**Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)** is a set of communication protocols that are used to connect network devices on the internet. In a private computer network, **TCP/IP is also used as a communications protocol in a private computer network (an intranet or extranet).** \
**The whole IP suite, which comprises a set of rules and procedures, is referred to as TCP/IP.** The most prevalent protocols are **TCP and IP,** but the suite also contains others. **The TCP/IP protocol suite acts as an abstraction layer between internet applications** and the routing and switching fabric. \
TCP/IP defines how data is exchanged over the internet by defining end-to-end communications that define how packets should be **broken down, addressed, transported, routed, and received at their destination**. **TCP/IP is a network protocol that requires little central control and is meant to make networks more dependable by allowing them to automatically recover from the failure of any device on the network.** \
T**he two core protocols in the IP suite serve different purposes**. TCP is a protocol that describes how programs can create communication channels across a network. It also regulates how a message is decomposed into smaller packets and transported over the internet, where it is reassembled in the correct order at the destination address. \
The following are examples of **TCP/IP protocols**:

- **The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol that allows a web server and a web browser to communicate.**
- **HTTP Secure is a protocol that allows a web server and a web browser to communicate securely.**
- **The File Transfer Protocol is used to send files between computers.**

\


---

Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/30559/what-is-tcp-ip

Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.