What is the Internet Protocol?

The Internet Protocol (IP) is a system set of rules describing how computers can communicate with each other over networks. It breaks data up into pieces, called packets. They are numbered, so the receiver can build the whole structure, whether that’s text, images, or some new data type yet to be invented.

• Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of rules that governs how data is sent and received over the internet and private networks.
• TCP/IP is the combination of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and IP, ensuring reliable communication. Some communications, like DNS, use UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which is faster but less reliable due to being connectionless.
• IPv4, introduced in 1983, is still the most widely supported version, while IPv6, specified in 1998, is gaining traction, accounting for around 40% of internet traffic.

Protocols describe who talks and what kind of thing they say at each step of a conversation. IP is the protocol used by computers that send and receive data over the internet and many private computer networks. IPv4 was the first version of IP to be deployed outside of a lab.

IP is not complete on its own. For instance, early versions of IP included an element for managing a session between two computers. This was broken out in IPv4 and called the Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP. That is why IPv4 is sometimes called TCP/IP.

Not all internet communications use TCP. Protocols like DNS often use UDP, the User Datagram Protocol. It is cheaper because it is connectionless. That means the information about any ongoing session is contained within the data packets themselves. As a consequence, sessions can start faster.

IPv4 was launched in 1983. It is still the most widely supported version of IP. IPv6 was specified in 1998 and accounts for about 40 percent of internet traffic.

Explore More Related to IP and Networking

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• How Many IPv4 Addresses There?
• What are Legacy IPv4 Addresses?