Network protocol

Because there are so many different devices which all need to be designed to work together over the internet, we need to have a standard so they can all follow to make sure they can communicate with each other properly. We call this standard a protocol.

A protocol is a set of rules that defines how data is transmitted and received between devices on a network. It specifies the format data should be sent in.

Common network protocols

A few of the protocols that we use on the internet and over networks are:

• Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)