TCP for Dummies Notes

Introduction

• Networking protocols define rules and conventions for communication between network devices
• Developed network protocols in "layers"
  • each layer of protocols responsible for defining communication between a certain network piece
• protocol suite - a combination of different protocols for each layer
  • referred to as a TCP/IP stack

Chapter 1 - Understanding TCP/IP Basics

• Internet Society (ISOC)
  • guides future of internet by overseeing Internet standards, public policy, education, and training
  • members are corporations, international and gov. organizations, and individuals (ex. IAB, IETF)
• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
  • assigns Internet addresses
  • run by an international board of directors and funded by the Internet community
• Internet Activities Board (IAB) *defines the architecture for the Internet *oversees the Internet's protocols (TCP/IP)
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
  • 70 informal committees responsible for keeping the Internet up and running every day
  • IAB supervises the IETF

• Request for Comments(RFC) document the TCP/IP protocols
  • the RFC editors are a small group that works for ISOC but anyone can write an RFC
  • RFC categories:
    • Standard - approved technical standard, Proposed Standard -> Draft Standard -> Standard
    • Best Current Practices (BCP) - guidelines and recommendations, RFC 4107 "Guidelines for Cryptographic Key Management"
    • Experimental - part of a research or development project, RFC 5335 "Internationalized Email Headers"
    • Historic - refers most RFCs are former standards that are now obsolete
    • Informational (FYI) - provides general information, RFC 4677 "The Tao of IETF - A Novices Guide to the Internet Engineering Task Force"
• intranet - a private network within an organization
• extranet - a part of an intranet that is shared with people outside your organization (ex. customers, suppliers)
• Virtual Private Networks (VPN) - private network that runs over public facilities, such as the Internet
  • secure bc it encrypts data before sending it, and uses special tunneling and security protocols on the public network

-- HelenFemmel - 2015-07-27