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Types of Internet Protocols

Last Updated : 21 Oct, 2024
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Internet protocols are a set of rules that allow computers and
other devices to communicate over the Internet. These protocols
ensure that data is sent, received, and understood correctly
between different systems. There are many types of internet
protocols, each serving a specific purpose, such as transferring files,
sending emails, or securing data. Understanding these protocols is
important for making the internet work efficiently and securely. In
this article we will see different types of internet protocol in detail.
What is Internet Protocol?
As we discuss Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of rules that allows
devices to communicate with each other over the Internet. It is like
the address system used for sending data. Every device connected
to the internet has a unique IP address that helps data know where
to go and where it is coming from.
What is IP Addressing?
An IP address represents an Internet Protocol address. A unique
address that identifies the device over the network. It is almost like
a set of rules governing the structure of data sent over the Internet
or through a local network. An IP address helps the Internet to
distinguish between different routers, computers, and websites. It
serves as a specific machine identifier in a specific network and
helps to improve visual communication between source and
destination.
Working of Internet Protocol
Step by step working of internet protocol:
 Dividing Data into Packets: When you send
information over the internet, IP split it into small parts
called packets. Each packet contains a piece of the data
and the address of where it needs to go.
 Addressing: Every device connected to the internet
has its own IP address. This address helps identify where
the data is being sent from and where it should be delivered.
 Routing the Packets: As the packets travel across
the internet, they pass through several devices
called routers. These routers help direct the packets toward
the correct destination, like how mail is sorted at different
post offices.
 Reassemble the Data: Once all the packets arrive at
the destination, they are put back together to recreate the
original message or file.
 Handling Missing Packets: If some packets don’t
arrive, the system can request that they be sent again,
making sure the complete data is received.
This process helps data move efficiently across the internet, no
matter how far it needs to travel or how many networks it passes
through.
Need for Internet Protocols
The sender and receiver of data are parts of different networks,
located in different parts of the world having different data transfer
rates. So, we need protocols to manage the flow control of data and
access control of the link being shared in the communication
channel. Suppose there is a sender X who has a data transmission
rate of 10 Mbps. And, there is a receiver Y who has a data receiving
rate of 5Mbps. Since the rate of receiving the data is slow so some
data will be lost during transmission. In order to avoid this, receiver
Y needs to inform sender X about the speed mismatch so that
sender X can adjust its transmission rate. Similarly, the access
control decides the node which will access the link shared in the
communication channel at a particular instant in time. If not the
transmitted data will collide if many computers send data
simultaneously through the same link resulting in the corruption or
loss of data.
Types of Internet Protocol
Internet Protocols are of different types having different uses. These
are mentioned below:
1. TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol)
2. SMTP(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
3. PPP(Point-to-Point Protocol)
4. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
5. SFTP(Secure File Transfer Protocol)
6. HTTP(Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
7. HTTPS(HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure)
8. TELNET(Terminal Network)
9. POP3(Post Office Protocol 3)
10. IPv4
11. IPv6
12. ICMP
13. UDP
14. IMAP
15. SSH
16. Gopher
1. TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol)
In TCP/IP, the IP protocol ensures that each computer that is
connected to the Internet is having a specific serial number called
the IP address. TCP specifies how data is exchanged over the
internet and how it should be broken into IP packets. It also makes
sure that the packets have information about the source of the
message data, the destination of the message data, the sequence in
which the message data should be re-assembled, and checks if the
message has been sent correctly to the specific destination. The TCP
is also known as a connection-oriented protocol.
 TCP/IP

For more details, please refer TCP/IP Model article.

2. SMTP(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
SMTP protocol is important for sending and distributing outgoing
emails. This protocol uses the header of the mail to get the email id
of the receiver and enters the mail into the queue of outgoing mail.
And as soon as it delivers the mail to the receiving email id, it
removes the email from the outgoing list. The message or the
electronic mail may consider the text, video, image, etc. It helps in
setting up some communication server rules.
 SMTP

3. PPP(Point-to-Point Protocol)
PPP is a communication protocol that is used to create a direct
connection between two communicating devices. This protocol
defines the rules using which two devices will authenticate with
each other and exchange information with each other. For example,
A user connects his PC to the server of an Internet Service Provider
and also uses PPP. Similarly, for connecting two routers for direct
communication it uses PPP.
4. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
This protocol is used for transferring files from one system to the
other. This works on a client-server model. When a machine
requests for file transfer from another machine, the FTO sets up a
connection between the two and authenticates each other using
their ID and Password. And, the desired file transfer takes place
between the machines.
 FTP

5. SFTP(Secure File Transfer Protocol)

SFTP which is also known as SSH FTP refers to File Transfer Protocol
(FTP) over Secure Shell (SSH) as it encrypts both commands and
data while in transmission. SFTP acts as an extension to SSH and
encrypts files and data then sends them over a secure shell data
stream. This protocol is used to remotely connect to other systems
while executing commands from the command line.
6. HTTP(Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
HTTP protocol is used to transfer hypertexts over the internet and it
is defined by the www(world wide web) for information transfer. This
protocol defines how the information needs to be formatted and
transmitted. And, it also defines the various actions the web
browsers should take in response to the calls made to access a
particular web page. Whenever a user opens their web browser, the
user will indirectly use HTTP as this is the protocol that is being used
to share text, images, and other multimedia files on the World Wide
Web.
 HTTP

7. HTTPS(HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure)

HTTPS is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It is
used for secure communication over a computer network with
the SSL/TLS protocol for encryption and authentication. So,
generally, a website has an HTTP protocol but if the website is such
that it receives some sensitive information such as credit card
details, debit card details, OTP, etc then it requires an SSL certificate
installed to make the website more secure. So, before entering any
sensitive information on a website, we should check if the link is
HTTPS or not. If it is not HTTPS then it may not be secure enough to
enter sensitive information.
8. TELNET(Terminal Network)
TELNET is a standard TCP/IP protocol used for virtual terminal
service given by ISO. This enables one local machine to connect with
another. The computer which is being connected is called a remote
computer and which is connecting is called the local computer.
TELNET operation lets us display anything being performed on the
remote computer in the local computer. This operates on the
client/server principle. The local computer uses the telnet client
program whereas the remote computer uses the telnet server
program.
9. POP3(Post Office Protocol 3)
POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol version 3. It has two Message
Access Agents (MAAs) where one is client MAA (Message Access
Agent) and another is server MAA(Message Access Agent) for
accessing the messages from the mailbox. This protocol helps us to
retrieve and manage emails from the mailbox on the receiver mail
server to the receiver’s computer. This is implied between the
receiver and the receiver mail server. It can also be called a one-
way client-server protocol. The POP3 works on two ports i.e port 110
and port 995.
10. IPv4
The fourth and initially widely used version of the Internet Protocol is
called IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4). It is the most popular
version of the Internet Protocol and is in charge of distributing data
packets throughout the network. Maximum unique addresses for
IPv4 are 4,294,967,296 (232), which are possible due to the use of
32-bit addresses. The network address and the host address are the
two components of each address. The host address identifies a
particular device within the network, whereas the network address
identifies the network to which the host belongs. In the “dotted
decimal” notation, which is the standard for IPv4 addresses, each
octet (8 bits) of the address is represented by its decimal value and
separated by a dot (e.g. 192.168.1.1).
11. IPv6
The most recent version of the Internet Protocol, IPv6, was created
to address the IPv4 protocol’s drawbacks. A maximum of 4.3 billion
unique addresses are possible with IPv4’s 32-bit addresses.
Contrarily, IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, which enable a significantly
greater number of unique addresses. This is significant because IPv4
addresses were running out and there are an increasing number of
devices that require internet access. Additionally, IPv6 offers
enhanced security features like integrated authentication and
encryption as well as better support for mobile devices. IPv6 support
has spread among websites and internet service providers, and it is
anticipated to gradually displace IPv4 as the main internet protocol.
For more details, please refer Differences between IPv4 and
IPv6 article.
12. ICMP
ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is a network protocol that
is used to send error messages and operational information about
network conditions. It is an integral part of the Internet Protocol (IP)
suite and is used to help diagnose and troubleshoot issues with
network connectivity. ICMP messages are typically generated by
network devices, such as routers, in response to errors or
exceptional conditions encountered in forwarding a datagram. Some
examples of ICMP messages include:
 Echo Request and Echo Reply (ping)
 Destination Unreachable
 Time Exceeded
 Redirect
ICMP can also be used by network management tools to test the
reachability of a host and measure the round-trip time for packets to
travel from the source to the destination and back. It should be
noted that ICMP is not a secure protocol, it can be used in some
types of network attacks like DDoS amplification.
13. UDP
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a connectionless, unreliable
transport layer protocol. Unlike TCP, it does not establish a reliable
connection between devices before transmitting data, and it does
not guarantee that data packets will be received in the order they
were sent or that they will be received at all. Instead, UDP simply
sends packets of data to a destination without any error checking or
flow control. UDP is typically used for real-time applications such as
streaming video and audio, online gaming, and VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol) where a small amount of lost data is acceptable
and low latency is important. UDP is faster than TCP because it has
less overhead. It doesn’t need to establish a connection, so it can
send data packets immediately. It also doesn’t need to wait for
confirmation that the data was received before sending more, so it
can transmit data at a higher rate.
14. IMAP
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a protocol used for
retrieving emails from a mail server. It allows users to access and
manage their emails on the server, rather than downloading them to
a local device. This means that the user can access their emails
from multiple devices and the emails will be synced across all
devices. IMAP is more flexible than POP3 (Post Office Protocol
version 3) as it allows users to access and organize their emails on
the server, and also allows multiple users to access the same
mailbox.
15. SSH
SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol used for secure remote login and
other secure network services. It provides a secure and encrypted
way to remotely access and manage servers, network devices, and
other computer systems. SSH uses public-key cryptography to
authenticate the user and encrypt the data being transmitted,
making it much more secure than traditional remote login protocols
such as Telnet. SSH also allows for secure file transfers using the
SCP (Secure Copy) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer
Protocol) protocols. It is widely used in Unix-based operating
systems and is also available for Windows. It is commonly used by
system administrators, developers, and other technical users to
remotely access and manage servers and other network devices.
16. Gopher
Gopher is a type of file retrieval protocol that provides downloadable
files with some description for easy management, retrieving, and
searching of files. All the files are arranged on a remote computer in
a stratified manner. It is an old protocol and it is not much used
nowadays.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the various types of Internet Protocols (IP) play a
important role in enabling communication across networks, ensuring
to transfer of data between devices. Protocols such
as IP , TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, and SMTP serve distinct purposes,
from routing data packets efficiently to providing reliable file
transfers and web communication. Each protocol resolved specific
requirement with in internet connectivity,and ensuring that the data
communication must be reliable, secure, and efficient.
Frequently Asked Questions on Types of Internet Protocols
– FAQs
What does FTP do?
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) helps move files between computers
on a network. It’s like using a digital post office to send or receive
large files.
What is the role of SMTP?
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used to send emails
from one server to another. It ensures your email is delivered to the
right recipient.
Why is IP important for the internet?
IP (Internet Protocol) assigns unique addresses to devices, like
phones and computers, so they can find each other and send
information across the internet.

kumarankit4685

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