The Host-to-Host layer can be compared to the OSI Trans-

port layer. Host-to-Host protocols enable peer communica-

tion between hosts on the internetwork.

One huge advantage of TCP/IP is that TCP/IP is required for

communication over the Internet. One disadvantage is that the

size of the protocol stack makes TCP/IP difficult to implement on

some older machines.

Internet Protocol (IP)

The Internet Protocol (IP) is a connectionless protocol that provides datagram service.

IP is a packet-switching protocol that performs addressing and route selection.

.An IP header is appended to packets, which are transmitted as frames by lower-level protocols.

IP routes packets through internetworks by utilizing dynamic routing tables that are referenced at each
hop.

IP performs packet disassembly and reassembly as required by packet size limitations defined for the
Data Link and Physical layers being implemented.

IP also performs error checking on the header data using a checksum, although data from upper layers
is not error-checked.

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)

The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) enhances the error control provided by IP.
Connectionless protocols, such as IP, can-not detect internetwork errors, such as congestion or path fail-

ures.

ICMP can detect such errors and notify IP and upper-layerprotocols.

Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) in the TCP/IP suite is not the same protocol as RIP in the
NetWare suite, although the two serve similar functions.

Internet RIP performs route discovery by using a distance-vector method, calculating the number of
hops that must be crossed to route a packet by a particular path.
RIP presents many weaknesses that limit its utility on wide-area internetworks.

RIP’s distance-vector route discovery method.

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

OSPF protocol, which uses the link-state route discovery method.

The Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol is a link-state route discovery protocol that is designed to
overcome the limitations of RIP.

On large internetworks, OSPF can identify the internetwork topology and improve performance by
implementing load balancing and class-of-service routing.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is an internetwork protocol that corresponds to the OSI
Transport layer.

TCP provides full-duplex, end-to-end connections.

When the overhead of end-to-end communication acknowledgment isn’t required, the User

Datagram Protocol (UDP) can be substituted for TCP at the Transport (host-to-host) level.

TCP also provides message fragmentation and reassembly and can accept messages of any length from
upper-layer protocols.

When used with IP, TCP adds connection-oriented service and performs segment synchronization,
adding sequence numbers at the byte level.

Each virtual-circuit connection is assigned a connection identifier called a port, which identifies the
datagrams associated with that connection.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a connectionless Transport (host-to-host) layer protocol. UDP does
not provide message acknowledgments; rather, it simply transports datagrams.

UDP is preferred over TCP when high performance or low network overhead is more critical

than reliable delivery.

Because UDP doesn’t need to establish,maintain, and close connections, or control data flow, it
generallyoutperforms TCP.
UDP is the Transport layer protocol used with the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), the
standard network management protocol used with TCP/IP networks.

UDP enables SNMP to provide network management with a minimum of network overhead.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

Three types of address information are used on TCP/IP internet-works:

Physical addresses:- Used by the Data Link and Physical

IP addresses:- IP ad-dresses consist of four numbers typically expressed in dotted-decimal form.

Logical node names:- Identify specific hosts with alphanumeric identifiers, which are easier for users to
recall than the umeric IP addresses.

Domain Name System (DNS)

The Domain Name System (DNS) protocol provides name and ad-dress resolution as a service to client
applications.

DNS serversenable humans to use logical node names to access network re-sources.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a protocol for sharing files between networked hosts.

FTP enables users to log on to remote hosts.

Logged-on users can inspect directories, manipulate files,execute commands, and perform other
commands on the host.

FTP also has the capability of transferring files between dissimilar hosts by supporting a file request
structure that is independent of specific operating systems.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is a protocol for routing mail through internetworks.

SMTP uses the TCP and IP protocols.

SNMP doesn’t provide a mail interface for the user.

Remote Terminal Emulation

TELNET is a terminal emulation protocol.
 TELNET enables PCs and workstations to function as dumb terminals in sessions with hosts on
internetworks.

TELNET implementations are available for most end-user platforms, including Unix.

Datagram Format
IPv4 defines the format of a packet in which the data coming from the upper layer or other protocols are
encapsulated. Packets used by the IP are called datagrams.

A datagram is a variable-length packet consisting of two parts: header and payload (data).

The header is 20 to 60 bytes in length and contains information essential to routing and delivery.

What is IPv4?

IP stands for Internet Protocol version v4 stands for Version Four (IPv4), is the
most widely used system for identifying devices on a network.
It uses a set of four numbers, separated by periods (like 192.168.0.1), to give each
device a unique address. This address helps data find its way from one device to
another over the internet.
IPv4 was the primary version brought into action for production within the ARPANET
in 1983.
IP version four addresses are 32-bit integers which will be expressed in decimal
notation. Example- 192.0.2.126 could be an IPv4 address .

Classful IP Addressing
Classful IP addressing is an obsolete method for allocating IP addresses and dividing the available IP
address space across networks.
 Classful addressing provided a straightforward method to allocate and manage IP addresses based
on fixed classes, simplifying the administrative burden associated with IP address distribution.
 Classful addressing was a cost-effective solution that supported the early expansion of
the Internet by avoiding the need for complex subnetting schemes that require additional
computing resources and more sophisticated network management tools.

Classes of IP Addressing
The 32-bit IP address is divided into five sub-classes. These are given below:
 Class A
 Class B
 Class C
 Class D
 Class E

Class A
IP addresses belonging to class A are assigned to the networks that contain a large number of hosts.
 The network ID is 8 bits long.
 The host ID is 24 bits long.
 The higher-order bit of the first octet in class A is always set to 0. The remaining 7 bits in the first octet
are used to determine network ID. The 24 bits of host ID are used to determine the host in any network.
The default subnet mask for Class A is 255.x.x.x. Therefore, class A has a total of:
 224 – 2 = 16,777,214 host ID
IP addresses belonging to class A ranges from 0.0.0.0 – 127.255.255.255.

Class B
IP address belonging to class B is assigned to networks that range from medium-sized to large-sized
networks.
 The network ID is 16 bits long.
 The host ID is 16 bits long.
The higher-order bits of the first octet of IP addresses of class B are always set to 10. The remaining 14
bits are used to determine the network ID. The 16 bits of host ID are used to determine the host in any
network. The default subnet mask for class B is 255.255.x.x. Class B has a total of:
 214 = 16384 network address
 216 – 2 = 65534 host address
IP addresses belonging to class B ranges from 128.0.0.0 – 191.255.255.255.

Class C
IP addresses belonging to class C are assigned to small-sized networks.
 The network ID is 24 bits long.
 The host ID is 8 bits long.
The higher-order bits of the first octet of IP addresses of class C is always set to 110. The remaining 21
bits are used to determine the network ID. The 8 bits of host ID are used to determine the host in any
network. The default subnet mask for class C is 255.255.255.x. Class C has a total of:
 221 = 2097152 network address
 28 – 2 = 254 host address
IP addresses belonging to class C range from 192.0.0.0 – 223.255.255.255.
 Class C

Class D
IP address belonging to class D is reserved for multi-casting.
The higher-order bits of the first octet of IP addresses belonging to class D is always set to 1110. The
remaining bits are for the address that interested hosts recognize.
Class D does not possess any subnet mask. IP addresses belonging to class D range from 224.0.0.0 –
239.255.255.255.

Class D

Class E
IP addresses belonging to class E are reserved for experimental and research purposes.
IP addresses of class E range from 240.0.0.0 – 255.255.255.255. This class doesn’t have any subnet
mask.
The higher-order bits of the first octet of class E are always set to 1111.

Difference between classful addressing & classless

addressing
Parameter Classful Addressing Classless Addressing

Classless addressing
came to replace the
In Classful addressing IP
classful addressing and
Basics addresses are allocated
to handle the issue of
according to the classes- A to E.
rapid exhaustion of IP
addresses.

Practical It is less practical. It is more practical.

Network ID and The changes in the Network ID There is no such

Host ID and Host ID depend on the restriction of class in
 Parameter Classful Addressing Classless Addressing

class. classless addressing.

It supports the Variable

It does not support the Variable
VLSM Length Subnet Mask
Length Subnet Mask (VLSM).
(VLSM).

Classful addressing requires It requires less

more bandwidth. As a result, it bandwidth. Thus, fast
Bandwidth becomes slower and more and less expensive as
expensive as compared to compared to classful
classless addressing. addressing.

It supports Classless
It does not support Classless
CIDR Inter-Domain Routing
Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR).
(CIDR).

Updates Regular or periodic updates Triggered Updates

Troubleshooting and problem

Troubleshooting detection are easy than It is not as easy
and Problem classless addressing because of compared to classful
detection the division of network, host and addressing.
subnet parts in the address.

 Network
Division of  Host
 Host
Address  Subnet
 Subnet
Subnetting
Dividing a large block of addresses into several contiguous sub-blocks and assigning
these sub-blocks to different smaller networks is called subnetting. It is a practice that
is widely used when classless addressing is done.
A subnet or subnetwork is a network inside a network. Subnets make networks more
efficient. Through subnetting, network traffic can travel a shorter distance without
passing through unnecessary routers to reach its destination.

classless addressing
A classless addressing system or classless interdomain routing (CIDR or supernetting)
is the way to combine two or more class C networks to create a/23 or a /22 supernet.
 A classless addressing system or classless interdomain routing (CIDR) is an
improved IP addressing system.

In a classless addressing system the block of IP address is assigned dynamically based on specific
rules.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)

The Internet Protocol version 6, or IPv6, is the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP), which is the
system used for identifying and locating computers on the Internet.

IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to deal with the problem of IPv4
exhaustion.

IPv6 is a 128-bit address having an address space of 2 128, which is way bigger than IPv4.

IPv6 uses a Hexa-Decimal format separated by a colon (:).