Tcp/Ip Overview; Introduction - HP 300X - JetDirect Print Server Administrator's Manual

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TCP/IP Overview

Introduction

This appendix is intended to provide information to help you gain
a basic understanding of TCP/IP.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a suite
of protocols designed to define the way data is passed to
network devices.
TCP/IP is rapidly becoming the most used set of protocols. The main
reason this is happening is the fact that the internet only uses
TCP/IP. If you have a network that you wish to connect to the
internet, you must be using TCP/IP to communicate.
Internet Protocol (IP)
When information is sent across the network, the data is broken
down into small packets. Each packet is sent independently of one
another. IP routes all data packets on the network and provides
connectionless, nonguaranteed delivery of data packets across the
network. Each node on the network is assigned an IP address,
including HP Jetdirect connected devices.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
TCP handles breaking the data into packets and recombining the
packets on the receiving end by providing a connection-oriented,
reliable, and guaranteed delivery service to another node on the
network. When data packets are received at their destination, TCP
calculates a checksum for each packet to verify the data is not
corrupt. If the data in the packet has been corrupted during
transmission, TCP discards the packet and the packet is resent.
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