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What is TCP?

IP addresses come in two forms: IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 addresses have the format X.X.X.X, where each X is a value in the range 0-255. Due to concerns about depleting the pool of available IPv4 addresses, the IPv6 protocol was created. Instead of the 32 bits used by IPv4, IPv6 uses 128 bits, giving it a much larger pool of potential addresses. While IPv4 is still the standard for Internet routing, a computer can have both an IPv4 and IPv6 address and be reached via either.

IP is designed to get a network packet to the intended destination computer. However, a computer might have many different applications running on it. After a packet reaches its destination, it must be directed to the right application.

The Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) accomplish this via the use of ports. Each port is associated with a particular application, so the combination of IP address and port uniquely identifies a particular application on a certain computer.

TCP and UDP packets are encapsulated within an IP packet. This means that a packet will include an IP header followed by the TCP or UDP header and any data that the TCP or UDP packet is carrying.

TCP/IP is one of the foundational protocols of the Internet and underpins many common network protocols, such as HTTP which is used for web applications.

The TCP/IP model encompasses these four layers of the network stack:

TCP and UDP perform similar roles, ensuring that packets are transported to the destination application. However, they have different areas of focus and methods of operation.

TCP is a connection-oriented protocol designed to ensure that packets reach their destination in the correct order and that no data is lost in transit. A TCP connection starts with the TCP handshake, which includes the following three steps:

After the handshake is complete, the client and server can send data to each other over the established connection. Each data packet in the communication is acknowledged by the recipient with an ACK packet, verifying that nothing was lost in transit. TCP also includes the ability to reorder out-of-order packets and re-send any dropped packets. This makes TCP well-suited to use cases where preventing data loss is more important than efficiency.

In contrast, UDP is a connectionless protocol. In UDP, the client sends a request, and the server replies. UDP cant detect if packets are dropped or perform any other error handling. UDP is designed to prioritize efficiency at the cost of potential data loss or errors.

The other major network model in common use is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The OSI model describes seven layers instead of the four used in TCP/IP. The OSI model is more of a theoretical model of the network, which breaks out various functions. The TCP/IP model reflects the actual structure of a network packet.

TCP/IP is a foundational network protocol and underlies many of the core protocols and applications in common use today. Check Point has offered network security solutions for over thirty years, beginning with on-prem firewalls and expanding as technologies evolve to include cloud, endpoint, mobile, and IoT security.

Check Point firewalls provide security at multiple layers of the TCP/IP model, including enforcing zero-trust policies and ensuring packets comply with the TCP/IP protocol standards. Additionally,

Check Points IPsec and SSL Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) ensure that content in TCP/IP packets is private and protect against man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.

In addition Check Point Quantum SD-WAN ensures corporate Wide Area Networks (WANs) are used optimally. This includes steering packets by application over multiple links, ensuring link stability and performance, and rerouting when the link performance falls below a configurable SLA. Learn more about SD-WAN must-haves in this ebook. Then, see the capabilities of Quantum SD-WAN for yourself with a free demo.

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What is TCP/IP? - Check Point Software