Stacked Protocols

 What exactly is a protocol?

Its is simply a set of rules that tells each computer how data has to be received and sent from its interface. A STACK is simply a group of protocols, each serving a specialized function. Such a set of interconnected and cooperating protocols is also called a SUITE.

 Some of the other stacked protocols that have been developed for the networking world are:

    1. Systems Network Architecture (SNA).
    2. Xerox Network Systems (XNS).
    3. Open Systems Interconnect (OSI).

 Note that no direct correlation exists between the TCP/IP protocol suite and the OSI protocol suite. TCP/IP predates OSI by at least 10 solid years.

 A brief comparison of the various stacks is given below.

(a)TCP/IP

End User

Process

Host-to-Host

Internet

Network Interface

(b) SNA

End User

Application

Resource Control

Inter-process Control

Internal Transport

Physical

(c) OSI

End User

Application Services

Presentation Services

Session Services

Transport Services

Network Services

Data Link Control

Physical

 There are very few actual implementations using OSI. For example the X.25 network equipment X.400 Mail and the X.500 directory services.

 All these architectures address THREE (3) important issues:

  1. Data Exchange. (Intercommunication)
  2. Data Interpretation. (Interoperation)
  3. System Management.

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Maintained by Mohan Atreya , Last update April 8, 1999

First created on November 10, 1998