HP 4200n HP Jetdirect Print Servers - Administrator Guide - Page 243

A TCP/IP Overview Introduction This appendix is intended to provide information to help you gain a basic understanding of TCP/IP. Similar to a common language that people use to communicate with each other, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a suite of protocols designed to define the way computers and other devices communicate with each other over a network. TCP/IP is rapidly becoming the most used set of protocols. The main reason this is happening is the fact that the Internet is based on 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. Each packet is encoded with IP information, such as the IP address of the sender and receiver. IP packets can be routed over routers and gateways, devices that connect a network with other networks. IP communications is connectionless. When IP packets are sent, there is no guarantee that they arrive at their destination in the proper sequence. That task can be performed by higher level protocols and applications thereby allowing IP communications to be efficient. Each node or device that will communicate directly onto the network requires an IP address, including HP Jetdirect-connected devices. ENWW 243