Linux Network Administrators Guide
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Chapter 1. Introduction to Networking
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1.2. TCP/IP Networks
Modern networking applications require a sophisticated approach to carrying data from one machine to another. If you are managing a Linux machine that has many users, each of whom may wish to simultaneously connect to remote hosts on a network, you need a way of allowing them to share your network connection without interfering with each other. The approach that a large number of modern networking protocols uses is called packet-switching . A packet is a small chunk of data that is transferred from one machine to another across the network. The switching occurs as the datagram is carried across each link in the network. A packet-switched network shares a single network link among many users by alternately sending packets from one user to another across that link.
The solution that Unix systems, and subsequently many non-Unix systems, have adopted is known as TCP/IP. When talking about TCP/IP networks you will hear the term datagram , which technically has a special meaning but is often used interchangeably with packet . In this section, we will have a look at underlying concepts of the TCP/IP protocols.
1.2.1. Introduction to TCP/IP Networks
1.2.2. Ethernets
1.2.3. Other Types of Hardware
1.2.4. The Internet Protocol
1.2.5. IP Over Serial Lines
1.2.6. The Transmission Control Protocol
1.2.7. The User Datagram Protocol
1.2.8. More on Ports
1.2.9. The Socket Library
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