How Computers Communicate

In order to fully understand packet analysis, you need to understand exactly how computers communicate with each other. In this section we'll examine the basics of network protocols, the OSI model, network data frames, and the hardware that supports it all.

Networking Protocols

Modern networks are made up of a variety of different systems running on many different platforms. To aid this communication, we use a set of common languages called network protocols that govern network communication. Common network protocols include TCP, IP, ARP, and DHCP. A protocol stack is a logical grouping of protocols that work together.

A network protocol can be extremely simple or highly complex, depending on its function. Although the various ...

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