Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Glossary Definition

Term Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
Definition

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a set of rules or protocol that is used along with the Internet Protocol to send data in the form of message units between computers over the Internet. Whereas the IP protocol deals only with packets, TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data. TCP takes care of keeping track of the individual units of data called packets. TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent. It originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a Network protocol or service concept used to support addressing, transport, naming, management, authentication, or application communication.

Context & Usage

Teams use this concept when diagnosing communication failures, documenting dependencies, and distinguishing application behavior from lower-level transport or naming services.

Related concepts include Routing.

Additional Resource: IANA Protocol Registries.

Reliable transport-layer protocol.

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