The X Window System is a network-based graphics window system that was developed at MIT in 1984. With X you can work with multiple programs simultaneously, each in a separate "window". One of the strengths of a window system such as X is that you can have several processes going on at once in several different windows (perhaps even on different machines). These windows are controlled by a resident "window manager".
Most window systems are closely tied to the machine's operating system and can only run on that system. The X Window System, however, is not part of any operating system, but is comprised entirely of user-level programs.
The architecture of the X Window System is based on a "client-server" model. The system is divided into two distinct parts: "display servers" and "client programs". Acting as intermediaries between client application programs and local display hardware, display servers provide capabilities and keep track of user input. Client programs are those application programs that perform specific tasks and make requests communicated to the hardware display by the user.
This division within the X architecture enables the client programs and display servers to work together on the same machine or to reside on different machines connected by a network...
Computer networks existed before TCP/IP, but each used proprietary techniques for communicating between machines, and different networks couldn't talk to each other. Networks of IBM machines, for example, used IBM's communication methods, and Unisys networks used their own methods, but neither could communicate with the other.
Recognizing this problem, the Department of Defense (DoD) wanted to build a network to connect a number of military sites, no matter what vendor's technology each used. And since the DoD's research arm, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), undertook this project with the Cold War mindset of the 50s, 60s and 70s, a key requirement was that the network remain operational in the event that a large portion (7/8 in the original spec) of the sites or machines were not functional.
As a result of the DoD's design requirements, TCP/IP enabled robust, completely decentralized networks with multiple, redundant data paths, and the built-in intelligence to reroute data if a path became a dead end. In addition, ARPA had the foresight to design TCP/IP with the flexibility to accommodate applications that wouldn't be thought up for decades (read: World Wide Web), and to make it an open standard available for anyone to use and build upon. User Datagram Protocol is the other protocol principle means of sending information between computers.
Enabled by TCP/IP, the original "network of networks," the ARPANET, became operational in 1972. The rest is Internet history.
Similarly, TCP disassembles a larger message (Web page, e-mail, etc.) into small pieces of data called packets, which are easier to send over networks. Attached to each packet of data is the unique IP address for the host (recipient). Network routers read this IP address and send the packets to another router closer to the host machine. This continues until it reaches a router connected to the host's home network. (Different packets may very well travel different paths to get from sender to host.)
Once received by the host, TCP sends an acknowledgement back to the sender. If a packet is lost or damaged in transit, another related protocol, the Internet Control Management Protocol (ICMP), reports this error to the sender and requests that the packet be resent. On the host's end, TCP reassembles the packets into a copy of the complete file that can then be used by an application.
IP and TCP Internet Protocol (IP) is responsible for addressing and routing packets of data between networks. Each unique IP address contains three parts: the network ID, the subnet ID, and the host ID. To revisit the postal metaphor, the first five digits of your zip code would be like the network ID, the subnet ID would be the last four zip code digits (with which the post office can pinpoint your block), and your house number would be like the host ID, the identifier for a particular machine. Internet routers reference databases of IP addresses like the post office references zip codes to send packets where they need to go.
Currently, the most widely used standard is IPv4, which uses 32-bit numbers written as 4 bytes separated by periods. These range from 1.0.0.1 to 223.255.255.255. In the late 1990s, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) established a newer 128-bit IP standard (IPv6), which allowed for a greater number of IP addresses. But adoption of IPv6 has so far been slow.
To ensure that numbers don't overlap, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) assigns higher-level IP addresses to organizations such as universities, large businesses, and ISPs. They in turn assign subnet IDs and host IDs to the networks and computers that connect to the Internet through their gateway.
TCP is responsible for disassembling files into packets on the sender's end and for acknowledging receipt and reassembly at the host end. For streaming media and other applications, where speed of delivery is more important than receiving every packet, a different protocol, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), is often used. Unlike TCP, there are no acknowledgements or packet-resending mechanisms built into UDP.
Solid foundation TCP/IP is more than simply TCP and IP; it refers to a suite of protocols that over the years have grown up around them. Because TCP/IP is an open standard, many changes, improvements, and additions have been grafted onto it over time. The Internet Activities Board (IAB) ratifies proposed standards through a drafting process called "Request for Comment [RFC]."
The Domain Name System (DNS) is one example of a standard adopted through the RFC process that improves upon TCP/IP. DNS is the protocol that established the practice of using domain names (i.e., www.hp.com) for the World Wide Web rather than requiring users to enter the long number strings of actual IP addresses.
In addition, TCP/IP provides the foundation for many of the Internet-age standards we typically take for granted. Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) for Web pages, Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) for e-mail, and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for file transfer are only three of the widely used higher-level protocols built upon TCP/IP.
Want to learn more? This Tech-Pro tutorial offers a more technical introduction to TCP/IP.
And to explore this subject in even greater detail, check out Professor Gary Kessler's comprehensive TCP/IP overview on his website.