Internet Protocols: IP, DNS, HTTP, TCP/IP, and SSL/TLS

Erdeniz Tunç

6 min readApr 12, 2023

This Article Includes;

Introduction to Protocols
IP Addresses and Domain Names
Introduction to HTTP and HTTPS
TCP/IP
Securing Internet Communication with SSL/TLS

Introduction to Protocols

Protocol: Rules set to make data transfer more secure and efficient.

There are many different protocols used in internet communication;

IP (Internet Protocol)
TCP (Transmisson Control Protocol)
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
DNS (Domain Name System)

IP is unique identifier assigned to each device on a network, It ensures that the data is sent to the correct destination. TCP-UDP provides efficient and secure transmission of sent data. DNS translates domain names into IP addresses. HTTP is responsible for sending data transfer between client and server.

All enable devices from different manufacturers and vendors to communicate seamlessly with each other.

IP Addresses and Domain Names

IP is the unique identifier assigned to each device on a network.

Domain Names: Domain names, on the other hand, are human-readable names used to identify websites and other internet resources. Domain names are translated into IP addresses using the Domain Name System (DNS).

An Example:

DNS is a critical part of the internet infrastructure, responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses. When you enter a domain name into your web browser, your computer sends a DNS query to a DNS server, which returns the corresponding IP address. Your computer then uses that IP address to connect to the website or other resource you’ve requested.

An ICANN department known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is responsible for distributing IP addresses to ensure that two different organizations don’t use the same address.

IPv4 and IPv6

The current internet standard, known as IPv4, only allows for about 4 billion IP addresses. This was considered a very big number in the 1970s, but today, the supply of IPv4 addresses is nearly exhausted.
So internet engineers have developed a new standard called IPv6. IPv6 allows for a mind-boggling number of unique addresses — the exact figure is 39 digits long — ensuring that the world will never again run out.
At first, the transition to IPv6 was slow. Technical work on the standard was completed in the 1990s, but the internet community faced a serious chicken-and-egg problem: as long as most people were using IPv4, there was little incentive for anyone to switch to IPv6.
But as IPv4 addresses became scarce, IPv6 adoption accelerated. The fraction of users who connected to Google via IPv6 grew from 1 percent at the beginning of 2013 to 6 percent in mid-2015.

Introduction to HTTP and HTTPS

HTTP and HTTPS are 2 internet protocols commonly used by internet-based applications.

HTTP is an internet protocol used for data transfer between client and server. The HTTP protocol enables the transfer of web pages, content such as text, images, videos to browsers. However, HTTP cannot provide security because data is transmitted in clear text.

HTTPS is a more secure version of HTTP, which encrypts the data being transmitted between the client and server using SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) encryption. This ensures that important personal information such as site login information, payment information is encrypted and protected.

When you visit a website, HTTP asks the server for the requested data, the server sends an HTTP response and gives the requested data.

HTTPS is a secure version of the HTTP protocol. HTTPS provides encrypted transfer of data on websites. This prevents third parties from monitoring internet traffic or stealing data. The HTTPS protocol is used in transactions that require security, such as payment transactions on websites, collection of personal information.

HTTPS is implemented using a protocol called SSL/TLS (Secure Socket Layer/Transport Layer Security). The Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security protocols are used to provide secure communication over the internet. This protocol provides encryption and authentication of data on websites. SSL/TLS also manages digital certificates that verify a website is trustworthy.

As a result, HTTP is used for the transfer of information of web pages on the internet, while HTTPS is a secure version of the HTTP protocol and provides encrypted transfer of data on websites.

TCP/IP

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol):

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is one of the internet protocols and provides reliable data transmission in communication on the internet. TCP ensures that the sent data is split into packets and these packets are then forwarded to the destination over the network. These packages are resent in case they are lost or damaged. In this way, problems such as data loss or data corruption are minimized and data transfer is made secure.

TCP initiates communication with the three-way handshake protocol and establishes the connection. During data transmission, it uses flow control and error correction methods to ensure that each packet reaches the other party.

TCP is one of the internet’s most widely used protocols and is used for web pages, email, file transfer, and many other applications.

IP (Internet Protocol):

A unique identifier assigned to each device on a network, used to route data to the correct destination.

TCP/IP is the widely used communication protocol. It provides reliable, sequential and error-controlled data transmission between applications running on different devices.

When building applications with TCP/IP, there are a few key concepts to understand:

Ports: Ports are used to identify the application or service running on a device. Each application or service is assigned a unique port number, allowing data to be sent to the correct destination.

Sockets: A socket is a combination of an IP address and a port number, representing a specific endpoint for communication. Sockets are used to establish connections between devices and transfer data between applications.

Connections: A connection is established between two sockets when two devices want to communicate with each other. During the connection establishment process, the devices negotiate various parameters such as the maximum segment size and window size, which determine how data will be transmitted over the connection.

Data transfer: Once a connection is established, data can be transferred between the applications running on each device. Data is typically transmitted in segments, with each segment containing a sequence number and other metadata to ensure reliable delivery.

When building applications with TCP/IP, you’ll need to ensure that your application is designed to work with the appropriate ports, sockets, and connections. You’ll also need to be familiar with the various protocols and standards that are commonly used with TCP/IP, such as HTTP, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Understanding these concepts and protocols is essential for building effective, scalable, and secure internet-based applications and services.

Securing Internet Communication with SSL/TLS