<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Internet protocol suite is the conceptual model and set of communications protocols used on the Internet and similar computer networks . It is commonly known as TCP / IP because the original protocols in the suite are the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). It is occasionally known as the Department of Defense (DoD) model, because the development of the networking method was funded by the United States Department of Defense through DARPA . </P> <P> The Internet protocol suite provides end - to - end data communication specifying how data should be packetized, addressed, transmitted, routed, and received . This functionality is organized into four abstraction layers which classify all related protocols according to the scope of networking involved . From lowest to highest, the layers are the link layer, containing communication methods for data that remains within a single network segment (link); the internet layer, providing internetworking between independent networks; the transport layer handling host - to - host communication; and the application layer, which provides process - to - process data exchange for applications . </P>

Who developed tcp/ip the original specification for the internet's protocols