Content Protocols

Following the phone analogy, let's assume the only language you speak is English. You know that you can make a call to Russia without speaking Russian. But, when the person on the other end picks up, although you have a telephone connection, you need to find some common ground to exchange conversation and information. On the Internet, that's where content protocols come in.

Wrapped within IP addressed "envelopes" is the information you really want to exchange. It might be the contents of a web page or email message, or a file you are moving from one location to another. That contents is enveloped using a different protocol for each content type:

• Email is enveloped in SMTP protocols (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
  
• File transfers are enveloped in FTP protocols (File Transfer Protocol)
  
• Web transfers are enveloped in HTTP protocols (HyperText Transfer Protocols)

Both the sending and receiving computers must understand the Internet Protocol to establish a connection. But, they must also understand the content protocols SMTP, HTTP, FTP, and so forth to understand the content.

A Web Request at Work

To see how this whole process works for a web request (HTTP), move your mouse over the demo below to see the process at work:

The good news for you is much of this protocol architecture is hidden from you. Only the browsers, software applications, and networking systems need to speak the protocol language...you can continue to focus on English!

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