Understanding Protocol and Standard in Networking - Part 1

Understanding Protocol and Standard in Networking - Part 1

A protocol is a collection of rules that make communication work effectively. Almost every day we meet protocols.

For example, when you buy rice at the nearest supermarket with a debit card, the cashier will tell you the total price you have to pay.

You swipe the debit card in the card reader and insert a 6 digit pin. Then the machine processes our purchase whether validating the purchase or not, depending on the amount of remaining balance. If the balance is sufficient then the purchase is successful and the machine will print the proof of payment.

In addition to the above example, here's another example of using protocols in our everyday lives: making phone calls.

In doing so, almost all of the set call protocols we have done, and quite complicated also if look it carefully:

• When you pick up the phone, you will hear a tone dial (before long phone call) (unless you use the phone, the long tone dial will not exist). If you do not hear a dial tone, there are two possibilities. First, someone in the house is on the phone, second, something is wrong with the phone.
• When you hear a dial tone, you start a call by calling the number of the person you want to call. If the person who wants to call is in the same area code, then simply dial his 7 digit number. But if the person we want to call is in a different area code, then add the 3 digit area code and add the 7 digit number.
• If you hear a tone (tuuut tuttt tuuut) repeatedly, then wait until someone picks up the phone. If the dial tone continues over and over without an answer, then hang up and try again. If after a dial tone then someone answers "hello", then start a conversation with the person you call. If during a dial tone and someone is calling and the person you call does not know you, then answer "Sorry, wrong dial" then close the phone and try again.
• If you hear the message that the homeowner is not at home and will call you, then wait for the message to beep, then you leave a voice message to the person.
• If you hear a short and recurring tut tut, then the person you want to call is calling someone else. So you have to close the phone and try again a few minutes later.
• If you hear three consecutive sounds that increase in tone, followed by a voicemail that says "Sorry the number you called ...", then we know that the number we call is invalid, either the number you input is wrong or the number used is blocked or disconnected.

So we can said that the protocol is RULE. Rules using a debit card are the same as the use of a debit card. Of the two examples above that are the use of debit cards and making phone calls follow the same rules every time both things are done.

Computer networks depend on many types of protocols to work. These protocols are very clearly defined. Network cards need to know how to communicate with other network cards to exchange information. The operating system must know how to communicate with the network card in order to send and receive data from the network, and the application program must also know how to communicate with the operating system to know how to receive files from the server.

Protocols have many types. At the lowest level (in the OSI or TCP / IP model to be discussed in the next post), these protocols define what kind of electrical signal represents one and zero. At the highest level, the protocol at this level allows computers in Malaysia to send email to other computers residing in Japan. And between these two levels there is another level of protocol. I will discuss the protocol levels in the "Understanding Protocol and Standard on Network" series further.