Network protocols

To build a strong foundation of the concepts of network protocols and communication, you must understand the roles and responsibilities of end devices and servers. End devices are very common on a network, and these devices usually require access to a service or resource. For instance, if you look around within an organization or your home, you’ll see many end devices. These devices are computers, laptops, and IoT devices, which are all connected to a network. Servers are any device that provides the services and resources that are needed by end devices. For a client such as a computer to access the resources on a server, these two devices use a mutually agreed-upon network protocol that is responsible for exchanging messages over the network.

Network protocols are simply the underlying technology, rules, and procedures that define how a sender can package and format a message to be sent across a network to a destination host. Without protocols or rules...