Process-to-Process Delivery in Computer Networks
Process-to-process delivery refers to the mechanisms and protocols used to ensure reliable and ordered delivery of data from one process to another process, potentially across different machines or networks. It is a fundamental concept in computer networking and distributed systems, enabling applications and services to communicate effectively.
Layers Involved
- Application Layer:
- Protocols like HTTP, SMTP, and FTP define rules for exchanging data between applications.
- Example: When you browse the web using a browser, HTTP is used to transfer web pages.
- Transport Layer:
- Protocols like TCP and UDP ensure end-to-end communication between processes.
- Example: TCP ensures reliable delivery of emails using SMTP.
- Network Layer:
- Protocols like IP handle logical addressing and routing of data packets.
- Example: IP routes data packets from a web server to your computer.
- Data Link and Physical Layers:
- Handle physical transmission of data over the network medium.
- Example: Ethernet ensures data transfer between devices in a local network.
Process-to-Process Delivery Mechanism
- Encapsulation: Sending process encapsulates data into the appropriate application layer protocol format.
- Transport Layer: Data is segmented (TCP) or encapsulated (UDP) into transport layer protocol units.
- Flow Control: Transport layer handles flow control, error correction, and congestion control (TCP).
- Routing: Network layer routes packets across different networks based on destination address.
- Decapsulation: At the receiving end, packets are decapsulated and reassembled to retrieve the original data.
Importance
Process-to-process delivery is crucial for enabling communication between distributed applications, ensuring data integrity, and providing reliable and ordered delivery of data across networks. It underpins many essential services and applications, such as web browsing, email, file transfer, and remote procedure calls.