Explainer

Internet communication relies on several protocols working together. IP helps packets reach their destination, while TCP can provide an ordered, reliable stream of data between applications. The receiving application then decides what those bytes mean, whether they represent a page, a message or part of a video.

The key ideas

  • IP provides addressing and packet delivery.
  • TCP provides an ordered, reliable byte stream.
  • Applications interpret the transmitted data.

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Original recording: TikTok, 2020-12-18.

Video transcript

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Automatically transcribed from the original recording. Small transcription errors may remain.

The internet works by using a TCP IP protocol, which stands for Transmission Control Protocol slash Internet Protocol. So think of TCP IP as the language used between computers to speak to each other by transmitting units of data from one location to another. These units are called packets, packets being the smallest unit of transmitted information over the internet. So to dive a little bit deeper, there are two layers to TCP IP. The top layer, TCP, is responsible for taking large amounts of data, like this TikTok video from TikTok server, breaking it down, compiling it into packets, and sending them to be received by a fellow TCP layer,

which turns the packets into information we humans can interpret. Now, for the bottom IP layer, think of it as an address to your house, hence the name IP address. TCP is simply the UPS or FedEx package data and IP is your mailbox, your receiving device.