The question is: how do we demultiplex a sequence of IP datagrams that need to go to many different application processes? Let's consider a particular host with a single network interface bearing the IP address 24.156.79.20. Normally, every datagram received by the IP layer will have this value in the IP Destination Address field. Consecutive datagrams received by IP may contains a piece of a file you are downloading with your Web browser, an e-mail sent to you by your brother, and a line of text a buddy wrote in an IRC chat channel. How does the IP layer know which datagrams go where, if they all have the same IP address? The first part of the answer lies in the Protocol field included in the header of each IP datagram. This field carries a code that identifies the protocol that sent the data in the datagram to IP. Since most end-user applications use TCP or UDP at the transport layer, the Protocol field in a received datagram tells IP to pass data to either TCP or UDP as appropriate. In both UDP and TCP messages two addressing fields appear, for a Source Port and a Destination Port . These are analogous to the fields for source address and destination address at the IP level , but at a higher level of detail. They identify the originating process on the source machine, and the destination process on the destination machine. They are filled in by the TCP or UDP software before transmission, and used to direct the data to the correct process on the destination device. TCP and UDP port numbers are 16 bits in length, so valid port numbers can theoretically take on values from 0 to 65,535. As we will see in the next topic , these values are divided into ranges for different purposes, with certain ports reserved for particular uses. One fact that is sometimes a bit confusing is that both UDP and TCP use the same range of port numbers, and they are independent. So, in theory, it is possible for UDP port number 77 to refer to one application process and TCP port number 77 to refer to an entirely different one. There is no ambiguity, at least to the computers , because as mentioned above, each IP datagram contains a Protocol field that specifies whether it is carrying a TCP message or a UDP message. IP passes the datagram to either TCP or UDP, which then sends the message on to the right process using the port number in the TCP or UDP header. This mechanism is illustrated in Figure 198 . In practice, having TCP and UDP use different port numbers is confusing, especially for the reserved port numbers used by common applications. For this reason, by convention, most reserved port numbers are reserved for both TCP and UDP. For example, port #80 is reserved for the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for both TCP and UDP, even though HTTP only uses TCP. Application process multiplexing and demultiplexing in TCP/IP is implemented using the IP Protocol field and the UDP/TCP Source Port and Destination Port fields. Upon transmission, the Protocol field is given a number to indicate whether TCP or UDP was used, and the port numbers are filled in to indicate the sending and receiving software process. The device receiving the datagram uses the Protocol field to determine whether TCP or UDP was used, and then passes the data to the software process indicated by the Destination Port number
Higher-Layer Data Transfer: An application sends a message to the UDP software . UDP Message Encapsulation: The higher-layer message is encapsulated into the Data field of a UDP message. The headers of the UDP message are filled in, including the Source Port of the application that sent the data to UDP, and the Destination Port of the intended recipient. The checksum value may also be calculated. Transfer Message To IP: The UDP message is passed to IP for transmission
TCP is designed to have applications send data to it as a stream of bytes, rather than requiring fixed-size messages to be used. This provide maximum flexibility for a wide variety of uses, because applications don’t need to worry about data packaging, and can send files or messages of any size. TCP takes care of packaging these bytes into messages called segments . Consider for example an application that is sending database records. It needs to transmit record #579 from the Employees database table, followed by record #581 and record #611. It sends these records to TCP, which treats them all collectively as a stream of bytes. TCP will package these bytes into segments, but in a manner the application cannot predict. It is possible that each will end up in a different segment, but more likely they will all be in one segment, or part of each will end up in different segments, depending on their length. The records themselves must have some sort of explicit markers so the receiving device can tell where one record ends and the next starts. Since applications send data to TCP as a stream of bytes and not prepackaged messages, each application must use its own scheme to determine where one application data element ends and the next begins. TCP is said to treat data coming from an application as a stream ; thus, the description of TCP as stream-oriented . Each application sends the data it wishes to transmit as a steady stream of octets (bytes). It doesn't need to carve them into blocks, or worry about how lengthy streams will get across the internetwork. It just “pumps bytes” to TCP. TCP is designed to have applications send data to it as a stream of bytes, rather than requiring fixed-size messages to be used. This provide maximum flexibility for a wide variety of uses, because applications don’t need to worry about data packaging, and can send files or messages of any size. TCP takes care of packaging these bytes into messages called segments . Since TCP works with individual bytes of data rather than discrete messages, it must use an identification scheme that works at the byte level to implement its data transmission and tracking system. This is accomplished by assigning each byte TCP processes a sequence number . Since applications send data to TCP as a stream of bytes and not prepackaged messages, each application must use its own scheme to determine where one application data element ends and the next begins. Consider for example an application that is sending database records. It needs to transmit record #579 from the Employees database table, followed by record #581 and record #611. It sends these records to TCP, which treats them all collectively as a stream of bytes. TCP will package these bytes into segments, but in a manner the application cannot predict. It is possible that each will end up in a different segment, but more likely they will all be in one segment, or part of each will end up in different segments, depending on their length. The records themselves must have some sort of explicit markers so the receiving device can tell where one record ends and the next starts.