Common Network Protocols

 

Common Network Protocols

Up to this point, protocols have been discussed generically. This section describes some of the more popular network protocols.
NetBEUI
NetBEUI is a small, fast and efficient protocol that is supplied with all Microsoft network products.
Advantages include its small stack size, its speed of data transfer on the network medium and its compatibility with all Microsoft based network.
The major disadvantage of NetBEUI is that it does not support routing.
NetBEUI is a simple network layer transport protocol that was developed to support NetBIOS networks. Like NetBIOS, NetBEUI is not routable, so it really has no place on an enterprise network.
NetBEUI is the fastest transport protocol available to NT. It’s great for fast transmission but is not usable across routed networks.
Benefits of NetBEUI include:
1. Fast speed.
2. Good error protection.
3. Ease of implementation.
4. And low memory overhead.
Some disadvantages are:
1. It’s not routable.
2. It has very little support for cross platform applications.
3. And it has very few troubleshooting tools available.
TCP/IP
Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) is a suite of protocols that provide communications between dissimilar end systems.
Interoperability among many different types of computers is the primary advantage of TCP/IP. TCP/IPalso has the advantage of bring the native protocol of the internet.
The two primary disadvantages are its large size and slower speed of data transfer. TCP/IP is the most widely used protocol suite in networking today.
This is due in part to the wide growth of the global Internet. TCP/IP is able to span wide areas and is very flexible.
It provides cross-platform support, routing capabilities, as well as support for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), the Domain Name Service (DNS), and a host of other useful protocols.
However, TCP/IP’s rich set of features are provided at the expense of additional overhead, which may make it too cumbersome for some networks or applications.
Advantages
1. Communications between dissimilar end systems.
2. Can support the native protocol of the internet.
Disadvantages
1. Large size
2. Slower speed of data transfer
XNS
Xerox network systems (XNS) was developed by Xerox for their Ethernet LANs. XNS is the basis for Novell’s IPX/SPX, but it is seldom found in today’s networks.
It is a large, slow protocol (like TCP/IP) but produces more broadcasts, causing more network traffic.
IPX/SPX
IPX/SPX is a suite of protocols similar to NetBEUI in that it is a relatively small and fast protocol on a LAN.
But unlike NetBEUI, it does support routing.
IPX/SPX is a derivative of XNS. IPX/SPX is normally used to connect to operate with Novell Netware.
Others
There are other proprietary network protocols designed and developed specifically for their network systems. These are like
1. AppleTalk
2. APPC
3. X.25
4. High-level Data Link Control (HDLC)
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