TCP/IP First-Step [Electronic resources]

R

reference model

A logical framework that keeps a logical and necessary sequence of events in its proper order.

reliable delivery

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) guarantees that packets of data are delivered and can be put back into their original sequence after delivery. This is known as reliable delivery.

Round Trip Time

One of the many things that TCP/IP does for you automatically when you start a communications session with it is to keep track of the amount of time it takes to send a packet to a remote destination and to receive a response. That amount of time is known as Round Trip Time (RTT).

router

A specialized device that is designed to push IP packets (or other protocols' packets) through a network.

routing protocol

A software program designed specifically to continuously seek out IP network addresses that might be accessible indirectly through a network connection and assess the reachability of that destination. The protocol then compares different routes through a network to reach the same destination and selects the best one.

routing table

A listing of best paths to known destination networks. That list is correlated with the router's interface that must be used to get to that path. A routing table can also include routes to individual IP addresses but must be specifically programmed to do so. In normal operation, they track routes to IP network addresses.