Computer Education Needs
Date: Around 1999
what's mean "PPP Internet connection"?
what's TCP/IP ?
Kourosh, great question.
First off let me answer your questions then I will explain my answers.
When you talk about TCP/IP and PPP you are talking about protocols, or a
common communication language that computers use to communicate over a
given media, i.e.. a phone line or DSL line. This set of protocols
works together to connect your computer to the internet. PPP, is called
Point to Point protocol, which is the protocol used to connect a
computer to another computer via a modem. If you did not have PPP to
regulate who "talks" and "listens" you would not be able to communicate
with the other computer. Imagine you and a friend in an argument and
all you both do is shout at each other, what is accomplished by doing
this, nothing. The same thing would happen if PPP did not control who
talks and listens on a internet connection via phone line.
Now on to TCP/IP, TCP/IP is what drives the internet, if you are on the
internet your computer has a TCP/IP number. TCP/IP stands for
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This protocol is a
world wide standard, and is used primarily as an address to your
computer. For example, every home has an address or some number system,
that is used to identify it. There is no two homes with the same exact
address, this holds true to a computer on the internet, no two computers
on the internet can have the same address, or IP number.
To wrap this up for you, PPP is the protocol that is used to connect
your computer to another computer, i.e. your internet service provider.
TCP/IP is the protocol that actually allows you to view the internet and
other computers on it.
To make this simple, TCP/IP allows you to dial into one computer and
view the entire internet. If you did not have TCP/IP you would have to
dial into each computer that you would like to use for a resource.
To see your IP number when connected to the internet, open up a DOS
window, or type command in the run box and when the box appears, type in
winipcfg , if you are using Windows 95 or ipconfig if you are using
Thanks for using NEWTON!
Joe Noga MCP, N+
Argonne National Laborator
Click here to return to the Computer Science Archives
Update: June 2012