Network Protocol

Definitions

1. A formal specification of rules governing the format, sequencing, and error handling of data exchanged between networked systems — examples span every layer from Ethernet (L2) and IP (L3) to TCP/UDP (L4) and HTTP/gRPC (L7).

   In plain English: An agreed-upon set of rules that computers follow to communicate with each other over a network.

   Example: "We designed a custom binary network protocol with a 4-byte length prefix and CRC checksum for the sensor-to-gateway link because HTTP was too chatty."

Related Terms

• JSON API
• Negotiation
• Packet Loss
• Request
• Request-Response
• Response
• Route
• Router
• Short Polling
• Upload
• URL
• cURL
• Port 80
• Cache Control
• Cache Proxy
• Content Encoding