Internetwork protocol

In networking, a communications protocol or network protocol is the specification of a set of rules for a particular type of communication.

Multiple protocols often describe different aspects of a single communication. A group of protocols designed to work together are known as a protocol suite; when implemented in software they are a protocol stack. The terms are often intermingled; people may use the term "protocol" to refer to a software implementation, or use "protocol stack" to refer to the specification.