Which protocol enables inter-networking by IP in the TCP/IP suite?

Which protocol enables inter-networking by IP in the TCP/IP suite?

• A. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
• B. Internet Protocol (IP)
• C. User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
• D. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

Answer: (B)

The main concept here is how packets travel across different networks. The Internet Protocol is responsible for that cross-network delivery by providing addressing and routing across network boundaries. It assigns logical addresses, routes packets through routers, and handles how packets move from the source toward the destination even when they pass through multiple networks or different technologies. This is what enables inter-networking within the TCP/IP suite, making IP the backbone that moves data across diverse networks. The other protocols don’t perform this network-wide routing. Transmission Control Protocol operates at the transport layer to provide reliable, ordered delivery between two endpoints, but it doesn’t route packets between networks. User Datagram Protocol offers a simpler, connectionless transport without reliability guarantees. Hypertext Transfer Protocol sits at the application layer and uses IP/TCP to transfer web data, but it isn’t the mechanism that enables inter-networking itself.

The main concept here is how packets travel across different networks. The Internet Protocol is responsible for that cross-network delivery by providing addressing and routing across network boundaries. It assigns logical addresses, routes packets through routers, and handles how packets move from the source toward the destination even when they pass through multiple networks or different technologies. This is what enables inter-networking within the TCP/IP suite, making IP the backbone that moves data across diverse networks.

The other protocols don’t perform this network-wide routing. Transmission Control Protocol operates at the transport layer to provide reliable, ordered delivery between two endpoints, but it doesn’t route packets between networks. User Datagram Protocol offers a simpler, connectionless transport without reliability guarantees. Hypertext Transfer Protocol sits at the application layer and uses IP/TCP to transfer web data, but it isn’t the mechanism that enables inter-networking itself.