TCP/IP - a protocol independent of the LAN technology.
  Current standard coming out of Unix systems.

  Example alternative protocols : 
    Novell's SPX/IPX
      worked well at local network level, didn't scale well.
      early internal LANs in business world.

    BITNET - (1981 to mid 90s) point to point, store and forward
      Universities, used largely for email. 
      worked at transport level, did not packetize.
      transferred whole file in one go.
      

  TCP - Transmission Control Protocol: establishes a virtual connection
    between source and destination applications on the "Internet".
   
    To transfer a complete file between your PC and turing.cs.niu.edu,
      the file is broken standard size packets, addressed and numbered.
      TCP is responsible for breaking up and reassembling the file. 

  IP - Internet protocol: specifies the configuration of individual 
    packets of data and successful delivery of such between hops of
    the "Internet".  
  
    IP makes sure each packet generated by TCP is moved along the 
      "Internet" without corruption. 


  IPX/SPX - inter-network packet exchange, sequenced packet exchange was
    a Novell protocol similar to TCP/IP but followed the ISO/OSI protocol
    more closely.  

    Although, IPX/SPX superior on a LAN, it did not scale well on very large 
    systems (Internet).

    TCP/IP superior between LANs and won out as defacto protocol.

    IPX - Internet packet exchange
    SPX - sequenced packet exchange.

  Net-BIOS - (session level) sits on top of TCP, allows Windows machines to share folders and
    files as if they were on a single system.