It’s typically overlaid by the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) at the transport layer, as well as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) at the application layer. The Internet Protocol sits at the network layer. This protocol structures how devices using the internet communicate. You’ve likely heard of an IP address, which stands for Internet Protocol. The lowest layer acts as a foundation, and each layer above it adds complexity. That way, protocols at each layer can focus on a specific function and cooperate with each other. These are layered on top of one another to form a protocol stack. A protocol is a set of rules governing how data travels from one communicating system to another.
