significance of the TCP/IP protocol

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Hi There,
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<br>Simply put, the existence of the TCP/IP protocol made the internet faster and easier to use. TCP/IP protocol is one of the building blocks of the internet and has had a significant impact on the way that we communicate. As the ease of the internet increased, the ability to conduct business transactions on the internet also improved. Once people found out how easy it was to use the internet to conduct business, e-commerce grew.
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<br>Here is some additional technicial discussion regarding your query:
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<br>A LAN is a Local Area Network -- it's a fancy way of saying "the two or three computers in this room, give or take the dozen down the hall." It implies a fast connection -- dozens, hundreds, even thousands of times faster than a dial-up modem. It used to be pretty challenging to hook computers together this way, but the parts have become cheaper and software has gotten smarter.
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<br>TCP/IP is one of the reasons it's easier. TCP/IP is actually two things: TCP, or Transmission Control Protocol; and IP, or Internet Protocol. (A protocol is a clearly defined way of doing something.) The combination of TCP with IP defines one way that computers on a network can communicate by exchanging packets. It works pretty well on a LAN, and it works very well when you have networks of networks, which is what we now know as the Internet (with a capital "I").
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<br>Before TCP/IP won out over its rivals, you might have had to fight with any number of salespeople, all pointing fingers at each other and none of them willing to take responsibility for making your network, well, work. The triumph of TCP/IP means that when you go to the Windows Control Panel and select the Networks icon, you can ignore everything that isn't related to TCP/IP.
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<br>Let's assume you're reading this on a machine that has a modem. It's a standalone PC (for values of "PC" that include Macs, or any other computer you can pick up without a forklift). "Standalone" means it isn't part of a LAN (yet). But maybe you have another PC, in the same room or just down the hall. So far, so good.
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<br>Your machine is technically "on a network," the Internet, because your modem can support a network protocol for its connection. That wasn't always the case. People used modems back in the 1980s to call Bulletin Board Systems ("BBSes") or closed systems, such as The Source or the older versions of Delphi or CompuServe; but it wasn't until the mid '90s that the software became available to make a modem connection "look like" a network connection. The software to do that was called SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol), and soon afterward, PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). PPP is still used by almost everyone who has a dial-up connection to the Internet. It is, simply enough, a way to make a TCP/IP connection over a modem connection. Your computer has a network address and uses the same protocols that everyone else uses.
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<br>(Source: http://handsonhowto.com/lan101.html)
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<br>More info:
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<br>Internet Service Providers (ISPs), provide access to a point of presence (POP) on the Internet for millions of users both businesses and individuals. In order to access the Internet a network connection is required using one of several types of modems or network connection devices. A connection is made to the nearest point of presence on the Internet. Once connected, the users software initiates a logon process, which generally uses a username and password for account verification. If the account verification is successful a full connection between ...