Executive
Summary
In
this report, I will provide details regarding the value of Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) in our daily lives. With the passage of time, computer
networks have become an integral part of our lives as they provide us with
unlimited benefits and ensure our privacy and safety on the internet. In order
to perform its job, every computer system relies on a range of tools, software,
programs, and applications (Rosen, 2013). One such tool is the Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP). It is used by an extensively large number of network
devices such as routers and helps send operational information and error
messages requested by the service provider or host so that the error could be
fixed as soon as possible. In simple words, the Internet Control Message
Protocol is used to transfer data from one system to another and is employed by
all kinds of end-user network applications with exceptions of diagnostic tools
like traceroute and PING.
Discussion
The
Internet Control Message Protocol helps a network administrator assist
hisclients in a better way. By obtaining data through this protocol, he can
easily diagnose the network issue and may fix the problem in a matter of
minutes. The most common issues that arise in a network are the failure of the
entire computer system and server outage. It is too easy to spot a flaw in the
system, diagnose the problem and get it solved. Most often, the administrator
uses PING for sending requests from the local computer an individual is using
to other servers or computers he is supervising. The request an administrator
sends from his own network or computer travels across a series of systems and
reaches the target machine within seconds.
Once
it reaches there successfully, a reply is sent back to the original machine,
allowing the administrator to know more about the actual problem. Other than
PING, he may use TRACERT to display data and the path through which the request
will travel. Once sufficient information is obtained, the network administrator
begins his work and views where the breakdown has occurred and how to adjust
settings in the entire system.Through the Internet Control Message Protocol,
users can access useful data to accomplish a variety of tasks on their end.
There are times when the administrator fails to understand the seriousness of
the issue, and this is where users’ complaints regarding internet pages and
network resources are ignored. With an Internet Control Message Protocol, they
can quickly send requests to the administrator and may be able to receive the
response or solution to their problem quickly.
Conclusion
A
variety of layers are combined to make up a sophisticated networking system.
According to Walter Goralski, this kind of system consists of servers, routers
or computers that operate on the same network but are meant to perform varying
functions. In 2004, an article was published by Pete Loshin. According to the expert,
in the absence of an Internet Control Message Protocol, the entire networking
system may get destroyed, and this will impact the performance of users to an
extent (Loshin, 2004). Similarly, Rami Rosen argues that the network layers act
as the backbone of the internet and are used to transfer data from one system
to another. Thus, these three sources provide enough details regarding the
importance of the Internet Control Message Protocol and can be accessed by any
user.
References
Goralski, W. (2017). Internet Control Message Protocol. The
Illustrated Network, 221-246. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811027-0.00008-4
Loshin, P. (2004). IPv6 Internet Control Message Protocol
(ICMPv6). IPv6, 209-221. doi:10.1016/b978-155860810-8/50015-x
Rosen, R. (2013). Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). Linux
Kernel Networking, 37-61. doi:10.1007/978-1-4302-6197-1_3
