A TCP/IP socket is used for communications between two computers. The socket includes the Internet Protocol (IP) address as well as the host or port that computers use to transmit data. All applications that participate in the transmission use the socket to send and receive information.
The purpose of the TCP/IP socket is to identify the IP address of a computer or server.
The purpose of a TCP/IP socket is to identify the unique IP address of the network computer or server, along with its port number. Port numbers are sometimes called hosts and they tell the receiving computer where to send the requested data. Together, the IP address and port number make up a socket.
A TCP/IP socket is used for communications between two computers.
A port address is the port number that will be used to send and receive data. Every computing device has several different ports that it uses to send and receive communications. Because some of these ports may be used by certain devices, such as printers, the computer needs to tell other devices where to send information. In Internet communication, the port can be an Ethernet port assigned to a specific device or the port address of a server that is connected to several individual computers.
A computer socket, including a TCP/IP socket, is used to facilitate communication between two separate devices. Provides instructions on where this communication should be sent. The IP address and port address contained in the TCP/IP socket tells the receiving computer where to send the requested data. It also helps to establish some kind of uniform language on all machines.
When a socket is created, the sender and receiver test the communication port to make sure data is getting through. The sender can send a request that tells the recipient what their identity is. A response is then sent to the sender, confirming the identity of the sender and also communicating the identity of the recipient. As long as communications are taking place and the socket is confirmed to be working, data requests will continue.
Sockets are created each time a communication protocol is established between two or more devices. After the communication process is complete, the TCP/IP socket is closed. If for some reason the requested port is not available, the socket will not be created. An error message usually notifies the sender and receiver that the socket has failed.
Applications used in communications, including web browsers, also use TCP/IP connectors to send and receive data. During the time that the socket is in use, all communications and applications are bound to the port address that is identified on the socket. As applications send and receive data, they look for the specific host or port address of the socket.
