TCP/IP, an acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of protocols supported by Microsoft with the Windows family of platforms. Essentially, through its components, TCP/IP is used for communications on both private networks and on the Internet. As far as the world wide web is concerned, the most common aspects of TCP/IP are IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6. The Redmond company is offering extensive documentation on TCP/IP as it is supported in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 and Window XP. TCP/IP Fundamentals for Microsoft Windows is available for download.

"This online book is a structured, introductory approach to the basic concepts and principles of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite, how the most important protocols function, and their basic configuration in the Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 families of operating systems," revealed Keith Combs, Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist, citing an excerpt of the documentation's description.

TCP/IP Fundamentals for Microsoft Windows covers a wide range of subjects starting with an introduction and the history of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The Redmond giant also offers an overview of the TCP/IP Protocol Suite architecture, as well as insight into IP addressing, subnetting, IP Routing, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a view of the Domain Name Space as well as Windows support for DNS, and additional TCP/IP related information. In the end, readers will be able to understand the stage where TCP/IP is today after more than 30 years since its creation, and the manner in which this evolution is reflected in the four Windows server and client platforms.

"This book is primarily a discussion of concepts and principles to lay a conceptual foundation for the TCP/IP protocol suite and provides an integrated discussion of both Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)," Combs added.

TCP/IP Fundamentals for Microsoft Windows is available for download here.