The '''Internet Protocol''', which controls how machines talk to and address each other. Usually you have [TCP] or [UDP] layered over the top to provide port-based addressing and checksums... The most common version of IP at the moment is version 4, though you may well also see version 6 about from time to time (mostly at very large ISPs though.) [[Need more info on the difference between IPv4 and IPv6...]] ---- [Cateogry Acronym]