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A protocol used along with the Internet Protocol (IP) to send
data in the form of individual units (called packets) between computers over
the Internet. Whereas IP handles the actual delivery of the data, TCP keeps
track of the packets that a message is divided into for efficient routing
through the Internet. For example, when a Web page is downloaded from a Web
server, the TCP program layer in that server divides the file into packets,
numbers the packets, and then forwards them individually to the IP program
layer. Although each packet has the same destination IP address, it may get
routed differently through the network. At the other end, TCP reassembles the
individual packets and waits until they have all arrived to forward them as a
single file.
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