Internet Protocol

Internet Protocol (IP) provides packet delivery for all other protocols within the suite. It provides a best-effort, connectionless delivery system for computer data. That is, IP packets are not guaranteed to arrive at their destination, nor are they guaranteed to be received in the sequence in which they were sent. The protocol's checksum feature confirms only the IP header's integrity. Thus, responsibility for the data contained within the IP packet (and the sequencing) is assured only by using higher-level protocols.