PROTOCOLS YOU NEED TO

KNOW
Entry-Level Tech Career Guide

Whether you're aiming for Help Desk, IT Support, Network Admin, or Cloud roles — this guide breaks down the protocols
that show up in interviews, on the job, and on every certification exam (CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+). Learn these,
and you'll speak the language of tech with confidence.

CompTIA A+ CompTIA Network+ CompTIA Security+ Cisco CCNA

01 The OSI Model 02 TCP vs UDP

03 TCP 3-Way Handshake 04 DNS — How Names Resolve

05 HTTP/HTTPS & Methods 06 HTTP Status Codes

07 Common Ports 08 IP Addressing & Subnetting

09 TLS/SSL Encryption 10 Quick Reference Cheatsheet

01 THE OSI MODEL
The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model is the #1 framework interviewers test. It breaks network communication
into 7 layers. Each protocol lives on a specific layer — know them and you can diagnose issues, answer interview
questions, and ace certifications.

OSI MODEL Common Protocols per Layer

7 – Application HTTP, FTP, SMTP, DNS

6 – Presentation SSL/TLS, Encryption, Compression

5 – Session NetBIOS, RPC, Sockets

4 – Transport TCP, UDP, Port Numbers

3 – Network IP, ICMP, Routing

2 – Data Link Ethernet, MAC, Switches

1 – Physical Cables, Wi-Fi, Hubs, Signals

■ MEMORY TIP: "Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away" — Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, Appli

02 TCP vs UDP
TCP UDP

Connection Connection-oriented (handshake first) Connectionless

Reliability Guaranteed delivery, retransmits lost packets Best-effort, no guarantee

Order Packets arrive in order Order not guaranteed

Speed Slower (overhead for reliability) Faster (no handshake)

Error Check Yes — acknowledgements (ACK) Minimal

Use Cases Web, email, file transfer, SSH Streaming, DNS, VoIP, gaming

Header Size 20 bytes minimum 8 bytes

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03 TCP 3-WAY HANDSHAKE
Before TCP sends any data it establishes a connection using three messages. This ensures both sides are ready and
agree on sequence numbers. You'll be asked about this in almost every networking interview.

TCP 3-WAY HANDSHAKE

Client Server

SYN seq=x

SYN-ACK seq=y, ack=x+1

ACK ack=y+1

3-Way Handshake — Connection Established!

Step Message What It Means

1 SYN Client says: 'I want to connect, my seq starts at X'

2 SYN-ACK Server says: 'OK, I got your X, my seq starts at Y'

3 ACK Client says: 'Great, I got your Y — let's communicate!'

04 DNS — HOW NAMES RESOLVE TO IPs

DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's phone book. When you type [Link] your device has no idea what IP to
connect to — DNS figures it out through a chain of queries. Port 53, uses UDP (or TCP for large responses).

DNS RESOLUTION FLOW

What is [Link]? Who knows .com? [Link] IP?

Client Resolver Root DNS Auth DNS
Cache miss .com servers → [Link]

Record Type Purpose Example

A Maps domain → IPv4 address [Link] → [Link]

AAAA Maps domain → IPv6 address [Link] → 2607:f8b0:...

CNAME Alias to another domain [Link] → [Link]

MX Mail server for domain [Link] → [Link]

NS Authoritative nameservers [Link] → [Link]

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PTR Reverse lookup (IP → domain) [Link] → [Link]

TXT Arbitrary text (SPF, DKIM, etc.) v=spf1 include:_spf.[Link]

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05 HTTP / HTTPS & METHODS
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) drives every website. HTTPS = HTTP + TLS encryption. HTTP methods define what
action you're asking the server to perform. Essential for IT support, help desk, and any dev-adjacent role.

Method Action Idempotent? Use Case

GET Read resource Yes Fetch a webpage, API data

POST Create resource No Submit a form, new record

PUT Replace resource Yes Update entire record

PATCH Partial update No Change one field

DELETE Remove resource Yes Delete a record

HEAD Headers only Yes Check if resource exists

OPTIONS Check allowed methods Yes CORS preflight checks

06 HTTP STATUS CODES

Status codes are the server's way of telling you what happened. You'll see these daily in help desk tickets, browser
consoles, and server logs.

HTTP STATUS CODE FAMILIES

1xx 2xx 3xx 4xx 5xx

Informational Success Redirection Client Error Server Error

Code Name You'll See This When...

200 OK Everything worked. Normal successful response.

201 Created A POST request successfully created a new resource.

204 No Content Success but nothing to return (DELETE, PUT).

301 Moved Permanently URL has permanently changed — browsers update bookmarks.

304 Not Modified Cached version is still valid — no re-download needed.

400 Bad Request Client sent malformed data or invalid request syntax.

401 Unauthorized Authentication required — user not logged in.

403 Forbidden Authenticated but no permission for this resource.

404 Not Found Resource doesn't exist at this URL.

408 Request Timeout Server waited too long for the client to send data.

429 Too Many Requests Rate limiting — slow down your API calls.

500 Internal Server Error Something broke on the server — not your fault.

502 Bad Gateway Upstream server returned an invalid response.

503 Service Unavailable Server is overloaded or down for maintenance.

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07 COMMON PORTS TO MEMORIZE
Port numbers identify which service/application should receive network traffic. The well-known ports (0–1023) are
standardized. CompTIA exams WILL test these — know the highlighted ones cold.

Port Protocol Service When you'll see it

20/21 TCP FTP File transfers (legacy systems)

22 TCP SSH Remote server login, SCP, SFTP

23 TCP Telnet Legacy remote access (insecure)

25 TCP SMTP Sending email between servers

53 UDP/TCP DNS Every domain lookup you make

67/68 UDP DHCP Auto IP assignment on network join

80 TCP HTTP Unencrypted web traffic

110 TCP POP3 Downloading email from server

143 TCP IMAP Syncing email across devices

443 TCP HTTPS Encrypted web traffic — everywhere

3389 TCP RDP Remote Desktop (Windows)

3306 TCP MySQL Database connections

8080 TCP HTTP-Alt Dev servers, proxies

08 IP ADDRESSING & SUBNETTING

Every device on a network needs a unique IP. IPv4 addresses are 32-bit numbers written as 4 octets (0-255). Subnetting
divides networks into smaller, manageable blocks using a subnet mask.

IP ADDRESSING & SUBNETTING

Network (3 octets) Host (1 octet)

Example: [Link] /24

/8 — [Link] — 16M hosts — Class A
/16 — [Link] — 65K hosts — Class B
/24 — [Link] — 254 hosts — Class C (most common)
/30 — [Link] — 2 hosts — Point-to-point links

Class Range Default Mask Use

A [Link] – 126.x [Link] /8 Large enterprises, ISPs

B [Link] – 191.x [Link] /16 Mid-size organizations

C [Link] – 223.x [Link] /24 Small networks (most common)

Private — — 10.x.x.x, 172.16-31.x.x, 192.168.x.x

Loopback [Link] — Testing — 'talks to itself'

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09 TLS / SSL — ENCRYPTION IN TRANSIT
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is what puts the 'S' in HTTPS. Before any data flows, TLS establishes a secure, encrypted
tunnel between client and server. SSL is the deprecated predecessor — you'll still hear the terms used interchangeably.

TLS HANDSHAKE (HTTPS)

Browser Server

ClientHello (TLS version, ciphers)

ServerHello + Certificate
Key Exchange

Finished — Encrypted!

Concept What It Is

Certificate (cert) Digital ID card issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) — proves the server is who it claims to be

Certificate Authority Trusted org that signs/issues certs (DigiCert, Let's Encrypt, Comodo)

Public Key Shared openly — used to encrypt data that only the private key can decrypt

Private Key Kept secret on the server — decrypts data encrypted with the public key

Symmetric Encryption Same key encrypts and decrypts — fast, used after TLS handshake (AES-256)

Cipher Suite Agreed set of algorithms for key exchange, auth, encryption, and hashing

HSTS HTTP Strict Transport Security — forces HTTPS-only connections forever

10 QUICK REFERENCE CHEATSHEET

All key protocols, their OSI layer, transport, port, and the one thing you must remember.

Protocol Layer Transport Port(s) Key Fact

HTTP App TCP 80 Stateless request/response

HTTPS App TCP 443 HTTP + TLS encryption

DNS App UDP/TCP 53 Translates names to IPs

DHCP App UDP 67/68 Auto-assigns IP addresses

FTP App TCP 20/21 File transfer (insecure)

SSH App TCP 22 Secure remote shell

SMTP App TCP 25/587 Sends email

IMAP App TCP 143 Syncs email (keeps on server)

TCP Transport — — Reliable, ordered, connection-full

UDP Transport — — Fast, connectionless, no guarantee

IP Network — — Routes packets across networks

ICMP Network — — ping, traceroute, error messages

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 ARP Data Link — — IP address → MAC address

TLS/SSL Session TCP 443 Encrypts data in transit

Ready to land the role? These protocols are the foundation. Get CompTIA A+ or Network+ certified, practice Packet Tracer/Wir

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