The Networking Protocol Maze

Montu Mia is full-on sweating now, stuck trying to set up his load balancer. A minute ago he felt like a superhero. Now he feels like a kindergartener.

The AWS console just blinks back at him. It reads: Select Protocol: HTTP / HTTPS / TCP / UDP.

Montu's hands fly to his head. "What even is TCP? What does UDP do? I just want to show some cat videos, man! What do I need all these protocols for?" He could tear his hair out. Who knew he'd pay so dearly for all those naps in the back row of his college networking class!

Out of options, he bolts over to Boltu's place. Boltu is leisurely sipping a cup of tea. He hears out Montu's near-tearful problem and gives a little smile.

— "Look, Montu, you've learned to code, but you've never learned the roads, how data actually travels from one wire to the next. You can put up a building, sure. But if you don't know the streets, how are you going to haul in the supplies?"

Montu, looking helpless, says, "Boltu, I really don't have time for all this theory right now. Just give me the shortcut. What's the deal with this TCP and UDP business?"

Boltu sets down his teacup. "I'll explain. But remember this: a shortcut might get you through an interview, but it won't make you a good architect. Ask me later and I'll point you to a good book. For now, grab a pen and paper."

Protocol: Digital Etiquette

Boltu began. "Networking is really just talking. Now, if you fly to Tokyo and start shouting in Bengali, is anyone going to understand you? Nope. To have a conversation, both sides need the same language and the same grammar. In the computer world, that 'language and grammar' is called a protocol."

Computers only understand 0s and 1s. If one computer sends another a jumbled mess of 0s and 1s, the other side might mistake it for a virus and block it. So data has to be sent following a specific set of rules, a structure.

Sure, you could invent your own 'Montu Protocol' for your app. But why reinvent the wheel? The world's top engineers have already built standard protocols for us. For example:

• Rules for how data travels back and forth: TCP and UDP

• Rules for viewing websites in a browser: HTTP or HTTPS

Our job is just to use them the right way.