Networking Protocols Guide
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Networking Protocols
Essential network protocols for system design and communication
11
Network Protocols
Application Layer
Web
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol for web communication
Reliability:medium
Speed:high
Best Use Case:
Web applications and RESTful APIs
Advantages:
- +Simple and widely supported
- +Stateless protocol
- +Human-readable format
Disadvantages:
- -No built-in security
- -No persistent connections (HTTP/1.0)
- -Overhead for small requests
System Design Applications:
Microservices communicationAPI gatewaysLoad balancer health checksContent delivery
Common Examples:
Web browsingREST API callsFile downloadsForm submissions
Alternatives:
HTTPSHTTP/2HTTP/3WebSocket
Application Layer
Web
HTTPS
HTTP over TLS/SSL for secure web communication
Reliability:high
Speed:medium
Best Use Case:
Secure web applications and sensitive data transfer
Advantages:
- +End-to-end encryption
- +Authentication and integrity
- +SEO benefits
Disadvantages:
- -Performance overhead
- -Certificate management complexity
- -Additional latency for handshake
System Design Applications:
Secure API communicationPayment processingUser authenticationData privacy compliance
Common Examples:
E-commerce websitesBanking applicationsSocial media platformsAPI authentication
Alternatives:
HTTP/2 over TLSHTTP/3 (QUIC)mTLS
Application Layer
Real-time
WebSocket
Full-duplex communication protocol over TCP
Reliability:high
Speed:high
Best Use Case:
Real-time bidirectional communication
Advantages:
- +Full-duplex communication
- +Low latency
- +Persistent connections
Disadvantages:
- -Complex connection management
- -Firewall and proxy issues
- -Resource intensive for servers
System Design Applications:
Real-time notificationsLive data feedsCollaborative applicationsGaming backends
Common Examples:
Chat applicationsLive gamingReal-time dashboardsCollaborative editing
Alternatives:
Server-Sent EventsgRPC streamingSocket.IO
Application Layer
RPC
gRPC
High-performance RPC framework using HTTP/2
Reliability:high
Speed:high
Best Use Case:
High-performance microservices communication
Advantages:
- +High performance with HTTP/2
- +Strong typing with Protocol Buffers
- +Streaming support
Disadvantages:
- -Limited browser support
- -Binary format (not human-readable)
- -Learning curve
System Design Applications:
Service mesh communicationHigh-throughput APIsReal-time streamingInternal microservices
Common Examples:
Microservices communicationMobile app backendsIoT device communicationInternal service APIs
Alternatives:
RESTGraphQLApache ThriftJSON-RPC
Application Layer
Infrastructure
DNS
Domain Name System for translating domain names to IP addresses
Reliability:high
Speed:medium
Best Use Case:
Domain name resolution and service discovery
Advantages:
- +Hierarchical and distributed
- +Caching for performance
- +Load balancing capabilities
Disadvantages:
- -Security vulnerabilities (DNS poisoning)
- -Propagation delays
- -Single point of failure if misconfigured
System Design Applications:
Service discoveryLoad balancingFailover mechanismsGeographic routing
Common Examples:
Website domain resolutionEmail server lookupService discoveryLoad balancing
Alternatives:
mDNSService mesh discoveryConsuletcd
Transport Layer
Connection-oriented
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol for reliable data delivery
Reliability:high
Speed:medium
Best Use Case:
Reliable data transmission requiring guaranteed delivery
Advantages:
- +Guaranteed delivery
- +Ordered data transmission
- +Error detection and correction
Disadvantages:
- -Higher latency due to handshake
- -Connection overhead
- -Head-of-line blocking
System Design Applications:
Database connectionsAPI communicationsFile transfersPersistent connections
Common Examples:
Web browsing (HTTP)Email (SMTP)File transfer (FTP)Database connections
Alternatives:
UDPQUICSCTP
Transport Layer
Connectionless
UDP
User Datagram Protocol for fast, connectionless communication
Reliability:low
Speed:high
Best Use Case:
Fast communication where some data loss is acceptable
Advantages:
- +Low latency
- +No connection overhead
- +Multicast support
Disadvantages:
- -No guaranteed delivery
- -No ordering guarantees
- -No error recovery
System Design Applications:
Real-time communicationsMetrics collectionService discoveryMedia streaming
Common Examples:
Video streamingOnline gamingDNS queriesDHCP
Alternatives:
TCPQUICReliable UDP implementations
Network Layer
Routing
IP (IPv4/IPv6)
Internet Protocol for packet routing across networks
Reliability:medium
Speed:high
Best Use Case:
Routing packets across different networks
Advantages:
- +Universal addressing
- +Scalable routing
- +Network independence
Disadvantages:
- -No guaranteed delivery
- -Address exhaustion (IPv4)
- -No built-in security
System Design Applications:
Load balancer routingCDN distributionMulti-region deploymentNetwork segmentation
Common Examples:
Internet routingVPN connectionsNetwork addressingPacket forwarding
Alternatives:
IPv6MPLSOverlay networks
Application Layer
Messaging
AMQP
Advanced Message Queuing Protocol for reliable messaging
Reliability:high
Speed:medium
Best Use Case:
Enterprise messaging and reliable message delivery
Advantages:
- +Reliable message delivery
- +Rich routing capabilities
- +Transaction support
Disadvantages:
- -Complex protocol
- -Higher overhead
- -Learning curve
System Design Applications:
Microservices messagingEvent sourcingTask queuesDistributed systems communication
Common Examples:
RabbitMQApache QpidEnterprise messagingEvent-driven architectures
Alternatives:
MQTTApache KafkaRedis Pub/SubNATS
Application Layer
IoT
MQTT
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport for IoT devices
Reliability:medium
Speed:high
Best Use Case:
IoT device communication and telemetry
Advantages:
- +Lightweight protocol
- +Low bandwidth usage
- +Quality of Service levels
Disadvantages:
- -Limited security (basic version)
- -No message ordering guarantees
- -Broker dependency
System Design Applications:
IoT data collectionReal-time monitoringDevice controlTelemetry systems
Common Examples:
IoT sensor dataSmart home devicesIndustrial monitoringMobile push notifications
Alternatives:
CoAPAMQPWebSocketHTTP
Application Layer
Database
SQL Protocol
Various protocols for SQL database communication
Reliability:high
Speed:medium
Best Use Case:
Relational database communication
Advantages:
- +Standardized query language
- +ACID compliance
- +Rich query capabilities
Disadvantages:
- -Connection overhead
- -Not suitable for high-frequency operations
- -Protocol-specific implementations
System Design Applications:
Application databasesData warehousingOLTP systemsReporting systems
Common Examples:
MySQL ProtocolPostgreSQL ProtocolSQL Server TDSOracle TNS
Alternatives:
NoSQL protocolsgRPCREST APIsGraphQL
OSI Layer Distribution
8
Application Layer
2
Transport Layer
1
Network Layer
Protocol Selection Guide: Choose protocols based on your reliability, speed, and scalability requirements. Consider the trade-offs between performance and features. Application layer protocols provide more features but with higher overhead.