Introduction

This report gives an overview on:

Packet Switched Networks (TCP/IP)

Todays most popular Packet Switched Network is by far TCP/IP. TCP/IP is the abbreviation for the two most used protocols: Transmission Control Protocol and the associated Internet Protocol. We give a short introduction provided by Charles L. Hedrick from Rutgers University.. Another good introduction can be found at Ciscos homepage. Finally a summary with important key-points is given.

H.323 and SIP

Two standards compete for establishing Multimedia transmission. H.323 is the older standard and is - today - the most used protocol. Unfortunately it is very complex, providing flexibility on a wide range. SIP is the newcomer, coordinated by the IETF. It claims to be as flexible as H.323 but without its complexity.

RTP

The Real Time Protocol and the related RTCP (Real Time Control Protocol) transport the multimedia stream. This section gives a description of the protocol and its usage.