Communication Protocol

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A Communication Protocol defines the rules and conventions governing the exchange of information between communicating entities.

A Communication Protocol may specify how information is formatted, transmitted, received, interpreted, sequenced, acknowledged, or otherwise exchanged. The particular responsibilities of a protocol depend on the architectural layer and communication context in which the protocol is used.

A Communication Protocol is distinct from a Communication Characteristic. The protocol defines rules governing information exchange, while a Communication Characteristic describes an aspect of that exchange, such as Latency.

A Communication Protocol is also distinct from Quality of Service. A protocol defines how communicating entities exchange information, while Quality of Service describes or controls characteristics of that communication.

The term does not prescribe a particular protocol, protocol stack, transport mechanism, middleware technology, or implementation.

a protocol specifying the rules and conventions governing information exchange between communicating entities

DIDO Solutions architectural definition derived from distributed-system and networking concepts used by the DIDO Reference Architecture and DIDO-TE.

Communication Protocol is intentionally independent of a particular architectural layer.

Examples may include network, transport, application, middleware, or domain-specific communication protocols when those protocols govern information exchange between communicating entities.

The selection or configuration of a Communication Protocol does not, by itself, establish permission, authorization, semantic compatibility, or Quality of Service.

A Test Definition may specify a Communication Protocol for information exchange between two Nodes connected through a Virtual Network. The same test may separately specify Latency or Quality of Service characteristics for that communication.