Internet Layer: Where Packets Are Prepared for Delivery

The transport protocols TCP, UDP, and SCTP pass their segments and packets down to the Internet layer, where the IP protocol handles the segments and packets. IP prepares them for delivery by formatting them into units called IP datagrams. IP then determines the IP addresses for the datagrams, so that they can be delivered effectively to the receiving host.

IP Datagrams

IP attaches an IP header to the segment or packet's header, in addition to the information that is added by TCP or UDP. Information in the IP header includes the IP addresses of the sending and receiving hosts, the datagram length, and the datagram sequence order. This information is provided if the datagram exceeds the allowable byte size for network packets and must be fragmented.