The Definition of IP (Internet Protocol)

I've noticed in life there are several things that we as a people don't like to do. And one of these things is ask a question about something, whenever we feel many people know the answer. It's strange, because there are some things in life that very few people actually understand, but no one is actually asking what it is.

Perhaps it's because the answer to these questions won't necessarily change how our lives work, they are unchanged by our lack or fullness of knowledge. However, one of these questions that I myself didn't decide to seek out until recently is, what exactly is the IP in VoIP? Many people already know the answer to this question, and that is IP stands for Internet Protocol - but what is that? What does the Internet Protocol actually do?

Now, most of us know what the word protocol means. And for those of us who aren't exactly aware of the meaning, it basically is a set of rules that govern a certain situation. Such as in, clocking into work when you show up in the morning, that's morning protocol. Now that we know what that word means, and surely everyone knows what the word Internet means (if not, look at your screen and the words you're reading, that's provided through the Internet), but what does the phrase "Internet Protocol" mean?

Basically what the IP does is send packets of information to various network systems, and then transmits them back to various computers based on their IP addresses. How this is done is through IP Routing, this is the main function of the protocol. The IP Routing forwards various information to the various machines that, again, is based on the IP addresses.

However, using an IP along is not reliable enough to transmit information accurately, and most importantly wholly. It is known that when sending information using only an IP it will not get accurately transmitted, or parts of the information will be missing. This is why all IP works in conjuction with TCP, or Transmission Control Protocol. The main duty of TCP is to ensure that no packet of information is lost, duplicated, out of order or contains a delay in the transmission process.