Short for "Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol", TCP/IP is a suite of specialized subprotocols including TCP, IP, UDP, ARP and various others.

In actuality, it is the standard on the Internet as the preferred choice for LANs and WANs.  When capable of spanning over multiple LANs, the protocol is referred to as routable.

One of the main aspects of TCP/IP is its ability to function on almost any combination of NOSs and network media.