Editing Network packet (section)

=== Internet protocol ===
IP packets are composed of a header and payload. The header consists of fixed and optional fields. The payload appears immediately after the header. An IP packet has no trailer. However, an IP packet is often carried as the payload inside an Ethernet frame, which has its own header and trailer.

Per the [[end-to-end principle]], IP networks do not provide guarantees of delivery, non-duplication, or in-order delivery of packets. However, it is common practice to layer a [[Reliability (computer networking)|reliable]] [[transport protocol]] such as [[Transmission Control Protocol]] on top of the packet service to provide such protection.