Full Form of ICMP
Internet Control Message Protocol
ICMP Full Form is Internet Control Message Protocol. In the suite of internet protocol, one of the primary protocols includes the ICMP or the Internet Control Message Protocol. The devices used in a network, such as routers use it for sending error messages. This protocol is also utilized for relaying query messages. The protocol number assignment assigned to it is one. The ICMP protocol is different from transport protocols like UDP and TCP. The ICMP is not used in employing the applications of the end-user network or exchanging data between different systems.
The messages of ICMP are utilized for control or diagnostic purposes. They are also generated when errors occur in IP operations. These errors are directed to the IP addresses where the packet originated. A router, for example, forwards an IP datagram. In the IP header, the TTL or the time to live field is decreased by 1. If due to this reduction, the TTL becomes zero, the ICMP message of TTL is sent to the source address of the datagram, and the packet, in turn, is discarded.
The standard packets of IP consist of the ICMP messages. The processing of ICMP messages differs from the normal processing of IP. In the majority of the cases, the contents present in the ICMP message are inspected. The application that transmitted the IP packet is sent an error message. The base of numerous network utilities that are commonly used lies in the ICMP messages. The IP datagram can be transmitted with the header files of the IP TTL for implementing the trace route command. The ICMP messages like ‘Echo reply’ and ‘Echo request’ are used for implementing the related ping utility.