A protocol is a set of rules and formats that govern the communication between communicating peers. It allows the peers to agree on a set of valid messages and the meaning of each message. In general, protocol mediate any function that requires cooperation between peers.
An important role of a protocol is to describe the 'semantics' of a message i.e., the meaning associated with the bit carried in a message. A protocol also specifies the actions taken on receipt of a message.
Two or more parties at the same level communicating with each other are called peer entities. Peer entities use a protocol to provide a service to higher-level entity. Each shared function (or service) in a communication network is achieved by an associated protocol. Thus a network that provides many services must define many protocols and some of these protocols are independent of each other, while others are dependent.
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