---
tags: [networks]
created: Monday, January 13, 2025
---

# ICMP Protocol

The Internet Control Message Protocol operates alongside the
[Internet Protocol](Internet_Layer_of_Internet_Protocol.md) at the
[Transport Layer](Transport_Layer_of_Internet_Protocol.md).

It doesn't carry any actual user data and thus there is no
[Application Layer](Application_Layer_of_Internet_Protocol.md) processes above
it. It's usage is primarily for diagnostics and debugging. When network problems
occur, ICMP generates messages to report errors back to the source.

Probably the most familiar tools related to ICMP is [Ping](Ping.md).
