A ________ is the layered structure of hardware and software that supports the exchange of data between systems and supports distributed applications such as electronic mail and file transfer.

A protocol architecture is the layered structure of both hardware and software that is designed and developed to support the exchange of data between systems.

What is a protocol?

In Computer networking, a protocol can be defined as a formatted blocks of data that have been established to obey a set of standard rules or conventions such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).

Similarly, a protocol architecture is the layered structure of both hardware and software that is designed and developed to support the exchange of data between networking systems. Also, it is designed to provide support for distributed applications such as:

Electronic mail service.

File transfer.

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