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Introduction to GnuTLS

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3 Introduction to TLS and DTLS
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TLS stands for "Transport Layer Security" and is the successor of SSL,
the Secure Sockets Layer protocol [Note: SSL3] designed by Netscape.
TLS is an Internet protocol, defined by IETF(1), described in [Note:
RFC5246].  The protocol provides confidentiality, and authentication
layers over any reliable transport layer.  The description, above,
refers to TLS 1.0 but applies to all other TLS versions as the
differences between the protocols are not major.

The DTLS protocol, or "Datagram TLS" [Note: RFC4347] is a protocol
with identical goals as TLS, but can operate under unreliable transport
layers such as UDP.  The discussions below apply to this protocol as
well, except when noted otherwise.

TLS layers

The transport layer

The TLS record protocol

The TLS Alert Protocol

The TLS Handshake Protocol

TLS Extensions

How to use TLS in application protocols

On SSL 2 and older protocols

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) IETF, or Internet Engineering Task Force, is a large open
international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and
researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture
and the smooth operation of the Internet.  It is open to any interested
individual.