ZIP (Zone Information Protocol)

Zone Information Protocol was the AppleTalk routing protocol that maintained the mapping between network numbers and human-readable zone names. AppleTalk was retired in macOS 10.6 (2009) and is no longer in commercial use; ZIP appears today only in historical telecom and networking literature.

Categories: Core NetworkSignalingProtocols and Standards

ZIP in context

The mobile core carries subscriber sessions, mobility and policy. In 4G it is the EPC (MME, HSS, S/PGW); in 5G it is the Service-Based Architecture with AMF, SMF, UPF, AUSF, UDM and the NRF.

Signaling protocols carry the control-plane messages that set up calls, register subscribers and route SMS. SS7, Diameter, GTP-C and SIP are the four dominant families, and interconnect exposure of any of them is treated by GSMA as top-tier telecom risk.

To place ZIP in the wider telecom-security picture, review Conformance Testing, SM, NDR, 5G SA, 5G SBA and ACL — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

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