TCP/IP is a four-layer model used for communication between computers, consisting of the physical, data link, internet, and transport layers. The physical and data link layers combine to form the link layer, which includes protocols like Ethernet that define hardware connections. The internet layer, responsible for routing packets between sources and destinations, uses IP as its main protocol. The transport layer ensures reliable or unreliable end-to-end delivery using protocols like TCP and UDP. The top application layer supports user-facing services through various protocols.