Protocols

The Protocols section provides detailed Open Specifications technical documents for certain protocols that are implemented in Exchange Server, Office, SharePoint Products and Technologies, Microsoft SQL Server, Windows client (including .NET Framework) and Windows Server collectively published under Windows Protocols and are used to communicate with other Microsoft software products.

Although the Open Specifications technical documents are freely available, many of them include patented inventions. Some of these patents are available at no charge under the Open Specifications Promise or the Microsoft Community Promise. The remaining patents are available through various licensing programs. For more information, please visit the Microsoft Open Specifications Dev Center website or send an email message to the IP Licensing Team.

Q&A and Blogs

	Exchange Server Open Specifications and Standards Support - Microsoft Q&A Home to technical questions and answers about Exchange Server Open Specifications and Standards Support documents.
	Office Open Specifications, Standards Support, and File Formats - Microsoft Q&A Home to technical questions and answers about Office Open Specifications, Standards Support, and File Format documents.
	SharePoint Server Open Specifications - Microsoft Q&A Home to technical questions and answers about SharePoint Server Open Specifications documents.
	SQL Server Open Specifications, Standards Support and Data Portability - Microsoft Q&A Home to technical questions and answers about SQL Server Open Specifications, Standards Support and Data Portability documents.
	Windows Open Specifications and Standards Support - Microsoft Q&A Home to technical questions and answers about Windows Open Specifications and Standards Support documents.
	Open Specifications Blogs These blogs, authored by the engineers who support the Open Specifications documents, provide a different venue for further discussion of those documents.

Explore the Protocols Documentation

• Exchange Server Protocols

• Office Protocols

• SharePoint Products and Technologies Protocols

• Microsoft SQL Server Protocols

• Windows Protocols

  Downloads	Related Sections	Sites
  Exchange Server Protocols .zip file (120+ MB) Microsoft Office Protocols .zip file (80+ MB) SharePoint Products and Technologies Protocols .zip file (200+ MB) Microsoft SQL Server Protocols .zip file (50+ MB) Windows Protocols .zip file (500+ MB)	Document Programs Computer Languages Standards Support Data Portability	Open Specifications Dev Center