The communication parameters determines what communication protocols can be used to exchange information with the database server. The parameters also determine how an actual connection is initiated. This is described further for each communication protocol supported.
The following communication parameters can be viewed by using the "Communication" tab after the dialog displaying local database parameters first appears:
Local communication uses shared memory to communicate between processes within the same machine. TCP/IP and Named Pipes are used when client computers communicate over a network with a database server on another machine in network.
Client/server encryption decides if network packages are encrypted when communicating between client and server.