

When using SLIP to log in to a remote machine, a terminal mode must be configured after login to the remote site so that the script can enter each parameter. Setting up SLIP for a remote connection requires a SLIP account on the host machine and usually a batch file or a script on the workstation. SLIP does not support encrypted passwords and therefore transmits passwords in clear text, which is not secure at all. SLIP is used today primarily to connect a workstation to the Internet or to another network running TCP/IP. Although a low overhead is associated with using SLIP and you can use it to transport TCP/IP over serial connections, it does no error checking or packet addressing and can be used only on serial connections. It is being used less frequently with each passing year, though, because it lacks features when compared with other protocols.

Today, SLIP is found in many network operating systems in addition to Unix. SLIP operates at both the Physical and Data Link layers of the OSI model. In 1984, students at the University of California at Berkeley developed SLIP for Unix as a way to transmit TCP/IP over serial connections (such as modem connections over POTS). These are the primary remote access protocols that are in use today: A remote access protocol manages the connection between a remote computer and a remote access server.
