The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
Upper Layer Protocol
1. (ULP, or upper-layer protocol)
Any protocol residing in OSI layers five or above.
The Internet protocol suite includes many upper layer
protocols representing a wide variety of applications
e.g. FTP, NFS, RPC, and SMTP. These and other network
applications use the services of TCP/IP and other lower
layer protocols to provide users with basic network services.
2. A protocol higher in the OSI reference model than the
current reference point. Upper Layer Protocol is often used
to refer to the next-highest protocol in a particular
protocol stack.
(1999-02-17)