public java.lang.String getIpProtocol() {
      java.lang.Object ref = ipProtocol_;
      if (!(ref instanceof java.lang.String)) {
        com.google.protobuf.ByteString bs = (com.google.protobuf.ByteString) ref;
        java.lang.String s = bs.toStringUtf8();
        ipProtocol_ = s;
        return s;
      } else {
        return (java.lang.String) ref;
      }
    }
<pre>
The IP protocol to which the external access rule applies. This value can
be one of the following three protocol strings (not case-sensitive):
`tcp`, `udp`, or `icmp`.
</pre>

<code>string ip_protocol = 8;</code>

@return The ipProtocol.
java-vmwareengine/proto-google-cloud-vmwareengine-v1/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/vmwareengine/v1/ExternalAccessRule.java