TCP and UDP


TCP = Transmission Control Protocol
UDP = User Datagram Protocol

Both are core transport layer protocols in computer networking.

TCP UDP
Connection Oriented
= A connection has to be established & closed
Datagram Oriented
= No connection => easy broadcasting
Guarantees data delivery Cannot guarantee the delivery
Extensive error-checking Error-checking with basic checksums
Acknowledgment segment is present No acknowledgement segment
Data arrives in correct sequence No sequencing by default, it needs to be implemented in the application layer
Relatively slow Faster
Lost packages can be retransmitted Retransmission is not possible
20-60 byte header 8 byte header
Uses handshake Is connectionless => no handshake
No broadcasting supported Supports broadcasting
Used by: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, Telnet Used by: DNS, DHCP, TFTP, SNMP, RIP, VoIP