TCP and UDP

Home > Life Skills > Networking (life skill) > TCP and UDP

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a reliable and connection-oriented protocol used in networking to ensure the secure and sequential delivery of data over the internet, while UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a connectionless and unreliable protocol that allows for faster transmission of data at the cost of potential data loss or order issues.

TCP and UDP Protocol Basics: Understanding the basics of TCP/IP and UDP protocols, their similarities, and differences, is essential when starting to learn about networking.
Network Layers and Services: TCP/IP protocol suite operates at the physical, data link, network, transport, and application layers. Understanding the functions and services provided by each layer is crucial when configuring, securing, and troubleshooting network systems.
IP Addresses, Subnetting, and Routing: IP addresses are unique identifiers assigned to every device on a network. Subnetting enables network administrators to divide large networks into smaller subnets for better management, security, and performance.
Network Address Translation (NAT): NAT enables multiple devices on a private network to share a public IP address by mapping private IP addresses to a public IP address. Understanding NAT is essential for configuring and securing network devices and services.
Ports and Sockets: TCP and UDP use ports to identify applications running on network devices. Sockets enable processes running on devices to communicate with other processes over the network.
Windowing and Congestion Control: Windowing and congestion control are TCP mechanisms that regulate the amount of data sent over the network to prevent congestion and ensure reliable delivery of data.
Reliability and Error Checking: TCP is designed to ensure reliable delivery of data and includes mechanisms such as acknowledgments and retransmissions to detect and recover from transmission errors.
Multicast and Broadcasting: Multicasting and broadcasting enable data to be sent to multiple recipients simultaneously. Understanding these concepts is essential when configuring and securing network services.
Quality of Service (QoS): QoS enables network administrators to prioritize traffic based on its importance, ensuring that critical traffic is given higher priority over non-critical traffic.
Security and Encryption: TCP and UDP can be secured using various encryption techniques such as SSL/TLS and IPsec. Understanding security protocols and technologies is essential when designing and configuring secure network systems.
HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol: It's the protocol that's used to access websites over the internet. It works on top of TCP.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol: It's used to transfer files from one computer to another. FTP also works on top of TCP.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: It's the protocol used to send emails over the internet.
Telnet: Provides a bidirectional interactive communication between two hosts using virtual terminals.
DNS: Domain Name System: It's used to resolve domain names to IP addresses.
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol: It's used to assign IP addresses to clients on a network.
SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol: It's used to manage and monitor network devices.
TFTP: Trivial File Transfer Protocol: It's used to transfer small files between computers.
"The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main protocols of the Internet protocol suite."
"It originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP)."
"TCP provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of a stream of octets (bytes) between applications."
"Major internet applications such as the World Wide Web, email, remote administration, and file transfer rely on TCP."
"TCP, which is part of the Transport Layer of the TCP/IP suite."
"SSL/TLS often runs on top of TCP."
"TCP is connection-oriented."
"A connection between client and server is established before data can be sent."
"The server must be listening (passive open) for connection requests from clients before a connection is established."
"Three-way handshake (active open), retransmission, and error detection add to reliability."
"But lengthens latency."
"Applications that do not require reliable data stream service may use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) instead."
"There are vulnerabilities in TCP, including denial of service, connection hijacking, TCP veto, and reset attack."
"UDP provides a connectionless datagram service that prioritizes time over reliability."
"TCP employs network congestion avoidance."
"Three-way handshake (active open) adds to reliability."
"SSL/TLS often runs on top of TCP."
"UDP provides a connectionless datagram service."
"TCP is part of the Transport Layer of the TCP/IP suite."
"Major internet applications such as the World Wide Web, email, remote administration, and file transfer rely on TCP."