🎁 New User? Get 20% off your first purchase with code NEWUSER20 · ⚡ Instant download · 🔒 Secure checkout Register Now →
Menu

Categories

Networking Beginner

What is TCP vs UDP?

Two transport layer protocols: TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery while UDP provides fast, connectionless delivery without guarantees.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) establishes connections, guarantees delivery, maintains order, and handles congestion. It is used for web browsing, email, file transfer, and SSH where reliability matters.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is connectionless, lightweight, and fast but does not guarantee delivery or order. It is used for video streaming, gaming, DNS queries, and VoIP where speed matters more than perfect reliability.

Related Terms

Load Balancer
A device or software that distributes network traffic across multiple servers to ensure reliability and performance.
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)
A protocol for monitoring and managing network devices like routers, switches, servers, and printers remotely.
Proxy Server
An intermediary server that forwards requests between clients and destination servers, providing caching, filtering, or anonymity.
MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit)
The maximum size of a data packet that can be transmitted over a network without fragmentation.
DNS Propagation
The time it takes for DNS record changes to spread across all DNS servers worldwide, typically taking up to 48 hours.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A geographically distributed network of servers that caches and delivers web content from locations closest to users for faster load times.
 View All Networking Terms →