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Once Again on TCP vs UDP

posted by martyb on Sunday March 27 2016, @12:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the could-this-site-run-without-both-of-them? dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Discussion on the advantages of TCP vs UDP (and vice versa) has a history which is almost as long as the eternal Linux-vs-Windows debate. As I have long been a supporter of the point of view that both UDP and TCP have their own niches (see, for example, [NoBugs15]), here are my two cents on this subject.

Note for those who already know the basics of IP and TCP: please skip to the 'Closing the Gap: Improving TCP Interactivity' section, as you still may be able to find a thing or two of interest.

It's a primer, or a refresher, or a skip. We have all kinds here. Enjoy, or don't.

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  • (Score: 2) by RamiK on Sunday March 27 2016, @05:13PM

    by RamiK (1813) on Sunday March 27 2016, @05:13PM (#323573)

    Well, yes and no. Games and web apps have mixed needs. Some things need low latency (coordinating GUI elements) while other things can wait in line (loading files). Often, developers will customize their own UDP protocol under these circumstances to handle everything efficiently. But, even the best designed protocol will still crush and burn in the face of the ISP's infrastructure down-prioritizing anything not VOIP. Your awesome custom protocol might even lose out to BitTorrent or Windows 10 P2P Update protocol since you're not one of the cool kids that get Cisco to override your header by default... So, the "stupid" solution of using UDP for the GUI while opening a second TCP connection for loading files will often be the smartest and best thing to do, even if it means more client side complexity coordinating it all.

    So, yeah... They're designed for two different purposes. But things get messy in real life.

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  • (Score: 2) by bitstream on Monday March 28 2016, @08:29AM

    by bitstream (6144) on Monday March 28 2016, @08:29AM (#323775) Journal

    Fake your packets to come from one of the "cool kids" ..?
    Robotics control over VoIP.. why not?
    Dunno what your specific application you have in mind.