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

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 isostatic on Monday March 28 2016, @10:27AM

    by isostatic (365) on Monday March 28 2016, @10:27AM (#323806) Journal

    TCP and UDP are two different protocols, designed for two different purposes. Those who think they are in competition have skipped OSI 101.

    So I'm building a new application which requires a new communication protocol. I can use something based on a high level protocol like SOAP or a message broker, I could use something based on something lowerdown like http, or I could base it on UDP or TCP. Going down to raw IP datagrams becomes problematic. TCP comes with advantages, but also drawbacks, but the same can be said about SOAP, or Corba, or http, or snmp.

    They aren't as different as a hammer and screwdriver, more like a screw vs a nail, they're both designed for the same purpose (fixing things together // communicating over a network), but they do it in different ways with different advantages and disadvantages.

    If I wanted to send messages to many clients, I could use a message broker running on tcp to ensure the message gets there. On the other hand if I'm sending a broadcast message saying "new information, update now rather than wait 10 seconds for the poll), why wouldn't I just fire out a broadcast udp?

    Packet loss is a bit of a red herring. At any one time I'm streaming 250mbit around the world on the internet, and I see packet loss post-RTP-reconstruction and minimal buffering in the 1-in-1,000 - 1-in-10,000 level.

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