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User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is an alternative for TCP that was designed by David P Reed in 1980. It was formerly known as RFC 768. It is an OSI transport layer protocol for network applications used by both clients and servers.
A UDP is an important component of the Internet Protocol Suite that enables the frequent and easy sending of messages without prior specific communication trials. Messages in the case of UDP are called datagram. One datagram is equal to one message unit and usually the first eight bytes represent the header and the remaining bytes are usually the body.
Datagram headers contain four, two byte fields that include the destination and source port numbers together with the datagram size and checksum. Video and audio are broadcast using UDP as real time audio-video streaming protocols can cover up lost packets. Due to which there is minimal disturbance to quality of media being sent.
Similarly UDP has senders and receivers and the server basically caters for them by providing a port where any number of UDPs can be sent. In most cases UDP systems are used for chats where they are likely to attract other senders regardless of the address.
Applications of UDP
There are many important internet applications that use UDP. These include SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), RIP (Routing Information Protocol), DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and the DNS (Domain Name System) in which queries have to be fast and will consist of one single request followed by a single reply packet.
The video and voice traffic is normally transmitted by using UDP. The Real-time audio and video streaming protocols are normally designed to handle the occasional lost packet, so only a slight degradation in quality occurs instead of huge delays when lost packets are retransmitted. As both UDP and TCP play on the same network, lots of businesses are discovering that a new rise in UDP traffic from the real time applications is causing the performance of TCP applications to hinder, like in the case of accounting, point of sale and database systems. When a packet loss is detected by TCP, it throttles back the data rate usage. Business and real time applications are important to any business that is developing service quality.
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