Difference between TCP and UDP

Alexandria University
Institute of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of information Technology

Difference between
TCP and UDP

Prepared by : Kassem Mohammed Mostafa

Student Id : 2004-3-306
E-Mail
: eng_kassem_mohammed@hotmail.com

Difference between TCP and UDP

1. The User Datagram Protocol

The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is one of the core members of the Internet protocol suite. The protocol
was designed by David P. Reed in 1980 and formally defined in RFC 768.
UDP uses a simple connectionless transmission model with a minimum of protocol mechanism. It has no
handshaking dialogues, and thus exposes any unreliability of the underlying network protocol to the user's
program. There is no guarantee of delivery, ordering, or duplicate protection. UDP provides checksums
for data integrity, and port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination of
the datagram.
With UDP, computer applications can send messages, in this case referred to as datagrams, to other hosts
on an Internet Protocol (IP) network without prior communications to set up special transmission
channels or data paths. UDP is suitable for purposes where error checking and correction is either not
necessary or is performed in the application, avoiding the overhead of such processing at the network
interface level. Time-sensitive applications often use UDP because dropping packets is preferable to
waiting for delayed packets, which may not be an option in a real-time system.

2. Transmission Control Protocol

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. It originated in
the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP).
Therefore, the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP. TCP provides reliable, ordered, and errorchecked delivery of a stream of octets between applications running on hosts communicating over an IP
network.
TCP is the protocol that major Internet applications such as the World Wide Web, email, remote
administration and file transfer rely on. Applications that do not require reliable data stream service, may
use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which provides a connectionless datagram service that emphasizes
reduced latency over reliability.

3. TCP - UDP comparison

Acronym for
Connection

TCP

UDP

Transmission Control Protocol

User Datagram Protocol or Universal

Datagram Protocol

TCP is a connection-oriented
protocol.

UDP is a connectionless protocol.

Difference between TCP and UDP

Function

TCP

UDP

As a message makes its way across

the internet from one computer to
another. This is connection based.

UDP is also a protocol used in message

transport or transfer. This is not
connection based which means that one
program can send a load of packets to
another and that would be the end of
the relationship.

TCP is suited for applications that

require high reliability, and
Usage transmission time is relatively less
critical.
Use by other HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SMTP,
protocols Telnet
TCP rearranges data packets in the
Ordering of data order specified.
packets

Speed of transfer

The speed for TCP is slower than

UDP.

There is absolute guarantee that the

data transferred remains intact and
Reliability
arrives in the same order in which
it was sent.
Header Size TCP header size is 20 bytes
Common Header Source port, Destination port,
Fields Check Sum
Data is read as a byte stream, no
distinguishing indications are
transmitted to signal message
Streaming of data (segment) boundaries.

TCP is heavy-weight. TCP

requires three packets to set up a
Weight socket connection, before any user
data can be sent. TCP handles
reliability and congestion control.

UDP is suitable for applications that

need fast, efficient transmission, such
as games. UDP's stateless nature is also
useful for servers that answer small
queries from huge numbers of clients.
DNS, DHCP, TFTP, SNMP, RIP,
VOIP.
UDP has no inherent order as all
packets are independent of each other.
If ordering is required, it has to be
managed by the application layer.
UDP is faster because there is no errorchecking for packets.
There is no guarantee that the messages
or packets sent would reach at all.

UDP Header size is 8 bytes.

Source port, Destination port, Check
Sum
Packets are sent individually and are
checked for integrity only if they arrive.
Packets have definite boundaries which
are honored upon receipt, meaning a
read operation at the receiver socket
will yield an entire message as it was
originally sent.
UDP is lightweight. There is no
ordering of messages, no tracking
connections, etc. It is a small transport
layer designed on top of IP.

Difference between TCP and UDP

TCP
TCP does Flow Control. TCP
requires three packets to set up a
Data Flow Control socket connection, before any user
data can be sent. TCP handles
reliability and congestion control.
Error Checking

TCP does error checking

1. Sequence Number, 2. AcK

number, 3. Data offset, 4.
Reserved, 5. Control bit, 6.
Fields Window, 7. Urgent Pointer 8.
Options, 9. Padding, 10. Check
Sum, 11. Source port, 12.
Destination port
Acknowledgement Acknowledgement segments
Handshake

SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK

Checksum checksum

UDP
UDP does not have an option for flow
control

UDP does error checking, but no

recovery options.
1. Length, 2. Source port, 3.
Destination port, 4. Check Sum

No Acknowledgment
No handshake (connectionless
protocol)
to detect errors

3.1. Differences in Data Transfer Features

TCP ensures a reliable and ordered delivery of a stream of bytes from user to server or vice versa.
UDP is not dedicated to end to end connections and communication does not check readiness of receiver.

3.2. Reliability
TCP is more reliable since it manages message acknowledgment and retransmissions in case of lost parts.
Thus there is absolutely no missing data.
UDP does not ensure that communication has reached receiver since concepts of acknowledgment, time
out and retransmission are not present.

3.3. Ordering
TCP transmissions are sent in a sequence and they are received in the same sequence. In the event of data
segments arriving in wrong order, TCP reorders and delivers application.
In the case of UDP, sent message sequence may not be maintained when it reaches receiving application.
There is absolutely no way of predicting the order in which message will be received.
3

Difference between TCP and UDP

3.4. Connection
TCP is a heavy weight connection requiring three packets for a socket connection and handles congestion
control and reliability.
UDP is a lightweight transport layer designed atop an IP. There are no tracking connections or ordering of
messages.

3.5. Method of transfer

TCP reads data as a byte stream and message is transmitted to segment boundaries.
UDP messages are packets which are sent individually and on arrival are checked for their integrity.
Packets have defined boundaries while data stream has none.

3.6. How TCP and UDP work

A TCP connection is established via a three way handshake, which is a process of initiating and
acknowledging a connection. Once the connection is established data transfer can begin. After
transmission, the connection is terminated by closing of all established virtual circuits.
UDP uses a simple transmission model without implicit hand-shaking dialogues for guaranteeing
reliability, ordering, or data integrity. Thus, UDP provides an unreliable service and datagrams may arrive
out of order, appear duplicated, or go missing without notice. UDP assumes that error checking and
correction is either not necessary or performed in the application, avoiding the overhead of such
processing at the network interface level. Unlike TCP, UDP is compatible with packet broadcasts (sending
to all on local network) and multicasting (send to all subscribers).

3.7. Different Applications of TCP and UDP

Web browsing, email and file transfer are common applications that make use of TCP.
TCP is used to control segment size, rate of data exchange, flow control and network congestion. TCP is
preferred where error correction facilities are required at network interface level.
UDP is largely used by time sensitive applications as well as by servers that answer small queries from
huge number of clients. UDP is compatible with packet broadcast - sending to all on a network and
multicasting sending to all subscribers.
UDP is commonly used in Domain Name System, Voice over IP, Trivial File Transfer Protocol and online
games.

Difference between TCP and UDP

3.8. TCP vs. UDP for Game Servers

For massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, developers often have to make an architectural choice
between using UDP or TCP persistent connections. The advantages of TCP are persistent connections,
reliability, and being able to use packets of arbitrary sizes. The biggest problem with TCP in this scenario
is its congestion control algorithm, which treats packet loss as a sign of bandwidth limitations and
automatically throttles the sending of packets. On 3G or Wi-Fi networks, this can cause a significant
latency.
The following criteria to choose whether to use TCP or UDP for game:

Use HTTP over TCP for making occasional, client-initiated stateless queries when it's OK to have
an occasional delay.
Use persistent plain TCP sockets if both client and server independently send packets but an
occasional delay is OK (e.g. Online Poker, many MMOs).
Use UDP if both client and server may independently send packets and occasional lag is not OK
(e.g. Most multiplayer action games, some MMOs).

4. References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_Control_Protocol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Datagram_Protocol
http://www.diffen.com/difference/TCP_vs_UDP
http://www.diffen.com/difference/TCP_vs_UDP\
http://www.isoc.org/INET97/proceedings/F3/F3_1.HTM
http://www.caida.org/research/traffic-analysis/tcpudpratio/

Difference between TCP and UDP

Difference between TCP and UDP