User Datagram Protocol


user datagram protocol

[‚yüz·ər ′dad·ə‚gram ‚prōd·ə‚kȯl] (communications) A communications protocol providing a direct way to send and receive datagrams over an IP network but with few error recovery resources, used mainly for broadcasting over a network, for example, with streaming media.

User Datagram Protocol

(protocol)(UDP) Internet standard network layer,transport layer and session layer protocols whichprovide simple but unreliable datagram services. UDP isdefined in STD 6, RFC 768. It adds a checksum andadditional process-to-process addressing information UDP is a connectionless protocol which, like TCP,is layered on top of IP.

UDP neither guarantees delivery nor does it require aconnection. As a result it is lightweight and efficient, butall error processing and retransmission must be taken care ofby the application program.

Unix manual page: udp(4).

[Postel, Jon, User Datagram Protocol, RFC 768, NetworkInformation Center, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.,August 1980].