These delays, which are caused by retransmitting broken packets and any following packets that may have already been sent, translate into an unacceptable level of jitter for the end user. Why is UDP ideal for real-time services and not TCP? Believe it or not, it’s actually TCP’s “reliable” nature that hurts the end user experience delays happen every time an error like packet loss occurs. UDP is a protocol optimized for getting data packets to their destination in a timely fashion it’s meant for real-time services like VoIP where it’s important to keep the data stream going. This makes UDP ideal for real-time services such as VoIP. UDP is meant for applications where you are more concerned with keeping the stream of information going than making sure you receive every single packet. Not only can packets be delivered in the incorrect order, but they can also get completely left out. UDP also lacks any kind of error control. Unlike TCP, UDP is connectionless, which means that data packets can be sent without warning, preparation, or negotiation. This guarantees that all data sent is without error and in the correct order. If no acknowledgement packet is received after a certain amount of time, the original packet is retransmitted. TCP is optimized for accurate delivery, not timeliness, and is the protocol for The process goes something like this:Įndpoint B receives packet 1 without error and sends acknowledgement packet back to endpoint A.Įndpoint A receives the acknowledgement packet and proceeds to send packet 2 to endpoint B. It can sometimes take a few seconds for a packet to be fully successfully transmitted. If no acknowledgment packet arrives after a certain amount of time or if the acknowledgment states that there was a problem, then the packet is re-sent. Every time a packet is sent from one side, the other side sends a packet back acknowledging the packet's arrival. Whenever two servers “speak” TCP, they set up a formal connection. TCP functions as the “FedEx” part of the analogy from above. TCP is so prevalent on the Internet that it's typically combined with IP and written as TCP/IP. The address on the envelope is the IP address for where the packet came from (source address) and where it's going (destination address). They both carry data and both use IP addresses, but the outside envelope is different. TCP and UDP are just two types of envelopes.

Think of them like letters: Like letters, the packets have an envelope with a to/from address on them. TCP and UDP are two of the most commonly used connection protocols used for data traversal across the Internet.ĭata travels across the Internet in packets. Typically, a single packet contains anywhere from 10 to 30 milliseconds of audio. In VoIP, audio samples are placed into data packets for transmission over the IP network.

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