Computing Dictionary
User Datagram Protocol definition
protocol (UDP)
Internet standard network layer,
transport layer and
session layer protocols which provide simple but
unreliable datagram services. UDP is defined in
STD 6,
RFC 768. It adds a
checksum and additional process-to-process addressing information [to what?]. UDP is a
connectionless protocol which, like
TCP, is layered on top of
IP.
UDP neither guarantees delivery nor does it require a connection. As a result it is lightweight and efficient, but all error processing and retransmission must be taken care of by the
application program.
Unix manual page: udp(4).
[Postel, Jon, User Datagram Protocol, RFC 768, Network Information Center, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., August 1980].
(1998-02-11)
