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UDP sockets allow for connectionless transmission of data, making them useful for online applications with large numbers of users. Raw sockets are used for network traffic routing, TCP sockets for ordered data transmission, and UDP sockets for retrieving data in small batches. Packet loss is a disadvantage of UDP, but it is preferred in real-time critical systems. UDP sockets require minimal overhead and are used by important online services such as DNS and streaming media.
A User Datagram Protocol (UDP) socket is a type of computer protocol used to transmit and receive information across a network. UDP sockets are known for their connectionless nature, meaning they don’t have to contact another server before attempting to send data. This is distinctly different from Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) sockets which must always maintain a communication line with another socket. Many Internet applications routinely use a UDP socket for communication because they allow large numbers of users to access online servers without the need for continuous communication.
The three types of computer sockets are UDP, TCP and raw. Rawsockets are most frequently used to help locate or route network traffic. TCP sockets are used when it is important that all information reaches the destination socket in the order it was sent. UDP sockets are used when information needs to be retrieved from a server in small batches through the use of single packets called datagrams.
One of the disadvantages of using a UDP socket is the so-called packet loss: there is no pre-established connection between the two sockets, so there is a possibility that a datagram will not arrive at the destination socket. The destination computer has no idea that the packet has arrived and will not request it to be resent, so the data is completely lost.
Systems using a UDP socket framework often opt for packet loss over the transmission problems that a TCP connection might cause. An example is a real-time critical system where it is more important to keep data flowing in and out. exiting the system instead of potentially pausing the entire system due to a slow TCP connection. Alternatively, TCP connections are used in situations where any loss of data could compromise the integrity of the system.
Creating a UDP socket is very simple, considering that a dedicated computer process is not required to constantly maintain which port the socket is connected to, requiring minimal overhead. Sending and receiving datagrams via a UDP socket is just as easy due to the size minimal and low complexity of the package structure.
Many vital online services use UDP sockets for communication. The domain name system (DNS), which converts simple Internet addresses that people can read and understand into a long string of numbers, uses UDP sockets because usually only one request per user is required at a time. Streaming media use UDP, because the loss of a single packet doesn’t interrupt the entire stream in most cases.
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