Definition: UDP is a lightweight transport built on top of IP. UDP squeezes extra performance from IP by not implementing some of the features a more heavyweight protocol like TCP offers. Specifically, UDP allows individual packets to be dropped (with no retries) and UDP packets to be received in a different order than they were sent.
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UDP is often used in videoconferencing applications or games where optimal performance is preferred over guaranteed message delivery. UDP is one of the oldest network protocols, introduced in 1980 in RFC document 768.
Also Known As: User Datagram Protocol
Related Resources:
UDP - Introduction to User Datagram Protocol
This article explains UDP, describing its place in the OSI model and the use of headers, port numbers, payloads, and checksums in UDP. The article also compares UDP with TCP.
