Transport Protocols Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is the purpose of transport protocols in networking?
Transport protocols ensure reliable or fast communication between applications on different devices. They operate at Layer 4 of the OSI model and handle tasks like segmentation, error correction, and flow control.
Which layer of the OSI model do transport protocols operate at?
Transport protocols operate at Layer 4 — the Transport Layer — of the OSI model.
What are the main functions of transport protocols?
They perform segmentation and reassembly, flow control, error detection and correction, connection establishment and termination, and multiplexing using port numbers.
What is segmentation and reassembly in transport protocols?
Segmentation breaks large messages into smaller pieces for transmission, and reassembly puts them back together at the destination to form the original message.
What is flow control in transport protocols?
Flow control manages the rate of data transmission between sender and receiver to prevent overwhelming the receiver or causing congestion.
What is the difference between TCP and UDP?
TCP is reliable and connection-oriented, ensuring error checking and data delivery in order. UDP is faster but connectionless and does not guarantee delivery or order, suitable for real-time applications.
What kind of applications typically use TCP?
TCP is used by applications that need reliable data transfer such as web browsing (HTTP), email (SMTP), and file transfer (FTP).
What kind of applications typically use UDP?
UDP is used by applications that prioritize speed over reliability, such as video streaming, VoIP, DNS, and online gaming.
What is multiplexing in the context of transport protocols?
Multiplexing allows multiple applications to share a single network connection by assigning each one a unique port number, enabling simultaneous communication.
What are port numbers and why are they important in transport protocols?
Port numbers identify specific applications or services on a device, enabling transport protocols to deliver data to the correct destination application.
How does TCP ensure reliability?
TCP ensures reliability through sequence numbers, acknowledgments (ACKs), retransmissions of lost data, and flow control mechanisms.
Is UDP suitable for applications that require guaranteed data delivery?
No. UDP does not provide error correction or guarantee delivery, so it is not suitable for applications needing reliable communication.
