Difference between IP, UDP, and TCP?

vei9

New Member
I know these are all protocols, but I just don't understand the difference between them or what they do.

I tried to type out my basic understanding of the three protocols and it was a gigantic failure, which means I really don't get it! Can someone dumb it down for me :) Thanks
 
Basic summary in my own words:

TCP: Sends a packet using a 3 way handshake. Good for authentication and such.
UDP:Sends a packet. That's it. It(the originator of the packet) is never informed if it got to it's destination. Good for when you need to stream a lot of data, like when you watch a video online.
Internet(aka TCP/IP) is just what it says. It delivers packets via TCP by using your IP.

That's a very overall simplistic definition.
 
This kind of sounds like homework, but it's simple enough. IP is about routing. It's how your packet can tell the host where it came from and how to get where it's going. TCP and UPD are transport mechanisms, where TCP makes sure each packet gets there and in the right order and UDP doesn't care.

edit: took too long to write the post, nyx has the same thing :)
 
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