Computer Networks · TEE · papers
Q1(d) · UDP features
2025-12-05 · 2022-23
Actual paper; 100 marks attempted. Current-syllabus alignment is stated per question.
Q1(d). What are the features of UDP. [5 marks]
Answer
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) provides connectionless, message-oriented process delivery. One send creates a datagram; message boundaries are retained. UDP has an 8-byte header, carries ports and length, and offers checksum-based corruption detection. It does not itself guarantee delivery, ordering, duplicate suppression, retransmission, flow control or congestion control.
Diagram: UDP header: each row contains 32 bits. Labels: UDP header: each row contains 32 bits | UDP header: each row contains 32 bits | Source port · 16 | Destination port · 16 | Length · 16 | Checksum · 16 | Total 8 bytes. Length = header + UDP payload.
| UDP field | Width | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Source port | 16 bits | Sending endpoint; a zero value can indicate no reply port when unused |
| Destination port | 16 bits | Receiving application endpoint |
| Length | 16 bits | UDP header plus UDP payload; minimum 8 bytes |
| Checksum | 16 bits | Error detection over UDP and an IP pseudo-header; not retransmission |
Operation and services
- The application chooses the destination IP/port and supplies a message. UDP adds its header and passes the datagram to IP without a connection handshake.
- The receiving UDP layer validates the length/checksum as applicable and uses the destination endpoint to deliver the datagram.
- A corrupt or undeliverable datagram may be discarded; UDP does not recover it. Any reliability or rate-control policy must come from the application or a protocol above UDP.
- UDP checksum zero can mean checksum omitted in IPv4. IPv6 ordinarily requires the UDP checksum; specialized exceptions are outside this syllabus.
Yaad rakho: UDP datagram preserve; reliability automatic nahi.