The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a communications protocol that is primarily used to establish low-latency and loss-tolerating connections between applications on the Internet. UDP is used for time-sensitive transmissions such as video playback or DNS lookups. Unlike TCP, UDP is connectionless and does not guarantee reliable delivery, ordering, or error checking.
| Source Port (16 bits) | Destination Port (16 bits) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length (16 bits) | Checksum (16 bits) |
Identifies the sending port. Back to header
Identifies the receiving port. Back to header
Specifies the length of the UDP header and data. Back to header
Used for error-checking the header and data. Back to header