Acronym for User Datagram Protocol. The connectionless protocol within TCP/IP that corresponds to the transport layer in the ISO/OSI reference model. UDP converts data messages generated by an application into packets to be sent via IP, but it is “unreliable” because it does not establish a path between sender and receiver before transmitting and does not verify that messages have been delivered correctly. UDP is more efficient than TCP, so it is used for various purposes, including SNMP; the reliability depends on the application that generates the message. See also communications protocol, ISO/OSI reference model, packet, SNMP, TCP/IP. Compare IP, TCP.
(User Datagram Protocol).
One of the protocols for data transfer that is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. UDP is a protocol in that UDP makes no provision for acknowledgement of packets received.