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WAY THE WORLD COMMUNICATES,
LIFESIZE, MEETING ROOM, TECH
NOTES, TECHNOLOGY

TCP vs. UDP:

What’s the
Difference?
OCT 24, 2017 5 MINS READ

pauline ashenden

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In the world of Internet protocol

traffic, consumers can choose
between a TCP or UDP setup for
their business or personal use.
When it comes to TCP vs UDP
features and functions, each
brings its own set of
advantages and challenges.
With that said, UDP is known for
being faster and more up-to-date,
yet many systems still rely on TCP to
download batches of information.
Users will need to take a look at their
specific IP needs to make an
informed decision about which
protocol is best for them.

What is TCP?
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
is connection-oriented, meaning
once a connection has been
established, data can be
transmitted in two directions. TCP
has built-in systems to check for
errors and to guarantee data will be
delivered in the order it was sent,
making it the perfect protocol for
transferring information like still
images, data files, and web pages.

But while TCP is instinctively reliable,

its feedback mechanisms also
result in a larger overhead,
translating to greater use of the
available bandwidth on your
network.

What is UDP?
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a
simpler, connectionless Internet
protocol wherein error-checking
and recovery services are not
required. With UDP, there is no
overhead for opening a connection,
maintaining a connection, or
terminating a connection; data is
continuously sent to the recipient,
whether or not they receive it.

Although UDP isn’t ideal for sending

an email, viewing a webpage, or
downloading a file, it is largely
preferred for real-time
communications like broadcast or
multitask network transmission.

What is the Difference

Between TCP and UDP?
TCP is a connection-oriented
protocol, whereas UDP is a
connectionless protocol. A key
difference between TCP and UDP is
speed, as TCP is comparatively
slower than UDP. Overall, UDP is a
much faster, simpler, and efficient
protocol, however, retransmission of
lost data packets is only possible
with TCP.

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Another notable discrepancy with

TCP vs UDP is that TCP provides an
ordered delivery of data from user
to server (and vice versa), whereas
UDP is not dedicated to end-to-end
communications, nor does it check
the readiness of the receiver
(requiring fewer overheads and
taking up less space).

Feature TCP UDP

Requires an
Connectionless
established
protocol with
connection to
no
transmit data
Connection requirements
(connection
status for opening,
should be closed
maintaining, or
once
terminating a
transmission is
connection
complete)

Data Unable to
Able to sequence
sequencing sequence

Can guarantee Cannot

delivery of data guarantee
Guaranteed
to the delivery of
delivery
destination data to the
router destination

Retransmission No
Retransmission
of lost packets is retransmission
of data
possible of lost packets

Basic error
Extensive error
checking
checking and
Error checking mechanism
acknowledgment
using
of data
checksums

UDP packets
Data is read as a with defined
byte stream; boundaries;
Method of messages are sent
transfer transmitted individually
to segment and checked
boundaries for integrity on
arrival

Faster than
Speed Slower than UDP
TCP

Does not support Does support

Broadcasting
Broadcasting Broadcasting

Video
Used by HTTPS,
conferencing,
Optimal use HTTP, SMTP, POP,
streaming,
FTP, etc
DNS, VoIP, etc

TCP vs UDP Speed

The reason for UDP’s superior speed
over TCP is that its non-existent
‘acknowledgement’ supports a
continuous packet stream. Since
TCP connection always
acknowledges a set of packets
(whether or not the connection is
totally reliable), a retransmission
must occur for every negative
acknowledgement where a data
packet has been lost.

But because UDP avoids the

unnecessary overheads of TCP
transport, it’s incredibly efficient in
terms of bandwidth, and much less
demanding of poor performing
networks, as well.

Which is Better for

Video Conferencing?
The flow controls from TCP,
although dependable, are unable to
recover missing data fast enough to
be useful in real-time video
communications. And while data
integrity is important, it has to be
balanced with speed to ensure the
pace of communication remains
unhindered.

That’s why the Lifesize web and

desktop apps have been developed
to prioritize UDP over TCP for media
transport, while our Icon meeting
room systems exclusively use UDP
for real-time media. Additionally,
Lifesize employs strategies like error
concealment, error correction, and
rate controls for robust UDP media
connections sans lags or latency.

Lifesize strongly recommends our

customers enable access via UDP
toward our cloud servers, as this
can help achieve the best user
experience possible.

Article continues below

RELATED ARTICLE RELATED ARTICLE

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alization: How Video Confer- served
encing Can Increase Pro-
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How to Enable UDP on

Lifesize
For the highest-quality video
conferencing available, Lifesize
favors UDP to reduce delays and
ensure smooth calls every time. In
just a few steps, you can have UDP
enabled on Lifesize and be well on
your way to better meetings and
stronger results.

1. Open Lifesize

Open the Lifesize web or desktop

app to get started. Lifesize supports
a wide range of devices and user
preferences, with apps for PC and
Mac computers, Android and iOS
phones and tablets, and a browser-
based web app for any devices
unable to download applications.

2. Choose preferences

Once you’re in the Lifesize app, you’ll

want to choose your port
preferences. To place calls to other
devices through a firewall, you need
to configure your firewall to allow
incoming and outgoing traffic to the
Lifesize system through the reserved
TCP or UDP ports.

To minimize the number of UDP

ports available for communication,
you can restrict the range by
changing values in Preferences >
Network > Reserved Ports. By default,
Lifesize systems communicate
through ports in the range 60000 –
64999 for video, voice,
presentations, and camera control.

While Lifesize encourages users to

stick to this range, you do have the
ability to restrict the number of UDP
ports that are available. If the range
you choose is not a subset of the
default, be sure it begins with a port
number greater than 49151.

Additionally, the range has to start

with an even number and end with
an odd number to include an even
number of total ports. For example,
if a range starts at 62000, set the
lower end to 62000 and the upper
end to 62099 to allocate 100 ports
(the required minimum).

Please note, changing the values in

Reserved Ports will cause the
system to restart.

3. Open proxy settings

With your preferences in place, it’s

time to open your proxy settings by
navigating to Preferences > Network
> Proxy.

This table is a great resource on the

necessary firewall and proxy
settings associated with UDP, as
you’ll need to configure your firewall
to allow outbound access from your
network to your UDP ports. If you
happen to have third-party
integration for approved Cisco® and
Polycom® devices, you will be
provided with an H.460 server IP
address, as well.

Be sure to click Save on your

updates. Successful proxy
connection shows as Connected,
but if your proxy status shows
Failed, it’s important to check your
settings and try again.

4. Enable UDP

With UDP enabled on Lifesize, users

can make the most of their video
calls and conferencing, thanks to 30
frames of video or more per second.
This image-refresh interval is so
fast, you won’t have to wait for
delayed data retransmissions,
which means improvements in
clarity, consistency, and
productivity all in one platform.

Conclusion

After exploring the difference

between TCP and UDP, it’s clear any
business using virtual
communications can benefit
greatly from UDP. Not only does UDP
avoid the transport traps and
clogged networks common with
TCP, but it boasts exceptional speed
for all your streaming needs. And by
enabling UDP for Lifesize, companies
enjoy enhanced workflows, less
overhead, and fewer interruptions
all around, making this pairing a
true win-win.

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ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Published Oct 24, 2017

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

pauline ashenden

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