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All 5 Flashcards — Network protocols
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Question
What is a network protocol?
Answer
An agreed set of rules for a conversation between machines: what gets said, in what order, and what a reply means. Machines from different makers can talk only because both follow the same rules.
Question
What is the difference between TCP and UDP?
Answer
TCP numbers packets, checks they all arrived, asks again for missing ones and reorders them — so data arrives complete. UDP sends without checking and never resends, so it is faster but packets may be late, out of order or lost.
Question
When should UDP be used instead of TCP?
Answer
When timeliness matters more than completeness — live video, voice calls, online games. A late packet is already useless, so waiting for a resend delays everything after it for no benefit.
Question
What does HTTPS add to HTTP?
Answer
Two guarantees: encryption, so nobody between the two ends can read the conversation, and identity, because a digital certificate proves the server really is who it claims to be.
Question
What is DHCP for?
Answer
Giving a device an IP address when it joins a network. The device asks, and a DHCP server assigns one from its pool for a limited time, instead of every device being configured by hand.
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Full study notes for Network protocols
Topic 2.1 hub
Network fundamentals
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Computer Science exam skills
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