Final answer:
TCP is a reliable, connection-oriented protocol that guarantees data delivery and order, while UDP is faster, connectionless, and does not guarantee order or delivery - making it less reliable. For IoT, UDP is preferred where speed and low overhead are crucial, while TCP is used when reliable data transmission is necessary.
Step-by-step explanation:
Differences Between TCP and UDP
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are both transport layer protocols used for sending bits of data - known as packets - over the internet. They are both quite different in how they handle data transmission.
TCP is a connection-oriented protocol, which means that it establishes a connection before sending data and ensures that all data packets are delivered in order. TCP guarantees data delivery and is considered reliable as it checks for errors and orders data packets correctly.
UDP, on the other hand, is a connectionless protocol. It does not establish a connection before sending data, does not guarantee that all packets are delivered, and does not worry about the order in which they arrive. This makes UDP faster but less reliable than TCP.
TCP vs. UDP in IoT
When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), the choice between TCP and UDP depends on the specific requirements of the IoT application. If the application requires reliable data transmission and packet ordering, then TCP is the preferred protocol.
However, for applications where speed is more critical than reliability, such as streaming or real-time communication, UDP would be the preferred choice. For many IoT scenarios, where bandwidth is limited and devices need to conserve power, UDP is often chosen because of its lightweight nature and lower overhead.