Episode 65: TCP and UDP — The Transport Layer's Two Engines
This episode focuses on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), the two primary protocols at the transport layer. TCP is connection-oriented, ensuring reliable delivery with acknowledgments, retransmissions, and sequencing. UDP is connectionless, offering low-overhead transmission suitable for time-sensitive applications like streaming or gaming. Both are fundamental to the exam because many protocols are built directly on top of them.
The discussion continues with examples. TCP is critical for services like HTTP, FTP, and email, where accuracy is essential, while UDP supports DNS queries, VoIP, and video streams, where speed is prioritized over reliability. Troubleshooting scenarios include recognizing when firewalls block certain ports or identifying mismatched expectations between TCP and UDP services. By understanding how these protocols differ, you’ll be prepared to evaluate transport-layer questions and resolve performance issues in practice. Produced by BareMetalCyber.com, where you’ll find more cyber audio courses, books, and information to strengthen your certification path.
