What are the key characteristics of TCP (Transmission control protocol) ?
Connection-Oriented
It ensures data is delivered reliably using acknowledgements and retransmits lost packets.
It transmits packets in sequence then reassembles them in the correct order.
Uses a 3 way handshake to establish a session before sending data.
What are the key characteristics of UDP (User datagram protocol) ?
Connectionless,
Unreliable - doesnt care whether the data is delivered or not.
Sends all the data at once with no retransmission capabilities.
Speed over reliability.
Explain the TCP 3 way handshake.
It is the process used to establish a connection between source and destination.
SYN: Source sends a Synchronise request
SYN-ACK: Destinsation replies with a Synchronise-Acknowledgement
ACK: Source sends a final Acknowledgement
Compare the Header complexity of TCP vs UDP.
TCP Header: Complex/Large, inlcudes sequence number, Acknowldegement number, window size, check sum, urgent pointer, and Control flags.
UDP Header: Simple/small, includes only Source port, Length, and Checksum
What are the two main components of a Distance Vector protocol ?
DIstance: how far it is to the destination (based on a metric)
Vector: the direction to send the packet.
How do link-state routing protocols work ?
Discovery: Each neighbour learns about each directly connected neighbour
Database: routers flood link-state packets (LSPs) to build complete topology map of the network
Updates: Updates are sent only when there are changes in the topology
What is Dijkstra’s algorithm ?
Calculates the shortest path to a destination, used by the link-state routing protocols. Uses accumulated costs along a path to detirmine the best path.
What is the primary function of a router ?
To connect different networks together.
To detirmine the best path for data traffic to take.
