Network Protocols Deep Dive

Understanding Internet Communication Protocols

Understanding Network Protocols

What is the difference between TCP and UDP?

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) provides reliable, ordered, connection-oriented delivery. Features: error checking, retransmission of lost packets, flow control, congestion control.

Use for: web browsing (HTTP), email (SMTP), file transfer (FTP) where reliability is paramount.

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agnostic (many languages supported), (5) Efficient (smaller payloads t

APIs, high-performance services. Limitations: browser support limited (need gRPC-Web), less human-readable than JSON, learning curve.

Comparison: JSON-RPC is simpler but slower, REST is web-friendly but less efficient. gRPC excels in backend-to-backend.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best practice for securing modern websites – enabling HSTS and using HTTPS?

Enable HSTS. Modern best practice: HTTPS everywhere, use Let's Encrypt for free certificates, monitor certificate expiration.

Why do HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 require HTTPS in most browsers?

HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 require HTTPS in most browsers—security is mandatory, not optional.

What is HTTP pipelining and why isn't it widely used?

What is HTTP pipelining and why is it not widely used?

How does HTTP pipelining theoretically reduce latency?

HTTP pipelining allows sending multiple requests without waiting for responses. Theory: reduces latency by eliminating wait time.

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