Which protocol ensures reliable, ordered delivery of a data stream between hosts?

Which protocol ensures reliable, ordered delivery of a data stream between hosts?

• A. TCP
• B. UDP
• C. IP
• D. ICMP

Answer: (A)

Reliable, ordered data delivery is provided by a connection-oriented transport protocol. TCP establishes a connection, uses sequence numbers for each byte, sends acknowledgments, and automatically retransmits any lost data. This combination guarantees that data arrives intact and in the order it was sent, which is essential for a continuous data stream. It also uses flow control and congestion control to regulate the rate. In contrast, UDP is a connectionless, best-effort protocol with no guarantees about delivery, ordering, or duplicate protection. IP handles routing at the network layer but doesn’t guarantee delivery or ordering. ICMP is used for network diagnostics and error reporting, not for delivering application data streams. So the protocol that ensures reliable, ordered delivery is TCP.

Reliable, ordered data delivery is provided by a connection-oriented transport protocol. TCP establishes a connection, uses sequence numbers for each byte, sends acknowledgments, and automatically retransmits any lost data. This combination guarantees that data arrives intact and in the order it was sent, which is essential for a continuous data stream. It also uses flow control and congestion control to regulate the rate. In contrast, UDP is a connectionless, best-effort protocol with no guarantees about delivery, ordering, or duplicate protection. IP handles routing at the network layer but doesn’t guarantee delivery or ordering. ICMP is used for network diagnostics and error reporting, not for delivering application data streams. So the protocol that ensures reliable, ordered delivery is TCP.