Consider the following statements about TCP/IP and Internet communication:

Question

Consider the following statements about TCP/IP and Internet communication:

1. A. TCP guarantees delivery and the correct order of packets, but not the timing. (Correct answer)
2. B. TCP is faster than UDP because it does not perform any error checking.
3. C. IPv6 uses 256-bit addresses, but the header size is fixed at 40 bytes.
4. D. ICMP is used primarily for application-layer data transfer between web servers.

Correct Answer

Option A — TCP guarantees delivery and the correct order of packets, but not the timing.

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is TCP guarantees delivery and the correct order of packets, but not the timing.

Key Points

• TCP is a reliable, connection-oriented protocol: it guarantees delivery and correct ordering of packets, but makes no real-time timing promise.
• The other statements are false: TCP is slower than UDP because it does error-checking (not faster); IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses (not 256-bit); and ICMP is used for diagnostics/error reporting (e.g. ping), not application-layer data transfer.

Additional Information

• TCP provides reliability, ordering and flow control through sequence numbers, acknowledgements and retransmission, but makes no timing guarantee — which is why it suits file transfer and the web rather than live media.
• UDP drops those guarantees for lower latency, making it the choice for streaming, VoIP and online gaming.
• TCP establishes a connection with a three-way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) and closes it with a four-way exchange.