Came across this article today:http://openmymind.net/How-Unreliable-Is-UDP"How unreliable is UDP?"
Thought it would be ofinterestto folks using OSC orgenerallyrunning assorted controllers over networks.
When going over WIFI/WLAN, UPD definitely drops packages every now and then, but when the connection is cabled, I have not come across any problems.
In my own experience with the Renoise API, collecting multiple updates into “osc bundles” largely prevent this problem from occurring.
The duplex framework is using this feature for controllers that are always expected to be wireless, such as TouchOSC.
My favorite thing about UDP jokes is that I don’t care if you get them or not.
UDP indeed shouldn’t be cared about. If you want some insurance, just design a protocol where feedback packs are returned to confirm receival, but it would defeat the purpose of the quick transmission.
Better is to base sending data upon the stream you get in return. If the return stream interrupts for a mere 300msecs, you could pause the sending or start doing some connection checks whether the other side is still “alive”
If you don’t need an uninterrupted return stream, simply use a pulse signal that returns every somewhat msecs and do some handshake checks if the pulse halts.
But there are smart solutions to get a UDP connection somehow more trustworthy.