UDP does not provide any inherent reliability mechanisms for ensuring that data packets arrive at their intended destination. This is because UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not establish a formal handshake between the sender and receiver.
As a result, UDP may be less reliable than other protocols such as TCP, particularly in situations where data loss or delay is unacceptable. However, UDP is often used in situations where speed is prioritized over reliability, such as in streaming video or audio applications.
In some cases, application-layer protocols built on top of UDP may incorporate their own reliability mechanisms to mitigate data loss or delay. For example, the popular VoIP protocol, Skype, uses UDP but includes retransmission and error correction mechanisms to improve call quality.
