Packet

A packet is a small quantity of knowledge despatched over a network, comparable to a LAN or the Internet. Similar to a real-life bundle, every packet features a supply and vacation spot in addition to the content material (or knowledge) being transferred. When the packets attain their vacation spot, they’re reassembled right into a single file or one other contiguous block of knowledge.

While the precise construction of a packet varies between protocols, a typical packet contains two sections — a header and payload. Information concerning the packet is saved within the header. For instance, an IPv6 header contains the next fields:

1. Source handle (128 bits) – IPv6 handle of the packet origin
2. Destination handle (128 bits) – IPv6 handle of the packet vacation spot
3. Version (4 bits) – “6” for IPv6
4. Traffic class (8 bits) – precedence setting for the packet
5. Flow label (20 bits) – elective ID that labels the packet as a part of a selected move; used to differentiate between a number of transmissions from a single origin
6. Payload size (16 bits) – dimension of the info, outlined in octets
7. Next header (8 bits) – ID of the header following the present packet; could also be TCP, UDP, or one other protocol
8. Hop restrict (8 bits) – most variety of network hops (between routers, switches, and so forth) earlier than the packet is dropped; also called “TTL” in IPv4

The payload part of a packet incorporates the precise knowledge being transferred. This is commonly only a small a part of a file, webpage, or different knowledge transmission, since particular person packets are comparatively small. For instance, the utmost dimension of an IP packet payload is 65,535 bytes, or 64 kilobytes. The most dimension of an Ethernet packet or “frame” is just one,500 bytes or 1.5 kilobytes.

Packets are meant to switch knowledge reliably and effectively. Instead of transferring a big file as a single block of knowledge, sending smaller packets helps guarantee every part is transmitted efficiently. If a packet isn’t acquired or is “dropped,” solely the dropped packet must be resent. Additionally, if a knowledge switch encounters network congestion because of a number of simultaneous transfers, the remaining packets could be rerouted by a much less congested path.