Any packet can be dropped at any time, for TCP or UDP. So the protocol stack or application needs to deal with it and re-send, using a backoff policy. Its wort

Any packet can be dropped at any time, for TCP or UDP. So the protocol stack or application needs to deal with it and re-send, using a backoff policy. Its worth looking at IM2000 and the pertinent questions that D. J. Bernstein asks about a future mail infrastructure. http://cr.yp.to/im2000.html http://cr.yp.to/im2000.html