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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/tech-independent-ip-datagrams

How does IP treat separate datagrams?

As independent units, not pieces of one guaranteed stream.

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  1. As independent units ✔
  2. As one guaranteed stream
  3. As synchronized database rows

Why: IP forwards each datagram on its own. The protocol does not require one packet's handling to depend on an earlier packet, so higher layers handle ordering and reliability when needed.

Huh, didn't know that: The IP specification calls its basic transferred unit an internet datagram.

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Why did the packet travel alone? It was independently routed.
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References

Answer: As independent units. IP forwards each datagram on its own. The protocol does not require one packet's handling to depend on an earlier packet, so higher layers handle ordering and reliability when needed.

  1. RFC 791: Internet Protocol www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc791.html
    The internet protocol treats each internet datagram as an independent entity unrelated to any other internet datagram.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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