Prior to Advantage 8, most communication between an Advantage client and ADS used UDP (user datagram protocol) over IP. Only the class 4 Java driver used TCP (transmission control protocol).

Advantage 8.1 now supports TCP for all client communications. The support for TCP is particularly valuable for those applications where it is not possible to open a UDP port in firewalls between the client and server.

Note, however, that Advantage's proprietary technology using UDP is exceptionally efficient compared to the more bandwidth-intensive TCP standard. As a result, performance using UDP is superior to that using TCP, making UDP the preferred protocol for Advantage communications.

 

In the next chapter you will learn about the various table types supported by Advantage.