SCTP: a proposed standard for robust Internet data transport

The stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) is an evolving general purpose Internet transport protocol designed to bridge the gap between TCP and UDP. SCTP evolved from a telephony signaling protocol for IP networks and is now a proposed standard with the Internet Engineering Task Force. Like TCP, SCTP provides a reliable, full-duplex connection and mechanisms to control network congestion. However, SCTP expands transport layer possibilities beyond TCP and UDP, offering new delivery options that are particularly desirable for telephony signaling and multimedia applications.