Data Packet

This term is related to transmitting data over networks.

Rather than send a whole file the data is split into 'blocks' or 'packets' which are then sent separately to the destination computer.

A 'packet' contains the data itself and also other information needed to handle that data. For example the packet may contain a destination address, a source address and an error checking section.

The exact make-up of a packet depends on the protocol being used. For example Ethernet, as used in computer networks, has a very precise data packet format.

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2020-10

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