What's the difference between Unix socket and TCP/IP socket? A TCP/IP socket is used for communication across TCP/IP networks. A connected TCP socket is identified by the combination of local IP, local port, remote IP and remote port. A listening TCP socket is identified by local port and possibly local IP.

Mar 18, 2024 · Unix sockets, also known as Inter-process Communication (IPC) sockets, are data communication endpoints that allow bidirectional data exchange between processes running on the same computer. These sockets can be stream-based or datagram-based.

A UNIX socket is an inter-process communication mechanism that allows bidirectional data exchange between processes running on the same machine. IP sockets (especially TCP/IP sockets) are a mechanism allowing communication between processes over the network.

Feb 20, 2013 · Depending on the platform, unix domain sockets can achieve around 50% more throughput than the TCP/IP loopback (on Linux for instance). The default behavior of redis-benchmark is to use the TCP/IP loopback.

Jan 19, 2024 · Building Blocks of Socket Communication Each Unix socket comprises several crucial elements: Domain: This specifies the communication protocol, like AF_INET for TCP/IP or AF_UNIX for domain sockets. Type: This defines the communication style, like SOCK_STREAM for reliable byte streams or SOCK_DGRAM for unreliable datagrams.

TCP/IP is a protocol stack for communication, a socket is an endpoint in a (bidirectional) communication. A socket need not be TCP based, but it is quite often the case.

Mar 18, 2024 · In Linux, there are several IPC methods, like pipes and sockets. In this article, we’ll analyze the performance of different IPC methods. We’ll compare the speed of anonymous pipes, named pipes, UNIX sockets, and TCP sockets. To benchmark each …

Jan 21, 2025 · Stream and Datagram Support: Unix sockets support both stream-oriented (like TCP) and datagram-oriented (like UDP) communication, giving you flexibility in how you design your IPC mechanisms. How Do Unix Sockets Work? Unix sockets operate using a …

Aug 27, 2020 · Sockets simply provide the actual hardware for moving data around. TCP-based sockets are called stream sockets, where all data will arrive in order. UDP-based sockets are datagram sockets, where order (or even delivery) isn't guaranteed.

UNIX domain sockets should offer better performance than TCP sockets over loopback interface (less copying of data, fewer context switches).