Connectionless communication

Connectionless communication, often referred to as CL-mode communication, is a data transmission method used in packet switching networks, using data packets that are frequently called datagrams, in which each data unit (i.e. datagram) is individually addressed and routed based on information carried in each unit, rather than in the setup information of a prearranged, fixed data channel as in connection-oriented communication. Connectionless protocols are usually described as stateless protocols, the Internet Protocol (IP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) are examples.