- Oct 9, 1999
- 31,516
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Ok, so this one is short and sweet: TCP is a reliable protocol, so all the data transmitted with it should end up on the other end correctly, right? So why is it that we still need PAR(Parity) files and recovery records and checksums for downloaded files, especially large ones? Most people that have used Newsgroups for example have experienced a download where they needed a parity file to fix it, but if TCP is reliable, why is it broken in the first place?