Microcom Networking Protocol problem, additional "framing" bits are added to either end of every byte, typically one bit on either side known as the "start and stop bits". This guarantees at least one 1-to-0 transition for every byte, more than enough to keep the clocks locked. However, these bits also expand every 8 bits of data (one byte) to 10 bits, an overhead of 20%. When using a file transfer protocol, the packets themselves offer their own framing. The packets will always send a continuous stream of data, so the clock cannot "drift" in the same way that it could for data being
Reliable byte stream Reliable byte stream A reliable byte stream is a common service paradigm in computer networking; it refers to a byte stream in which the bytes which emerge from the communication channel at the recipient are exactly the same, and in exactly the same order, as they were when the sender inserted them into the channel. The classic example of a reliable byte stream communication protocol is the Transmission Control Protocol, one of the major building blocks of the Internet. A reliable byte stream is not the only reliable service paradigm which computer network communication protocols provide, however; other protocols (e.g.