RTP

A network protocol designed for delivering audio, video, and other real-time data over IP networks. Standardized by the IETF, it forms the backbone of many streaming, telephony, and video conferencing systems. RTP itself handles the end-to-end delivery of media streams, ensuring that packets carry timestamps, sequence numbers, and payload type identifiers so that receivers can reconstruct the timing and order of the media.

Because RTP is focused on transport rather than security or session control, it is often paired with complementary protocols. For example, RTCP (RTP Control Protocol) provides monitoring, quality-of-service feedback, and synchronization between multiple streams. For secure communications, RTP can be extended with encryption and authentication layers, most notably Secure RTP (SRTP) for confidentiality and integrity and ZRTP, a key agreement protocol for establishing encryption keys directly between endpoints.

RTP underpins many modern communication technologies, including VoIP, WebRTC, and video conferencing platforms, making it one of the most widely used standards in real-time communications.