What is a checksum used for in data transmission?

A checksum is utilized in data transmission primarily to check the integrity of transmitted data. This technique involves calculating a numerical value based on the contents of the data being sent. The sender computes the checksum value and sends it along with the data. Upon receiving the data, the recipient performs the same checksum calculation on the received data and compares this value to the one provided by the sender.

If the two checksum values match, it indicates that the data was likely transmitted accurately, without corruption or errors. If they do not match, this suggests that the data may have been altered or corrupted during transmission, prompting the need for retransmission or further error handling.

This serves a critical role in ensuring reliability in network communication. The aspects of boosting network speed, measuring data transmission latency, or establishing connections between devices do not directly relate to the function of a checksum, as these involve other mechanisms and protocols in networking.