What is the difference between an Indication and a Notification?

Indications and Notifications are a way for a GATT Client to subscribe to data provided by a GATT Server. A Notification is an unacknowledged message or update while an Indication is an acknowledged message or update. These Notifications and Indications are sent any time the relevant data in the GATT table on the GATT Server is updated. (You must "subscribe" to the data that you would like to be Notified or Indicated of) In a way Indications and Notifications are much like TCP and UDP packets. TCP requires that when data is sent, the receiver acknowledges that the data has been received by sending back an ACKnowledgement packet. UDP just sends off data without any concern whether it is actually confirmed to be received or not. In this sense Indications are akin to TCP and Notifications are akin to UDP.

Products