Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

reliable communication
     
        Communication where messages are guaranteed to reach their
        destination complete and uncorrupted and in the order they
        were sent.  This reliability can be built on top of an
        unreliable {protocol} by adding sequencing information and
        some kind of {checksum} or {cyclic redundancy check} to each
        message or {packet}.  If the communication fails, the sender
        will be notified.  {Transmission Control Protocol} is a
        reliable protocol used on {Ethernet}.