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A remote procedure call (RPC) is a way for a program to ask a procedure running in another process—often on another computer—to do work and return a result. It can look like an ordinary function call in code, but it crosses a process boundary, so networks, serialization, and remote failures still matter.

What does remote procedure call mean?

In an RPC, the program making the request is the client, and the program that receives and handles it is the server. The client names a service and procedure, sends the procedure’s inputs, and receives a reply containing results or an error. The procedure may run in a separate process on the same computer or on another machine.

RPC describes a communication model and programming pattern, not one universal protocol. An RPC framework or protocol defines details such as how services and methods are described, how messages are encoded, and how calls are transported. The interface can resemble a local call, but the procedure is still remote. Microsoft’s RPC model overview describes the cross-process invocation model.

How does an RPC work?

  1. The client chooses a remote service and procedure and supplies its parameters.
  2. Client code, often a stub generated from an interface definition, packages the request into a message.
  3. A transport carries that message to the server, where the server dispatches it to the procedure.
  4. The procedure runs and the server sends back a reply containing a result or an error.
  5. The client receives the reply and uses the result. A synchronous call waits for it; an asynchronous call can let the client do other work while the request is pending.

Stubs can hide message construction, serialization, and dispatch from application code. They make the interface convenient; they do not make remote work local or remove the possibility of communication failures. The ONC RPC specification, RFC 5531, describes a caller sending a call message and waiting for a reply in its basic model.

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Why a remote call is not the same as a local function call

A local function typically runs within the caller’s process and address space. An RPC crosses a process boundary: its inputs and outputs must be represented as messages, and the caller depends on another process and a communication path. That changes what an application must account for.

  • Latency: The request must travel to the server and a reply must return, in addition to the time the procedure takes to run. RFC 5531 says remote procedures are usually much slower than local calls, but gives no benchmark or universal multiplier.
  • Partial failure: A client may not receive a reply because of a network problem or server failure, even if the procedure began or completed.
  • Data representation: Values must be encoded for transmission and interpreted by the other side; the two processes do not share memory or hidden side effects.
  • Security and reliability: Authentication, encryption, delivery behavior, and error handling depend on the chosen protocol, framework, transport, and configuration. RPC by itself does not guarantee encryption, reliable delivery, or exactly-once execution.

RPC protocol and transport are different

A protocol defines how RPC messages are structured and interpreted. A transport is how those messages move between processes. They are related, but not interchangeable: RFC 5531 specifies ONC RPC message formats and interpretation, while leaving the transport choice outside its scope. The client and server must use a compatible transport.

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When an implementation uses an unreliable transport, it needs suitable timeouts, retransmission, and duplicate-detection behavior. A timeout does not prove that the server never ran the procedure. The historical RFC 1057 notes that retrying after a timeout over an unreliable transport cannot establish how many times the procedure ran. Applications therefore need to consider whether an operation is safe to retry and how duplicate requests are handled.

ONC RPC and gRPC are different kinds of RPC references

ONC RPC

ONC RPC Version 2 is a specific protocol defined by RFC 5531, which obsoletes RFC 1831 without changing the over-the-wire protocol. It uses XDR to represent message data and does not prescribe the transport. It is one example of an RPC protocol, not a definition of every RPC system.

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gRPC

gRPC is a framework. Its documentation describes services and callable methods with parameters and return types, along with generated client stubs. Protocol Buffers are its default interface definition and message format, though JSON can also be used. The .NET 10 gRPC overview lists client, server, and bidirectional streaming support.

To compare RPC options, look at what each actually specifies: protocol or framework scope, interface definition, serialization format, transport, synchronous or asynchronous calls and streaming, language interoperability, failure and retry behavior, and security configuration.

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When is RPC useful?

RPC is useful when software needs a structured way to invoke operations exposed by another process or service, while keeping a callable interface in the client code. Generated stubs and interface definitions can reduce the work of manually assembling and interpreting messages. The trade-off is that developers must still design for remote latency, errors, retries, and security rather than assuming local-call behavior.

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