About Lesson
TCP Overview
Explain characteristics of TCP.
TCP Features
- Establishes a Session – TCP is a connection-oriented protocol that negotiates and establishes a permanent connection (or session) between source and destination devices prior to forwarding any traffic.
- Ensures Reliable Delivery – For many reasons, it is possible for a segment to become corrupted or lost completely, as it is transmitted over the network. TCP ensures that each segment that is sent by the source arrives at the destination.
- Provides Same-Order Delivery – Because networks may provide multiple routes that can have different transmission rates, data can arrive in the wrong order.
- Supports Flow Control – Network hosts have limited resources (i.e., memory and processing power). When TCP is aware that these resources are overtaxed, it can request that the sending application reduce the rate of data flow.
TCP Header
- TCP is a stateful protocol which means it keeps track of the state of the communication session. TCP records which information it has sent, and which information has been acknowledged.
TCP Header Fields
| Description | Field |
|---|---|
| Source Port | A 16-bit field used to identify the source application by port number. |
| Destination Port | A 16-bit field used to identify the destination application by port number. |
| Sequence Number | A 32-bit field used for data reassembly purposes. |
| Acknowledgment Number | A 32-bit field used to indicate that data has been received and the next byte expected from the source. |
| Header Length | A 4-bit field known as “data offset” that indicates the length of the TCP segment header. |
| Reserved | A 6-bit field that is reserved for future use. |
| Control bits | A 6-bit field used that includes bit codes, or flags, which indicate the purpose and function of the TCP segment. |
| Window size | A 16-bit field used to indicate the number of bytes that can be accepted at one time. |
| Checksum | A 16-bit field used for error checking of the segment header and data. |
| Urgent | A 16-bit field used to indicate if the contained data is urgent. |
Applications that use TCP
- TCP handles all tasks associated with dividing the data stream into segments, providing reliability, controlling data flow, and reordering segments.
Other related topics
| Topic Title | Topic Objective |
|---|---|
| Transportation of Data | Explain the purpose of the transport layer in managing the transportation of data in end-to-end communication. |
| TCP Overview | Explain characteristics of TCP. |
| UDP Overview | Explain characteristics of UDP. |
| Port Numbers | Explain how TCP and UDP use port numbers. |
| TCP Communication Process | Explain how TCP session establishment and termination processes facilitate reliable communication. |
| Reliability and Flow Control | Explain how TCP protocol data units are transmitted and acknowledged to guarantee delivery. |
| UDP Communication | Compare the operations of transport layer protocols in supporting end-to-end communication. |
Other useful information
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