Computer networksLesson 1 of 1 in the course Transport layer

TCP: Connections, Reliability, Performance, and Security

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces TCP, its origins, and its role between applications and IP. Understanding this foundation explains why so many Internet applications depend on TCP.

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a transport-layer protocol that delivers a reliable, ordered, error-checked stream of bytes between applications on networked hosts. TCP presents applications with a usable connection abstraction, often through a network socket, rather than requiring applications to manage the details of individual IP packets.

All flashcards

What service does TCP provide to applications?
A reliable, ordered, error-checked stream of bytes between applications on networked hosts.
How do TCP and IP divide their roles?
IP addresses and delivers packets across networks; TCP manages transport between applications.
What happened to the Transmission Control Program in version 4?
It was divided into the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol.
Why might a real-time application use UDP instead of TCP?
It may value timely delivery more than waiting for missing data to be retransmitted.
What does a TCP acknowledgment confirm?
It confirms receipt by the receiving TCP, not necessarily processing by the application.

Quiz questions

  1. When the ACK flag is set, what does a TCP acknowledgment number indicate?Answer: The next byte the receiver expects in the stream.
  2. Which data does the TCP checksum cover?Answer: The TCP header, payload, and an IP pseudo-header.
  3. What is the primary purpose of TCP flow control?Answer: To prevent a sender from overwhelming the receiving endpoint.
  4. What is head-of-line blocking in a TCP byte stream?Answer: Later bytes may be held back until an earlier missing segment is recovered.
  5. How does a SYN flood typically consume server resources?Answer: It leaves many connection requests incomplete for the server to track.

Based on the Wikipedia article Transmission Control Protocol, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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