diff options
author | Kozlov Dmitry <dima@server> | 2010-10-06 16:43:14 +0400 |
---|---|---|
committer | Kozlov Dmitry <dima@server> | 2010-10-06 16:43:14 +0400 |
commit | b6a1268714671904e96a49b88680dc3ff07aaa1c (patch) | |
tree | 60424372b94312710b9f583b1bcc641de4020316 /rfc/rfc793.txt | |
parent | 5cf93f33f2350ed3b92f73ead1d2829a6883810a (diff) | |
download | accel-ppp-b6a1268714671904e96a49b88680dc3ff07aaa1c.tar.gz accel-ppp-b6a1268714671904e96a49b88680dc3ff07aaa1c.zip |
project cleanup and prepare to release
Diffstat (limited to 'rfc/rfc793.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | rfc/rfc793.txt | 5247 |
1 files changed, 5247 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/rfc/rfc793.txt b/rfc/rfc793.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..603a78c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/rfc/rfc793.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5247 @@ + + +RFC: 793 + + + + + + + + TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL + + + DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM + + PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION + + + + September 1981 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + prepared for + + Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency + Information Processing Techniques Office + 1400 Wilson Boulevard + Arlington, Virginia 22209 + + + + + + + + by + + Information Sciences Institute + University of Southern California + 4676 Admiralty Way + Marina del Rey, California 90291 + + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + + + + TABLE OF CONTENTS + + PREFACE ........................................................ iii + +1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1 + + 1.1 Motivation .................................................... 1 + 1.2 Scope ......................................................... 2 + 1.3 About This Document ........................................... 2 + 1.4 Interfaces .................................................... 3 + 1.5 Operation ..................................................... 3 + +2. PHILOSOPHY ....................................................... 7 + + 2.1 Elements of the Internetwork System ........................... 7 + 2.2 Model of Operation ............................................ 7 + 2.3 The Host Environment .......................................... 8 + 2.4 Interfaces .................................................... 9 + 2.5 Relation to Other Protocols ................................... 9 + 2.6 Reliable Communication ........................................ 9 + 2.7 Connection Establishment and Clearing ........................ 10 + 2.8 Data Communication ........................................... 12 + 2.9 Precedence and Security ...................................... 13 + 2.10 Robustness Principle ......................................... 13 + +3. FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION ........................................ 15 + + 3.1 Header Format ................................................ 15 + 3.2 Terminology .................................................. 19 + 3.3 Sequence Numbers ............................................. 24 + 3.4 Establishing a connection .................................... 30 + 3.5 Closing a Connection ......................................... 37 + 3.6 Precedence and Security ...................................... 40 + 3.7 Data Communication ........................................... 40 + 3.8 Interfaces ................................................... 44 + 3.9 Event Processing ............................................. 52 + +GLOSSARY ............................................................ 79 + +REFERENCES .......................................................... 85 + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page i] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page ii] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + + + + PREFACE + + + +This document describes the DoD Standard Transmission Control Protocol +(TCP). There have been nine earlier editions of the ARPA TCP +specification on which this standard is based, and the present text +draws heavily from them. There have been many contributors to this work +both in terms of concepts and in terms of text. This edition clarifies +several details and removes the end-of-letter buffer-size adjustments, +and redescribes the letter mechanism as a push function. + + Jon Postel + + Editor + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page iii] + + + + +RFC: 793 +Replaces: RFC 761 +IENs: 129, 124, 112, 81, +55, 44, 40, 27, 21, 5 + + TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL + + DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM + PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION + + + + 1. INTRODUCTION + +The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is intended for use as a highly +reliable host-to-host protocol between hosts in packet-switched computer +communication networks, and in interconnected systems of such networks. + +This document describes the functions to be performed by the +Transmission Control Protocol, the program that implements it, and its +interface to programs or users that require its services. + +1.1. Motivation + + Computer communication systems are playing an increasingly important + role in military, government, and civilian environments. This + document focuses its attention primarily on military computer + communication requirements, especially robustness in the presence of + communication unreliability and availability in the presence of + congestion, but many of these problems are found in the civilian and + government sector as well. + + As strategic and tactical computer communication networks are + developed and deployed, it is essential to provide means of + interconnecting them and to provide standard interprocess + communication protocols which can support a broad range of + applications. In anticipation of the need for such standards, the + Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering has + declared the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) described herein to + be a basis for DoD-wide inter-process communication protocol + standardization. + + TCP is a connection-oriented, end-to-end reliable protocol designed to + fit into a layered hierarchy of protocols which support multi-network + applications. The TCP provides for reliable inter-process + communication between pairs of processes in host computers attached to + distinct but interconnected computer communication networks. Very few + assumptions are made as to the reliability of the communication + protocols below the TCP layer. TCP assumes it can obtain a simple, + potentially unreliable datagram service from the lower level + protocols. In principle, the TCP should be able to operate above a + wide spectrum of communication systems ranging from hard-wired + connections to packet-switched or circuit-switched networks. + + + [Page 1] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Introduction + + + + TCP is based on concepts first described by Cerf and Kahn in [1]. The + TCP fits into a layered protocol architecture just above a basic + Internet Protocol [2] which provides a way for the TCP to send and + receive variable-length segments of information enclosed in internet + datagram "envelopes". The internet datagram provides a means for + addressing source and destination TCPs in different networks. The + internet protocol also deals with any fragmentation or reassembly of + the TCP segments required to achieve transport and delivery through + multiple networks and interconnecting gateways. The internet protocol + also carries information on the precedence, security classification + and compartmentation of the TCP segments, so this information can be + communicated end-to-end across multiple networks. + + Protocol Layering + + +---------------------+ + | higher-level | + +---------------------+ + | TCP | + +---------------------+ + | internet protocol | + +---------------------+ + |communication network| + +---------------------+ + + Figure 1 + + Much of this document is written in the context of TCP implementations + which are co-resident with higher level protocols in the host + computer. Some computer systems will be connected to networks via + front-end computers which house the TCP and internet protocol layers, + as well as network specific software. The TCP specification describes + an interface to the higher level protocols which appears to be + implementable even for the front-end case, as long as a suitable + host-to-front end protocol is implemented. + +1.2. Scope + + The TCP is intended to provide a reliable process-to-process + communication service in a multinetwork environment. The TCP is + intended to be a host-to-host protocol in common use in multiple + networks. + +1.3. About this Document + + This document represents a specification of the behavior required of + any TCP implementation, both in its interactions with higher level + protocols and in its interactions with other TCPs. The rest of this + + +[Page 2] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Introduction + + + + section offers a very brief view of the protocol interfaces and + operation. Section 2 summarizes the philosophical basis for the TCP + design. Section 3 offers both a detailed description of the actions + required of TCP when various events occur (arrival of new segments, + user calls, errors, etc.) and the details of the formats of TCP + segments. + +1.4. Interfaces + + The TCP interfaces on one side to user or application processes and on + the other side to a lower level protocol such as Internet Protocol. + + The interface between an application process and the TCP is + illustrated in reasonable detail. This interface consists of a set of + calls much like the calls an operating system provides to an + application process for manipulating files. For example, there are + calls to open and close connections and to send and receive data on + established connections. It is also expected that the TCP can + asynchronously communicate with application programs. Although + considerable freedom is permitted to TCP implementors to design + interfaces which are appropriate to a particular operating system + environment, a minimum functionality is required at the TCP/user + interface for any valid implementation. + + The interface between TCP and lower level protocol is essentially + unspecified except that it is assumed there is a mechanism whereby the + two levels can asynchronously pass information to each other. + Typically, one expects the lower level protocol to specify this + interface. TCP is designed to work in a very general environment of + interconnected networks. The lower level protocol which is assumed + throughout this document is the Internet Protocol [2]. + +1.5. Operation + + As noted above, the primary purpose of the TCP is to provide reliable, + securable logical circuit or connection service between pairs of + processes. To provide this service on top of a less reliable internet + communication system requires facilities in the following areas: + + Basic Data Transfer + Reliability + Flow Control + Multiplexing + Connections + Precedence and Security + + The basic operation of the TCP in each of these areas is described in + the following paragraphs. + + + [Page 3] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Introduction + + + + Basic Data Transfer: + + The TCP is able to transfer a continuous stream of octets in each + direction between its users by packaging some number of octets into + segments for transmission through the internet system. In general, + the TCPs decide when to block and forward data at their own + convenience. + + Sometimes users need to be sure that all the data they have + submitted to the TCP has been transmitted. For this purpose a push + function is defined. To assure that data submitted to a TCP is + actually transmitted the sending user indicates that it should be + pushed through to the receiving user. A push causes the TCPs to + promptly forward and deliver data up to that point to the receiver. + The exact push point might not be visible to the receiving user and + the push function does not supply a record boundary marker. + + Reliability: + + The TCP must recover from data that is damaged, lost, duplicated, or + delivered out of order by the internet communication system. This + is achieved by assigning a sequence number to each octet + transmitted, and requiring a positive acknowledgment (ACK) from the + receiving TCP. If the ACK is not received within a timeout + interval, the data is retransmitted. At the receiver, the sequence + numbers are used to correctly order segments that may be received + out of order and to eliminate duplicates. Damage is handled by + adding a checksum to each segment transmitted, checking it at the + receiver, and discarding damaged segments. + + As long as the TCPs continue to function properly and the internet + system does not become completely partitioned, no transmission + errors will affect the correct delivery of data. TCP recovers from + internet communication system errors. + + Flow Control: + + TCP provides a means for the receiver to govern the amount of data + sent by the sender. This is achieved by returning a "window" with + every ACK indicating a range of acceptable sequence numbers beyond + the last segment successfully received. The window indicates an + allowed number of octets that the sender may transmit before + receiving further permission. + + + + + + + +[Page 4] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Introduction + + + + Multiplexing: + + To allow for many processes within a single Host to use TCP + communication facilities simultaneously, the TCP provides a set of + addresses or ports within each host. Concatenated with the network + and host addresses from the internet communication layer, this forms + a socket. A pair of sockets uniquely identifies each connection. + That is, a socket may be simultaneously used in multiple + connections. + + The binding of ports to processes is handled independently by each + Host. However, it proves useful to attach frequently used processes + (e.g., a "logger" or timesharing service) to fixed sockets which are + made known to the public. These services can then be accessed + through the known addresses. Establishing and learning the port + addresses of other processes may involve more dynamic mechanisms. + + Connections: + + The reliability and flow control mechanisms described above require + that TCPs initialize and maintain certain status information for + each data stream. The combination of this information, including + sockets, sequence numbers, and window sizes, is called a connection. + Each connection is uniquely specified by a pair of sockets + identifying its two sides. + + When two processes wish to communicate, their TCP's must first + establish a connection (initialize the status information on each + side). When their communication is complete, the connection is + terminated or closed to free the resources for other uses. + + Since connections must be established between unreliable hosts and + over the unreliable internet communication system, a handshake + mechanism with clock-based sequence numbers is used to avoid + erroneous initialization of connections. + + Precedence and Security: + + The users of TCP may indicate the security and precedence of their + communication. Provision is made for default values to be used when + these features are not needed. + + + + + + + + + + [Page 5] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 6] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + + + + 2. PHILOSOPHY + +2.1. Elements of the Internetwork System + + The internetwork environment consists of hosts connected to networks + which are in turn interconnected via gateways. It is assumed here + that the networks may be either local networks (e.g., the ETHERNET) or + large networks (e.g., the ARPANET), but in any case are based on + packet switching technology. The active agents that produce and + consume messages are processes. Various levels of protocols in the + networks, the gateways, and the hosts support an interprocess + communication system that provides two-way data flow on logical + connections between process ports. + + The term packet is used generically here to mean the data of one + transaction between a host and its network. The format of data blocks + exchanged within the a network will generally not be of concern to us. + + Hosts are computers attached to a network, and from the communication + network's point of view, are the sources and destinations of packets. + Processes are viewed as the active elements in host computers (in + accordance with the fairly common definition of a process as a program + in execution). Even terminals and files or other I/O devices are + viewed as communicating with each other through the use of processes. + Thus, all communication is viewed as inter-process communication. + + Since a process may need to distinguish among several communication + streams between itself and another process (or processes), we imagine + that each process may have a number of ports through which it + communicates with the ports of other processes. + +2.2. Model of Operation + + Processes transmit data by calling on the TCP and passing buffers of + data as arguments. The TCP packages the data from these buffers into + segments and calls on the internet module to transmit each segment to + the destination TCP. The receiving TCP places the data from a segment + into the receiving user's buffer and notifies the receiving user. The + TCPs include control information in the segments which they use to + ensure reliable ordered data transmission. + + The model of internet communication is that there is an internet + protocol module associated with each TCP which provides an interface + to the local network. This internet module packages TCP segments + inside internet datagrams and routes these datagrams to a destination + internet module or intermediate gateway. To transmit the datagram + through the local network, it is embedded in a local network packet. + + The packet switches may perform further packaging, fragmentation, or + + + [Page 7] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Philosophy + + + + other operations to achieve the delivery of the local packet to the + destination internet module. + + At a gateway between networks, the internet datagram is "unwrapped" + from its local packet and examined to determine through which network + the internet datagram should travel next. The internet datagram is + then "wrapped" in a local packet suitable to the next network and + routed to the next gateway, or to the final destination. + + A gateway is permitted to break up an internet datagram into smaller + internet datagram fragments if this is necessary for transmission + through the next network. To do this, the gateway produces a set of + internet datagrams; each carrying a fragment. Fragments may be + further broken into smaller fragments at subsequent gateways. The + internet datagram fragment format is designed so that the destination + internet module can reassemble fragments into internet datagrams. + + A destination internet module unwraps the segment from the datagram + (after reassembling the datagram, if necessary) and passes it to the + destination TCP. + + This simple model of the operation glosses over many details. One + important feature is the type of service. This provides information + to the gateway (or internet module) to guide it in selecting the + service parameters to be used in traversing the next network. + Included in the type of service information is the precedence of the + datagram. Datagrams may also carry security information to permit + host and gateways that operate in multilevel secure environments to + properly segregate datagrams for security considerations. + +2.3. The Host Environment + + The TCP is assumed to be a module in an operating system. The users + access the TCP much like they would access the file system. The TCP + may call on other operating system functions, for example, to manage + data structures. The actual interface to the network is assumed to be + controlled by a device driver module. The TCP does not call on the + network device driver directly, but rather calls on the internet + datagram protocol module which may in turn call on the device driver. + + The mechanisms of TCP do not preclude implementation of the TCP in a + front-end processor. However, in such an implementation, a + host-to-front-end protocol must provide the functionality to support + the type of TCP-user interface described in this document. + + + + + + +[Page 8] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Philosophy + + + +2.4. Interfaces + + The TCP/user interface provides for calls made by the user on the TCP + to OPEN or CLOSE a connection, to SEND or RECEIVE data, or to obtain + STATUS about a connection. These calls are like other calls from user + programs on the operating system, for example, the calls to open, read + from, and close a file. + + The TCP/internet interface provides calls to send and receive + datagrams addressed to TCP modules in hosts anywhere in the internet + system. These calls have parameters for passing the address, type of + service, precedence, security, and other control information. + +2.5. Relation to Other Protocols + + The following diagram illustrates the place of the TCP in the protocol + hierarchy: + + + +------+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + |Telnet| | FTP | |Voice| ... | | Application Level + +------+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + | | | | + +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + | TCP | | RTP | ... | | Host Level + +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ + | | | + +-------------------------------+ + | Internet Protocol & ICMP | Gateway Level + +-------------------------------+ + | + +---------------------------+ + | Local Network Protocol | Network Level + +---------------------------+ + + Protocol Relationships + + Figure 2. + + It is expected that the TCP will be able to support higher level + protocols efficiently. It should be easy to interface higher level + protocols like the ARPANET Telnet or AUTODIN II THP to the TCP. + +2.6. Reliable Communication + + A stream of data sent on a TCP connection is delivered reliably and in + order at the destination. + + + + [Page 9] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Philosophy + + + + Transmission is made reliable via the use of sequence numbers and + acknowledgments. Conceptually, each octet of data is assigned a + sequence number. The sequence number of the first octet of data in a + segment is transmitted with that segment and is called the segment + sequence number. Segments also carry an acknowledgment number which + is the sequence number of the next expected data octet of + transmissions in the reverse direction. When the TCP transmits a + segment containing data, it puts a copy on a retransmission queue and + starts a timer; when the acknowledgment for that data is received, the + segment is deleted from the queue. If the acknowledgment is not + received before the timer runs out, the segment is retransmitted. + + An acknowledgment by TCP does not guarantee that the data has been + delivered to the end user, but only that the receiving TCP has taken + the responsibility to do so. + + To govern the flow of data between TCPs, a flow control mechanism is + employed. The receiving TCP reports a "window" to the sending TCP. + This window specifies the number of octets, starting with the + acknowledgment number, that the receiving TCP is currently prepared to + receive. + +2.7. Connection Establishment and Clearing + + To identify the separate data streams that a TCP may handle, the TCP + provides a port identifier. Since port identifiers are selected + independently by each TCP they might not be unique. To provide for + unique addresses within each TCP, we concatenate an internet address + identifying the TCP with a port identifier to create a socket which + will be unique throughout all networks connected together. + + A connection is fully specified by the pair of sockets at the ends. A + local socket may participate in many connections to different foreign + sockets. A connection can be used to carry data in both directions, + that is, it is "full duplex". + + TCPs are free to associate ports with processes however they choose. + However, several basic concepts are necessary in any implementation. + There must be well-known sockets which the TCP associates only with + the "appropriate" processes by some means. We envision that processes + may "own" ports, and that processes can initiate connections only on + the ports they own. (Means for implementing ownership is a local + issue, but we envision a Request Port user command, or a method of + uniquely allocating a group of ports to a given process, e.g., by + associating the high order bits of a port name with a given process.) + + A connection is specified in the OPEN call by the local port and + foreign socket arguments. In return, the TCP supplies a (short) local + + +[Page 10] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Philosophy + + + + connection name by which the user refers to the connection in + subsequent calls. There are several things that must be remembered + about a connection. To store this information we imagine that there + is a data structure called a Transmission Control Block (TCB). One + implementation strategy would have the local connection name be a + pointer to the TCB for this connection. The OPEN call also specifies + whether the connection establishment is to be actively pursued, or to + be passively waited for. + + A passive OPEN request means that the process wants to accept incoming + connection requests rather than attempting to initiate a connection. + Often the process requesting a passive OPEN will accept a connection + request from any caller. In this case a foreign socket of all zeros + is used to denote an unspecified socket. Unspecified foreign sockets + are allowed only on passive OPENs. + + A service process that wished to provide services for unknown other + processes would issue a passive OPEN request with an unspecified + foreign socket. Then a connection could be made with any process that + requested a connection to this local socket. It would help if this + local socket were known to be associated with this service. + + Well-known sockets are a convenient mechanism for a priori associating + a socket address with a standard service. For instance, the + "Telnet-Server" process is permanently assigned to a particular + socket, and other sockets are reserved for File Transfer, Remote Job + Entry, Text Generator, Echoer, and Sink processes (the last three + being for test purposes). A socket address might be reserved for + access to a "Look-Up" service which would return the specific socket + at which a newly created service would be provided. The concept of a + well-known socket is part of the TCP specification, but the assignment + of sockets to services is outside this specification. (See [4].) + + Processes can issue passive OPENs and wait for matching active OPENs + from other processes and be informed by the TCP when connections have + been established. Two processes which issue active OPENs to each + other at the same time will be correctly connected. This flexibility + is critical for the support of distributed computing in which + components act asynchronously with respect to each other. + + There are two principal cases for matching the sockets in the local + passive OPENs and an foreign active OPENs. In the first case, the + local passive OPENs has fully specified the foreign socket. In this + case, the match must be exact. In the second case, the local passive + OPENs has left the foreign socket unspecified. In this case, any + foreign socket is acceptable as long as the local sockets match. + Other possibilities include partially restricted matches. + + + + [Page 11] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Philosophy + + + + If there are several pending passive OPENs (recorded in TCBs) with the + same local socket, an foreign active OPEN will be matched to a TCB + with the specific foreign socket in the foreign active OPEN, if such a + TCB exists, before selecting a TCB with an unspecified foreign socket. + + The procedures to establish connections utilize the synchronize (SYN) + control flag and involves an exchange of three messages. This + exchange has been termed a three-way hand shake [3]. + + A connection is initiated by the rendezvous of an arriving segment + containing a SYN and a waiting TCB entry each created by a user OPEN + command. The matching of local and foreign sockets determines when a + connection has been initiated. The connection becomes "established" + when sequence numbers have been synchronized in both directions. + + The clearing of a connection also involves the exchange of segments, + in this case carrying the FIN control flag. + +2.8. Data Communication + + The data that flows on a connection may be thought of as a stream of + octets. The sending user indicates in each SEND call whether the data + in that call (and any preceeding calls) should be immediately pushed + through to the receiving user by the setting of the PUSH flag. + + A sending TCP is allowed to collect data from the sending user and to + send that data in segments at its own convenience, until the push + function is signaled, then it must send all unsent data. When a + receiving TCP sees the PUSH flag, it must not wait for more data from + the sending TCP before passing the data to the receiving process. + + There is no necessary relationship between push functions and segment + boundaries. The data in any particular segment may be the result of a + single SEND call, in whole or part, or of multiple SEND calls. + + The purpose of push function and the PUSH flag is to push data through + from the sending user to the receiving user. It does not provide a + record service. + + There is a coupling between the push function and the use of buffers + of data that cross the TCP/user interface. Each time a PUSH flag is + associated with data placed into the receiving user's buffer, the + buffer is returned to the user for processing even if the buffer is + not filled. If data arrives that fills the user's buffer before a + PUSH is seen, the data is passed to the user in buffer size units. + + TCP also provides a means to communicate to the receiver of data that + at some point further along in the data stream than the receiver is + + +[Page 12] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Philosophy + + + + currently reading there is urgent data. TCP does not attempt to + define what the user specifically does upon being notified of pending + urgent data, but the general notion is that the receiving process will + take action to process the urgent data quickly. + +2.9. Precedence and Security + + The TCP makes use of the internet protocol type of service field and + security option to provide precedence and security on a per connection + basis to TCP users. Not all TCP modules will necessarily function in + a multilevel secure environment; some may be limited to unclassified + use only, and others may operate at only one security level and + compartment. Consequently, some TCP implementations and services to + users may be limited to a subset of the multilevel secure case. + + TCP modules which operate in a multilevel secure environment must + properly mark outgoing segments with the security, compartment, and + precedence. Such TCP modules must also provide to their users or + higher level protocols such as Telnet or THP an interface to allow + them to specify the desired security level, compartment, and + precedence of connections. + +2.10. Robustness Principle + + TCP implementations will follow a general principle of robustness: be + conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from + others. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 13] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 14] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + + + + 3. FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION + +3.1. Header Format + + TCP segments are sent as internet datagrams. The Internet Protocol + header carries several information fields, including the source and + destination host addresses [2]. A TCP header follows the internet + header, supplying information specific to the TCP protocol. This + division allows for the existence of host level protocols other than + TCP. + + TCP Header Format + + + 0 1 2 3 + 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Source Port | Destination Port | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Sequence Number | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Acknowledgment Number | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Data | |U|A|P|R|S|F| | + | Offset| Reserved |R|C|S|S|Y|I| Window | + | | |G|K|H|T|N|N| | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Checksum | Urgent Pointer | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | Options | Padding | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + | data | + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + + TCP Header Format + + Note that one tick mark represents one bit position. + + Figure 3. + + Source Port: 16 bits + + The source port number. + + Destination Port: 16 bits + + The destination port number. + + + + + [Page 15] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + Sequence Number: 32 bits + + The sequence number of the first data octet in this segment (except + when SYN is present). If SYN is present the sequence number is the + initial sequence number (ISN) and the first data octet is ISN+1. + + Acknowledgment Number: 32 bits + + If the ACK control bit is set this field contains the value of the + next sequence number the sender of the segment is expecting to + receive. Once a connection is established this is always sent. + + Data Offset: 4 bits + + The number of 32 bit words in the TCP Header. This indicates where + the data begins. The TCP header (even one including options) is an + integral number of 32 bits long. + + Reserved: 6 bits + + Reserved for future use. Must be zero. + + Control Bits: 6 bits (from left to right): + + URG: Urgent Pointer field significant + ACK: Acknowledgment field significant + PSH: Push Function + RST: Reset the connection + SYN: Synchronize sequence numbers + FIN: No more data from sender + + Window: 16 bits + + The number of data octets beginning with the one indicated in the + acknowledgment field which the sender of this segment is willing to + accept. + + Checksum: 16 bits + + The checksum field is the 16 bit one's complement of the one's + complement sum of all 16 bit words in the header and text. If a + segment contains an odd number of header and text octets to be + checksummed, the last octet is padded on the right with zeros to + form a 16 bit word for checksum purposes. The pad is not + transmitted as part of the segment. While computing the checksum, + the checksum field itself is replaced with zeros. + + The checksum also covers a 96 bit pseudo header conceptually + + +[Page 16] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + prefixed to the TCP header. This pseudo header contains the Source + Address, the Destination Address, the Protocol, and TCP length. + This gives the TCP protection against misrouted segments. This + information is carried in the Internet Protocol and is transferred + across the TCP/Network interface in the arguments or results of + calls by the TCP on the IP. + + +--------+--------+--------+--------+ + | Source Address | + +--------+--------+--------+--------+ + | Destination Address | + +--------+--------+--------+--------+ + | zero | PTCL | TCP Length | + +--------+--------+--------+--------+ + + The TCP Length is the TCP header length plus the data length in + octets (this is not an explicitly transmitted quantity, but is + computed), and it does not count the 12 octets of the pseudo + header. + + Urgent Pointer: 16 bits + + This field communicates the current value of the urgent pointer as a + positive offset from the sequence number in this segment. The + urgent pointer points to the sequence number of the octet following + the urgent data. This field is only be interpreted in segments with + the URG control bit set. + + Options: variable + + Options may occupy space at the end of the TCP header and are a + multiple of 8 bits in length. All options are included in the + checksum. An option may begin on any octet boundary. There are two + cases for the format of an option: + + Case 1: A single octet of option-kind. + + Case 2: An octet of option-kind, an octet of option-length, and + the actual option-data octets. + + The option-length counts the two octets of option-kind and + option-length as well as the option-data octets. + + Note that the list of options may be shorter than the data offset + field might imply. The content of the header beyond the + End-of-Option option must be header padding (i.e., zero). + + A TCP must implement all options. + + + [Page 17] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + Currently defined options include (kind indicated in octal): + + Kind Length Meaning + ---- ------ ------- + 0 - End of option list. + 1 - No-Operation. + 2 4 Maximum Segment Size. + + + Specific Option Definitions + + End of Option List + + +--------+ + |00000000| + +--------+ + Kind=0 + + This option code indicates the end of the option list. This + might not coincide with the end of the TCP header according to + the Data Offset field. This is used at the end of all options, + not the end of each option, and need only be used if the end of + the options would not otherwise coincide with the end of the TCP + header. + + No-Operation + + +--------+ + |00000001| + +--------+ + Kind=1 + + This option code may be used between options, for example, to + align the beginning of a subsequent option on a word boundary. + There is no guarantee that senders will use this option, so + receivers must be prepared to process options even if they do + not begin on a word boundary. + + Maximum Segment Size + + +--------+--------+---------+--------+ + |00000010|00000100| max seg size | + +--------+--------+---------+--------+ + Kind=2 Length=4 + + + + + + +[Page 18] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + Maximum Segment Size Option Data: 16 bits + + If this option is present, then it communicates the maximum + receive segment size at the TCP which sends this segment. + This field must only be sent in the initial connection request + (i.e., in segments with the SYN control bit set). If this + option is not used, any segment size is allowed. + + Padding: variable + + The TCP header padding is used to ensure that the TCP header ends + and data begins on a 32 bit boundary. The padding is composed of + zeros. + +3.2. Terminology + + Before we can discuss very much about the operation of the TCP we need + to introduce some detailed terminology. The maintenance of a TCP + connection requires the remembering of several variables. We conceive + of these variables being stored in a connection record called a + Transmission Control Block or TCB. Among the variables stored in the + TCB are the local and remote socket numbers, the security and + precedence of the connection, pointers to the user's send and receive + buffers, pointers to the retransmit queue and to the current segment. + In addition several variables relating to the send and receive + sequence numbers are stored in the TCB. + + Send Sequence Variables + + SND.UNA - send unacknowledged + SND.NXT - send next + SND.WND - send window + SND.UP - send urgent pointer + SND.WL1 - segment sequence number used for last window update + SND.WL2 - segment acknowledgment number used for last window + update + ISS - initial send sequence number + + Receive Sequence Variables + + RCV.NXT - receive next + RCV.WND - receive window + RCV.UP - receive urgent pointer + IRS - initial receive sequence number + + + + + + + [Page 19] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + The following diagrams may help to relate some of these variables to + the sequence space. + + Send Sequence Space + + 1 2 3 4 + ----------|----------|----------|---------- + SND.UNA SND.NXT SND.UNA + +SND.WND + + 1 - old sequence numbers which have been acknowledged + 2 - sequence numbers of unacknowledged data + 3 - sequence numbers allowed for new data transmission + 4 - future sequence numbers which are not yet allowed + + Send Sequence Space + + Figure 4. + + + + The send window is the portion of the sequence space labeled 3 in + figure 4. + + Receive Sequence Space + + 1 2 3 + ----------|----------|---------- + RCV.NXT RCV.NXT + +RCV.WND + + 1 - old sequence numbers which have been acknowledged + 2 - sequence numbers allowed for new reception + 3 - future sequence numbers which are not yet allowed + + Receive Sequence Space + + Figure 5. + + + + The receive window is the portion of the sequence space labeled 2 in + figure 5. + + There are also some variables used frequently in the discussion that + take their values from the fields of the current segment. + + + + +[Page 20] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + Current Segment Variables + + SEG.SEQ - segment sequence number + SEG.ACK - segment acknowledgment number + SEG.LEN - segment length + SEG.WND - segment window + SEG.UP - segment urgent pointer + SEG.PRC - segment precedence value + + A connection progresses through a series of states during its + lifetime. The states are: LISTEN, SYN-SENT, SYN-RECEIVED, + ESTABLISHED, FIN-WAIT-1, FIN-WAIT-2, CLOSE-WAIT, CLOSING, LAST-ACK, + TIME-WAIT, and the fictional state CLOSED. CLOSED is fictional + because it represents the state when there is no TCB, and therefore, + no connection. Briefly the meanings of the states are: + + LISTEN - represents waiting for a connection request from any remote + TCP and port. + + SYN-SENT - represents waiting for a matching connection request + after having sent a connection request. + + SYN-RECEIVED - represents waiting for a confirming connection + request acknowledgment after having both received and sent a + connection request. + + ESTABLISHED - represents an open connection, data received can be + delivered to the user. The normal state for the data transfer phase + of the connection. + + FIN-WAIT-1 - represents waiting for a connection termination request + from the remote TCP, or an acknowledgment of the connection + termination request previously sent. + + FIN-WAIT-2 - represents waiting for a connection termination request + from the remote TCP. + + CLOSE-WAIT - represents waiting for a connection termination request + from the local user. + + CLOSING - represents waiting for a connection termination request + acknowledgment from the remote TCP. + + LAST-ACK - represents waiting for an acknowledgment of the + connection termination request previously sent to the remote TCP + (which includes an acknowledgment of its connection termination + request). + + + + [Page 21] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + TIME-WAIT - represents waiting for enough time to pass to be sure + the remote TCP received the acknowledgment of its connection + termination request. + + CLOSED - represents no connection state at all. + + A TCP connection progresses from one state to another in response to + events. The events are the user calls, OPEN, SEND, RECEIVE, CLOSE, + ABORT, and STATUS; the incoming segments, particularly those + containing the SYN, ACK, RST and FIN flags; and timeouts. + + The state diagram in figure 6 illustrates only state changes, together + with the causing events and resulting actions, but addresses neither + error conditions nor actions which are not connected with state + changes. In a later section, more detail is offered with respect to + the reaction of the TCP to events. + + NOTE BENE: this diagram is only a summary and must not be taken as + the total specification. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 22] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + + +---------+ ---------\ active OPEN + | CLOSED | \ ----------- + +---------+<---------\ \ create TCB + | ^ \ \ snd SYN + passive OPEN | | CLOSE \ \ + ------------ | | ---------- \ \ + create TCB | | delete TCB \ \ + V | \ \ + +---------+ CLOSE | \ + | LISTEN | ---------- | | + +---------+ delete TCB | | + rcv SYN | | SEND | | + ----------- | | ------- | V + +---------+ snd SYN,ACK / \ snd SYN +---------+ + | |<----------------- ------------------>| | + | SYN | rcv SYN | SYN | + | RCVD |<-----------------------------------------------| SENT | + | | snd ACK | | + | |------------------ -------------------| | + +---------+ rcv ACK of SYN \ / rcv SYN,ACK +---------+ + | -------------- | | ----------- + | x | | snd ACK + | V V + | CLOSE +---------+ + | ------- | ESTAB | + | snd FIN +---------+ + | CLOSE | | rcv FIN + V ------- | | ------- + +---------+ snd FIN / \ snd ACK +---------+ + | FIN |<----------------- ------------------>| CLOSE | + | WAIT-1 |------------------ | WAIT | + +---------+ rcv FIN \ +---------+ + | rcv ACK of FIN ------- | CLOSE | + | -------------- snd ACK | ------- | + V x V snd FIN V + +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ + |FINWAIT-2| | CLOSING | | LAST-ACK| + +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ + | rcv ACK of FIN | rcv ACK of FIN | + | rcv FIN -------------- | Timeout=2MSL -------------- | + | ------- x V ------------ x V + \ snd ACK +---------+delete TCB +---------+ + ------------------------>|TIME WAIT|------------------>| CLOSED | + +---------+ +---------+ + + TCP Connection State Diagram + Figure 6. + + + [Page 23] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + +3.3. Sequence Numbers + + A fundamental notion in the design is that every octet of data sent + over a TCP connection has a sequence number. Since every octet is + sequenced, each of them can be acknowledged. The acknowledgment + mechanism employed is cumulative so that an acknowledgment of sequence + number X indicates that all octets up to but not including X have been + received. This mechanism allows for straight-forward duplicate + detection in the presence of retransmission. Numbering of octets + within a segment is that the first data octet immediately following + the header is the lowest numbered, and the following octets are + numbered consecutively. + + It is essential to remember that the actual sequence number space is + finite, though very large. This space ranges from 0 to 2**32 - 1. + Since the space is finite, all arithmetic dealing with sequence + numbers must be performed modulo 2**32. This unsigned arithmetic + preserves the relationship of sequence numbers as they cycle from + 2**32 - 1 to 0 again. There are some subtleties to computer modulo + arithmetic, so great care should be taken in programming the + comparison of such values. The symbol "=<" means "less than or equal" + (modulo 2**32). + + The typical kinds of sequence number comparisons which the TCP must + perform include: + + (a) Determining that an acknowledgment refers to some sequence + number sent but not yet acknowledged. + + (b) Determining that all sequence numbers occupied by a segment + have been acknowledged (e.g., to remove the segment from a + retransmission queue). + + (c) Determining that an incoming segment contains sequence numbers + which are expected (i.e., that the segment "overlaps" the + receive window). + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 24] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + In response to sending data the TCP will receive acknowledgments. The + following comparisons are needed to process the acknowledgments. + + SND.UNA = oldest unacknowledged sequence number + + SND.NXT = next sequence number to be sent + + SEG.ACK = acknowledgment from the receiving TCP (next sequence + number expected by the receiving TCP) + + SEG.SEQ = first sequence number of a segment + + SEG.LEN = the number of octets occupied by the data in the segment + (counting SYN and FIN) + + SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN-1 = last sequence number of a segment + + A new acknowledgment (called an "acceptable ack"), is one for which + the inequality below holds: + + SND.UNA < SEG.ACK =< SND.NXT + + A segment on the retransmission queue is fully acknowledged if the sum + of its sequence number and length is less or equal than the + acknowledgment value in the incoming segment. + + When data is received the following comparisons are needed: + + RCV.NXT = next sequence number expected on an incoming segments, and + is the left or lower edge of the receive window + + RCV.NXT+RCV.WND-1 = last sequence number expected on an incoming + segment, and is the right or upper edge of the receive window + + SEG.SEQ = first sequence number occupied by the incoming segment + + SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN-1 = last sequence number occupied by the incoming + segment + + A segment is judged to occupy a portion of valid receive sequence + space if + + RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + + or + + RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN-1 < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + + + + [Page 25] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + The first part of this test checks to see if the beginning of the + segment falls in the window, the second part of the test checks to see + if the end of the segment falls in the window; if the segment passes + either part of the test it contains data in the window. + + Actually, it is a little more complicated than this. Due to zero + windows and zero length segments, we have four cases for the + acceptability of an incoming segment: + + Segment Receive Test + Length Window + ------- ------- ------------------------------------------- + + 0 0 SEG.SEQ = RCV.NXT + + 0 >0 RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + + >0 0 not acceptable + + >0 >0 RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + or RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN-1 < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + + Note that when the receive window is zero no segments should be + acceptable except ACK segments. Thus, it is be possible for a TCP to + maintain a zero receive window while transmitting data and receiving + ACKs. However, even when the receive window is zero, a TCP must + process the RST and URG fields of all incoming segments. + + We have taken advantage of the numbering scheme to protect certain + control information as well. This is achieved by implicitly including + some control flags in the sequence space so they can be retransmitted + and acknowledged without confusion (i.e., one and only one copy of the + control will be acted upon). Control information is not physically + carried in the segment data space. Consequently, we must adopt rules + for implicitly assigning sequence numbers to control. The SYN and FIN + are the only controls requiring this protection, and these controls + are used only at connection opening and closing. For sequence number + purposes, the SYN is considered to occur before the first actual data + octet of the segment in which it occurs, while the FIN is considered + to occur after the last actual data octet in a segment in which it + occurs. The segment length (SEG.LEN) includes both data and sequence + space occupying controls. When a SYN is present then SEG.SEQ is the + sequence number of the SYN. + + + + + + + +[Page 26] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + Initial Sequence Number Selection + + The protocol places no restriction on a particular connection being + used over and over again. A connection is defined by a pair of + sockets. New instances of a connection will be referred to as + incarnations of the connection. The problem that arises from this is + -- "how does the TCP identify duplicate segments from previous + incarnations of the connection?" This problem becomes apparent if the + connection is being opened and closed in quick succession, or if the + connection breaks with loss of memory and is then reestablished. + + To avoid confusion we must prevent segments from one incarnation of a + connection from being used while the same sequence numbers may still + be present in the network from an earlier incarnation. We want to + assure this, even if a TCP crashes and loses all knowledge of the + sequence numbers it has been using. When new connections are created, + an initial sequence number (ISN) generator is employed which selects a + new 32 bit ISN. The generator is bound to a (possibly fictitious) 32 + bit clock whose low order bit is incremented roughly every 4 + microseconds. Thus, the ISN cycles approximately every 4.55 hours. + Since we assume that segments will stay in the network no more than + the Maximum Segment Lifetime (MSL) and that the MSL is less than 4.55 + hours we can reasonably assume that ISN's will be unique. + + For each connection there is a send sequence number and a receive + sequence number. The initial send sequence number (ISS) is chosen by + the data sending TCP, and the initial receive sequence number (IRS) is + learned during the connection establishing procedure. + + For a connection to be established or initialized, the two TCPs must + synchronize on each other's initial sequence numbers. This is done in + an exchange of connection establishing segments carrying a control bit + called "SYN" (for synchronize) and the initial sequence numbers. As a + shorthand, segments carrying the SYN bit are also called "SYNs". + Hence, the solution requires a suitable mechanism for picking an + initial sequence number and a slightly involved handshake to exchange + the ISN's. + + The synchronization requires each side to send it's own initial + sequence number and to receive a confirmation of it in acknowledgment + from the other side. Each side must also receive the other side's + initial sequence number and send a confirming acknowledgment. + + 1) A --> B SYN my sequence number is X + 2) A <-- B ACK your sequence number is X + 3) A <-- B SYN my sequence number is Y + 4) A --> B ACK your sequence number is Y + + + + [Page 27] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + Because steps 2 and 3 can be combined in a single message this is + called the three way (or three message) handshake. + + A three way handshake is necessary because sequence numbers are not + tied to a global clock in the network, and TCPs may have different + mechanisms for picking the ISN's. The receiver of the first SYN has + no way of knowing whether the segment was an old delayed one or not, + unless it remembers the last sequence number used on the connection + (which is not always possible), and so it must ask the sender to + verify this SYN. The three way handshake and the advantages of a + clock-driven scheme are discussed in [3]. + + Knowing When to Keep Quiet + + To be sure that a TCP does not create a segment that carries a + sequence number which may be duplicated by an old segment remaining in + the network, the TCP must keep quiet for a maximum segment lifetime + (MSL) before assigning any sequence numbers upon starting up or + recovering from a crash in which memory of sequence numbers in use was + lost. For this specification the MSL is taken to be 2 minutes. This + is an engineering choice, and may be changed if experience indicates + it is desirable to do so. Note that if a TCP is reinitialized in some + sense, yet retains its memory of sequence numbers in use, then it need + not wait at all; it must only be sure to use sequence numbers larger + than those recently used. + + The TCP Quiet Time Concept + + This specification provides that hosts which "crash" without + retaining any knowledge of the last sequence numbers transmitted on + each active (i.e., not closed) connection shall delay emitting any + TCP segments for at least the agreed Maximum Segment Lifetime (MSL) + in the internet system of which the host is a part. In the + paragraphs below, an explanation for this specification is given. + TCP implementors may violate the "quiet time" restriction, but only + at the risk of causing some old data to be accepted as new or new + data rejected as old duplicated by some receivers in the internet + system. + + TCPs consume sequence number space each time a segment is formed and + entered into the network output queue at a source host. The + duplicate detection and sequencing algorithm in the TCP protocol + relies on the unique binding of segment data to sequence space to + the extent that sequence numbers will not cycle through all 2**32 + values before the segment data bound to those sequence numbers has + been delivered and acknowledged by the receiver and all duplicate + copies of the segments have "drained" from the internet. Without + such an assumption, two distinct TCP segments could conceivably be + + +[Page 28] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + assigned the same or overlapping sequence numbers, causing confusion + at the receiver as to which data is new and which is old. Remember + that each segment is bound to as many consecutive sequence numbers + as there are octets of data in the segment. + + Under normal conditions, TCPs keep track of the next sequence number + to emit and the oldest awaiting acknowledgment so as to avoid + mistakenly using a sequence number over before its first use has + been acknowledged. This alone does not guarantee that old duplicate + data is drained from the net, so the sequence space has been made + very large to reduce the probability that a wandering duplicate will + cause trouble upon arrival. At 2 megabits/sec. it takes 4.5 hours + to use up 2**32 octets of sequence space. Since the maximum segment + lifetime in the net is not likely to exceed a few tens of seconds, + this is deemed ample protection for foreseeable nets, even if data + rates escalate to l0's of megabits/sec. At 100 megabits/sec, the + cycle time is 5.4 minutes which may be a little short, but still + within reason. + + The basic duplicate detection and sequencing algorithm in TCP can be + defeated, however, if a source TCP does not have any memory of the + sequence numbers it last used on a given connection. For example, if + the TCP were to start all connections with sequence number 0, then + upon crashing and restarting, a TCP might re-form an earlier + connection (possibly after half-open connection resolution) and emit + packets with sequence numbers identical to or overlapping with + packets still in the network which were emitted on an earlier + incarnation of the same connection. In the absence of knowledge + about the sequence numbers used on a particular connection, the TCP + specification recommends that the source delay for MSL seconds + before emitting segments on the connection, to allow time for + segments from the earlier connection incarnation to drain from the + system. + + Even hosts which can remember the time of day and used it to select + initial sequence number values are not immune from this problem + (i.e., even if time of day is used to select an initial sequence + number for each new connection incarnation). + + Suppose, for example, that a connection is opened starting with + sequence number S. Suppose that this connection is not used much + and that eventually the initial sequence number function (ISN(t)) + takes on a value equal to the sequence number, say S1, of the last + segment sent by this TCP on a particular connection. Now suppose, + at this instant, the host crashes, recovers, and establishes a new + incarnation of the connection. The initial sequence number chosen is + S1 = ISN(t) -- last used sequence number on old incarnation of + connection! If the recovery occurs quickly enough, any old + + + [Page 29] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + duplicates in the net bearing sequence numbers in the neighborhood + of S1 may arrive and be treated as new packets by the receiver of + the new incarnation of the connection. + + The problem is that the recovering host may not know for how long it + crashed nor does it know whether there are still old duplicates in + the system from earlier connection incarnations. + + One way to deal with this problem is to deliberately delay emitting + segments for one MSL after recovery from a crash- this is the "quite + time" specification. Hosts which prefer to avoid waiting are + willing to risk possible confusion of old and new packets at a given + destination may choose not to wait for the "quite time". + Implementors may provide TCP users with the ability to select on a + connection by connection basis whether to wait after a crash, or may + informally implement the "quite time" for all connections. + Obviously, even where a user selects to "wait," this is not + necessary after the host has been "up" for at least MSL seconds. + + To summarize: every segment emitted occupies one or more sequence + numbers in the sequence space, the numbers occupied by a segment are + "busy" or "in use" until MSL seconds have passed, upon crashing a + block of space-time is occupied by the octets of the last emitted + segment, if a new connection is started too soon and uses any of the + sequence numbers in the space-time footprint of the last segment of + the previous connection incarnation, there is a potential sequence + number overlap area which could cause confusion at the receiver. + +3.4. Establishing a connection + + The "three-way handshake" is the procedure used to establish a + connection. This procedure normally is initiated by one TCP and + responded to by another TCP. The procedure also works if two TCP + simultaneously initiate the procedure. When simultaneous attempt + occurs, each TCP receives a "SYN" segment which carries no + acknowledgment after it has sent a "SYN". Of course, the arrival of + an old duplicate "SYN" segment can potentially make it appear, to the + recipient, that a simultaneous connection initiation is in progress. + Proper use of "reset" segments can disambiguate these cases. + + Several examples of connection initiation follow. Although these + examples do not show connection synchronization using data-carrying + segments, this is perfectly legitimate, so long as the receiving TCP + doesn't deliver the data to the user until it is clear the data is + valid (i.e., the data must be buffered at the receiver until the + connection reaches the ESTABLISHED state). The three-way handshake + reduces the possibility of false connections. It is the + + + +[Page 30] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + implementation of a trade-off between memory and messages to provide + information for this checking. + + The simplest three-way handshake is shown in figure 7 below. The + figures should be interpreted in the following way. Each line is + numbered for reference purposes. Right arrows (-->) indicate + departure of a TCP segment from TCP A to TCP B, or arrival of a + segment at B from A. Left arrows (<--), indicate the reverse. + Ellipsis (...) indicates a segment which is still in the network + (delayed). An "XXX" indicates a segment which is lost or rejected. + Comments appear in parentheses. TCP states represent the state AFTER + the departure or arrival of the segment (whose contents are shown in + the center of each line). Segment contents are shown in abbreviated + form, with sequence number, control flags, and ACK field. Other + fields such as window, addresses, lengths, and text have been left out + in the interest of clarity. + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. CLOSED LISTEN + + 2. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=100><CTL=SYN> --> SYN-RECEIVED + + 3. ESTABLISHED <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=101><CTL=SYN,ACK> <-- SYN-RECEIVED + + 4. ESTABLISHED --> <SEQ=101><ACK=301><CTL=ACK> --> ESTABLISHED + + 5. ESTABLISHED --> <SEQ=101><ACK=301><CTL=ACK><DATA> --> ESTABLISHED + + Basic 3-Way Handshake for Connection Synchronization + + Figure 7. + + In line 2 of figure 7, TCP A begins by sending a SYN segment + indicating that it will use sequence numbers starting with sequence + number 100. In line 3, TCP B sends a SYN and acknowledges the SYN it + received from TCP A. Note that the acknowledgment field indicates TCP + B is now expecting to hear sequence 101, acknowledging the SYN which + occupied sequence 100. + + At line 4, TCP A responds with an empty segment containing an ACK for + TCP B's SYN; and in line 5, TCP A sends some data. Note that the + sequence number of the segment in line 5 is the same as in line 4 + because the ACK does not occupy sequence number space (if it did, we + would wind up ACKing ACK's!). + + + + [Page 31] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + Simultaneous initiation is only slightly more complex, as is shown in + figure 8. Each TCP cycles from CLOSED to SYN-SENT to SYN-RECEIVED to + ESTABLISHED. + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. CLOSED CLOSED + + 2. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=100><CTL=SYN> ... + + 3. SYN-RECEIVED <-- <SEQ=300><CTL=SYN> <-- SYN-SENT + + 4. ... <SEQ=100><CTL=SYN> --> SYN-RECEIVED + + 5. SYN-RECEIVED --> <SEQ=100><ACK=301><CTL=SYN,ACK> ... + + 6. ESTABLISHED <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=101><CTL=SYN,ACK> <-- SYN-RECEIVED + + 7. ... <SEQ=101><ACK=301><CTL=ACK> --> ESTABLISHED + + Simultaneous Connection Synchronization + + Figure 8. + + The principle reason for the three-way handshake is to prevent old + duplicate connection initiations from causing confusion. To deal with + this, a special control message, reset, has been devised. If the + receiving TCP is in a non-synchronized state (i.e., SYN-SENT, + SYN-RECEIVED), it returns to LISTEN on receiving an acceptable reset. + If the TCP is in one of the synchronized states (ESTABLISHED, + FIN-WAIT-1, FIN-WAIT-2, CLOSE-WAIT, CLOSING, LAST-ACK, TIME-WAIT), it + aborts the connection and informs its user. We discuss this latter + case under "half-open" connections below. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 32] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. CLOSED LISTEN + + 2. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=100><CTL=SYN> ... + + 3. (duplicate) ... <SEQ=90><CTL=SYN> --> SYN-RECEIVED + + 4. SYN-SENT <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=91><CTL=SYN,ACK> <-- SYN-RECEIVED + + 5. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=91><CTL=RST> --> LISTEN + + + 6. ... <SEQ=100><CTL=SYN> --> SYN-RECEIVED + + 7. SYN-SENT <-- <SEQ=400><ACK=101><CTL=SYN,ACK> <-- SYN-RECEIVED + + 8. ESTABLISHED --> <SEQ=101><ACK=401><CTL=ACK> --> ESTABLISHED + + Recovery from Old Duplicate SYN + + Figure 9. + + As a simple example of recovery from old duplicates, consider + figure 9. At line 3, an old duplicate SYN arrives at TCP B. TCP B + cannot tell that this is an old duplicate, so it responds normally + (line 4). TCP A detects that the ACK field is incorrect and returns a + RST (reset) with its SEQ field selected to make the segment + believable. TCP B, on receiving the RST, returns to the LISTEN state. + When the original SYN (pun intended) finally arrives at line 6, the + synchronization proceeds normally. If the SYN at line 6 had arrived + before the RST, a more complex exchange might have occurred with RST's + sent in both directions. + + Half-Open Connections and Other Anomalies + + An established connection is said to be "half-open" if one of the + TCPs has closed or aborted the connection at its end without the + knowledge of the other, or if the two ends of the connection have + become desynchronized owing to a crash that resulted in loss of + memory. Such connections will automatically become reset if an + attempt is made to send data in either direction. However, half-open + connections are expected to be unusual, and the recovery procedure is + mildly involved. + + If at site A the connection no longer exists, then an attempt by the + + + [Page 33] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + user at site B to send any data on it will result in the site B TCP + receiving a reset control message. Such a message indicates to the + site B TCP that something is wrong, and it is expected to abort the + connection. + + Assume that two user processes A and B are communicating with one + another when a crash occurs causing loss of memory to A's TCP. + Depending on the operating system supporting A's TCP, it is likely + that some error recovery mechanism exists. When the TCP is up again, + A is likely to start again from the beginning or from a recovery + point. As a result, A will probably try to OPEN the connection again + or try to SEND on the connection it believes open. In the latter + case, it receives the error message "connection not open" from the + local (A's) TCP. In an attempt to establish the connection, A's TCP + will send a segment containing SYN. This scenario leads to the + example shown in figure 10. After TCP A crashes, the user attempts to + re-open the connection. TCP B, in the meantime, thinks the connection + is open. + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. (CRASH) (send 300,receive 100) + + 2. CLOSED ESTABLISHED + + 3. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=400><CTL=SYN> --> (??) + + 4. (!!) <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=100><CTL=ACK> <-- ESTABLISHED + + 5. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=100><CTL=RST> --> (Abort!!) + + 6. SYN-SENT CLOSED + + 7. SYN-SENT --> <SEQ=400><CTL=SYN> --> + + Half-Open Connection Discovery + + Figure 10. + + When the SYN arrives at line 3, TCP B, being in a synchronized state, + and the incoming segment outside the window, responds with an + acknowledgment indicating what sequence it next expects to hear (ACK + 100). TCP A sees that this segment does not acknowledge anything it + sent and, being unsynchronized, sends a reset (RST) because it has + detected a half-open connection. TCP B aborts at line 5. TCP A will + + + +[Page 34] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + continue to try to establish the connection; the problem is now + reduced to the basic 3-way handshake of figure 7. + + An interesting alternative case occurs when TCP A crashes and TCP B + tries to send data on what it thinks is a synchronized connection. + This is illustrated in figure 11. In this case, the data arriving at + TCP A from TCP B (line 2) is unacceptable because no such connection + exists, so TCP A sends a RST. The RST is acceptable so TCP B + processes it and aborts the connection. + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. (CRASH) (send 300,receive 100) + + 2. (??) <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=100><DATA=10><CTL=ACK> <-- ESTABLISHED + + 3. --> <SEQ=100><CTL=RST> --> (ABORT!!) + + Active Side Causes Half-Open Connection Discovery + + Figure 11. + + In figure 12, we find the two TCPs A and B with passive connections + waiting for SYN. An old duplicate arriving at TCP B (line 2) stirs B + into action. A SYN-ACK is returned (line 3) and causes TCP A to + generate a RST (the ACK in line 3 is not acceptable). TCP B accepts + the reset and returns to its passive LISTEN state. + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. LISTEN LISTEN + + 2. ... <SEQ=Z><CTL=SYN> --> SYN-RECEIVED + + 3. (??) <-- <SEQ=X><ACK=Z+1><CTL=SYN,ACK> <-- SYN-RECEIVED + + 4. --> <SEQ=Z+1><CTL=RST> --> (return to LISTEN!) + + 5. LISTEN LISTEN + + Old Duplicate SYN Initiates a Reset on two Passive Sockets + + Figure 12. + + + + [Page 35] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + A variety of other cases are possible, all of which are accounted for + by the following rules for RST generation and processing. + + Reset Generation + + As a general rule, reset (RST) must be sent whenever a segment arrives + which apparently is not intended for the current connection. A reset + must not be sent if it is not clear that this is the case. + + There are three groups of states: + + 1. If the connection does not exist (CLOSED) then a reset is sent + in response to any incoming segment except another reset. In + particular, SYNs addressed to a non-existent connection are rejected + by this means. + + If the incoming segment has an ACK field, the reset takes its + sequence number from the ACK field of the segment, otherwise the + reset has sequence number zero and the ACK field is set to the sum + of the sequence number and segment length of the incoming segment. + The connection remains in the CLOSED state. + + 2. If the connection is in any non-synchronized state (LISTEN, + SYN-SENT, SYN-RECEIVED), and the incoming segment acknowledges + something not yet sent (the segment carries an unacceptable ACK), or + if an incoming segment has a security level or compartment which + does not exactly match the level and compartment requested for the + connection, a reset is sent. + + If our SYN has not been acknowledged and the precedence level of the + incoming segment is higher than the precedence level requested then + either raise the local precedence level (if allowed by the user and + the system) or send a reset; or if the precedence level of the + incoming segment is lower than the precedence level requested then + continue as if the precedence matched exactly (if the remote TCP + cannot raise the precedence level to match ours this will be + detected in the next segment it sends, and the connection will be + terminated then). If our SYN has been acknowledged (perhaps in this + incoming segment) the precedence level of the incoming segment must + match the local precedence level exactly, if it does not a reset + must be sent. + + If the incoming segment has an ACK field, the reset takes its + sequence number from the ACK field of the segment, otherwise the + reset has sequence number zero and the ACK field is set to the sum + of the sequence number and segment length of the incoming segment. + The connection remains in the same state. + + + +[Page 36] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + 3. If the connection is in a synchronized state (ESTABLISHED, + FIN-WAIT-1, FIN-WAIT-2, CLOSE-WAIT, CLOSING, LAST-ACK, TIME-WAIT), + any unacceptable segment (out of window sequence number or + unacceptible acknowledgment number) must elicit only an empty + acknowledgment segment containing the current send-sequence number + and an acknowledgment indicating the next sequence number expected + to be received, and the connection remains in the same state. + + If an incoming segment has a security level, or compartment, or + precedence which does not exactly match the level, and compartment, + and precedence requested for the connection,a reset is sent and + connection goes to the CLOSED state. The reset takes its sequence + number from the ACK field of the incoming segment. + + Reset Processing + + In all states except SYN-SENT, all reset (RST) segments are validated + by checking their SEQ-fields. A reset is valid if its sequence number + is in the window. In the SYN-SENT state (a RST received in response + to an initial SYN), the RST is acceptable if the ACK field + acknowledges the SYN. + + The receiver of a RST first validates it, then changes state. If the + receiver was in the LISTEN state, it ignores it. If the receiver was + in SYN-RECEIVED state and had previously been in the LISTEN state, + then the receiver returns to the LISTEN state, otherwise the receiver + aborts the connection and goes to the CLOSED state. If the receiver + was in any other state, it aborts the connection and advises the user + and goes to the CLOSED state. + +3.5. Closing a Connection + + CLOSE is an operation meaning "I have no more data to send." The + notion of closing a full-duplex connection is subject to ambiguous + interpretation, of course, since it may not be obvious how to treat + the receiving side of the connection. We have chosen to treat CLOSE + in a simplex fashion. The user who CLOSEs may continue to RECEIVE + until he is told that the other side has CLOSED also. Thus, a program + could initiate several SENDs followed by a CLOSE, and then continue to + RECEIVE until signaled that a RECEIVE failed because the other side + has CLOSED. We assume that the TCP will signal a user, even if no + RECEIVEs are outstanding, that the other side has closed, so the user + can terminate his side gracefully. A TCP will reliably deliver all + buffers SENT before the connection was CLOSED so a user who expects no + data in return need only wait to hear the connection was CLOSED + successfully to know that all his data was received at the destination + TCP. Users must keep reading connections they close for sending until + the TCP says no more data. + + + [Page 37] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + There are essentially three cases: + + 1) The user initiates by telling the TCP to CLOSE the connection + + 2) The remote TCP initiates by sending a FIN control signal + + 3) Both users CLOSE simultaneously + + Case 1: Local user initiates the close + + In this case, a FIN segment can be constructed and placed on the + outgoing segment queue. No further SENDs from the user will be + accepted by the TCP, and it enters the FIN-WAIT-1 state. RECEIVEs + are allowed in this state. All segments preceding and including FIN + will be retransmitted until acknowledged. When the other TCP has + both acknowledged the FIN and sent a FIN of its own, the first TCP + can ACK this FIN. Note that a TCP receiving a FIN will ACK but not + send its own FIN until its user has CLOSED the connection also. + + Case 2: TCP receives a FIN from the network + + If an unsolicited FIN arrives from the network, the receiving TCP + can ACK it and tell the user that the connection is closing. The + user will respond with a CLOSE, upon which the TCP can send a FIN to + the other TCP after sending any remaining data. The TCP then waits + until its own FIN is acknowledged whereupon it deletes the + connection. If an ACK is not forthcoming, after the user timeout + the connection is aborted and the user is told. + + Case 3: both users close simultaneously + + A simultaneous CLOSE by users at both ends of a connection causes + FIN segments to be exchanged. When all segments preceding the FINs + have been processed and acknowledged, each TCP can ACK the FIN it + has received. Both will, upon receiving these ACKs, delete the + connection. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 38] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. ESTABLISHED ESTABLISHED + + 2. (Close) + FIN-WAIT-1 --> <SEQ=100><ACK=300><CTL=FIN,ACK> --> CLOSE-WAIT + + 3. FIN-WAIT-2 <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=101><CTL=ACK> <-- CLOSE-WAIT + + 4. (Close) + TIME-WAIT <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=101><CTL=FIN,ACK> <-- LAST-ACK + + 5. TIME-WAIT --> <SEQ=101><ACK=301><CTL=ACK> --> CLOSED + + 6. (2 MSL) + CLOSED + + Normal Close Sequence + + Figure 13. + + + + TCP A TCP B + + 1. ESTABLISHED ESTABLISHED + + 2. (Close) (Close) + FIN-WAIT-1 --> <SEQ=100><ACK=300><CTL=FIN,ACK> ... FIN-WAIT-1 + <-- <SEQ=300><ACK=100><CTL=FIN,ACK> <-- + ... <SEQ=100><ACK=300><CTL=FIN,ACK> --> + + 3. CLOSING --> <SEQ=101><ACK=301><CTL=ACK> ... CLOSING + <-- <SEQ=301><ACK=101><CTL=ACK> <-- + ... <SEQ=101><ACK=301><CTL=ACK> --> + + 4. TIME-WAIT TIME-WAIT + (2 MSL) (2 MSL) + CLOSED CLOSED + + Simultaneous Close Sequence + + Figure 14. + + + + + + [Page 39] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + +3.6. Precedence and Security + + The intent is that connection be allowed only between ports operating + with exactly the same security and compartment values and at the + higher of the precedence level requested by the two ports. + + The precedence and security parameters used in TCP are exactly those + defined in the Internet Protocol (IP) [2]. Throughout this TCP + specification the term "security/compartment" is intended to indicate + the security parameters used in IP including security, compartment, + user group, and handling restriction. + + A connection attempt with mismatched security/compartment values or a + lower precedence value must be rejected by sending a reset. Rejecting + a connection due to too low a precedence only occurs after an + acknowledgment of the SYN has been received. + + Note that TCP modules which operate only at the default value of + precedence will still have to check the precedence of incoming + segments and possibly raise the precedence level they use on the + connection. + + The security paramaters may be used even in a non-secure environment + (the values would indicate unclassified data), thus hosts in + non-secure environments must be prepared to receive the security + parameters, though they need not send them. + +3.7. Data Communication + + Once the connection is established data is communicated by the + exchange of segments. Because segments may be lost due to errors + (checksum test failure), or network congestion, TCP uses + retransmission (after a timeout) to ensure delivery of every segment. + Duplicate segments may arrive due to network or TCP retransmission. + As discussed in the section on sequence numbers the TCP performs + certain tests on the sequence and acknowledgment numbers in the + segments to verify their acceptability. + + The sender of data keeps track of the next sequence number to use in + the variable SND.NXT. The receiver of data keeps track of the next + sequence number to expect in the variable RCV.NXT. The sender of data + keeps track of the oldest unacknowledged sequence number in the + variable SND.UNA. If the data flow is momentarily idle and all data + sent has been acknowledged then the three variables will be equal. + + When the sender creates a segment and transmits it the sender advances + SND.NXT. When the receiver accepts a segment it advances RCV.NXT and + sends an acknowledgment. When the data sender receives an + + +[Page 40] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + acknowledgment it advances SND.UNA. The extent to which the values of + these variables differ is a measure of the delay in the communication. + The amount by which the variables are advanced is the length of the + data in the segment. Note that once in the ESTABLISHED state all + segments must carry current acknowledgment information. + + The CLOSE user call implies a push function, as does the FIN control + flag in an incoming segment. + + Retransmission Timeout + + Because of the variability of the networks that compose an + internetwork system and the wide range of uses of TCP connections the + retransmission timeout must be dynamically determined. One procedure + for determining a retransmission time out is given here as an + illustration. + + An Example Retransmission Timeout Procedure + + Measure the elapsed time between sending a data octet with a + particular sequence number and receiving an acknowledgment that + covers that sequence number (segments sent do not have to match + segments received). This measured elapsed time is the Round Trip + Time (RTT). Next compute a Smoothed Round Trip Time (SRTT) as: + + SRTT = ( ALPHA * SRTT ) + ((1-ALPHA) * RTT) + + and based on this, compute the retransmission timeout (RTO) as: + + RTO = min[UBOUND,max[LBOUND,(BETA*SRTT)]] + + where UBOUND is an upper bound on the timeout (e.g., 1 minute), + LBOUND is a lower bound on the timeout (e.g., 1 second), ALPHA is + a smoothing factor (e.g., .8 to .9), and BETA is a delay variance + factor (e.g., 1.3 to 2.0). + + The Communication of Urgent Information + + The objective of the TCP urgent mechanism is to allow the sending user + to stimulate the receiving user to accept some urgent data and to + permit the receiving TCP to indicate to the receiving user when all + the currently known urgent data has been received by the user. + + This mechanism permits a point in the data stream to be designated as + the end of urgent information. Whenever this point is in advance of + the receive sequence number (RCV.NXT) at the receiving TCP, that TCP + must tell the user to go into "urgent mode"; when the receive sequence + number catches up to the urgent pointer, the TCP must tell user to go + + + [Page 41] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + into "normal mode". If the urgent pointer is updated while the user + is in "urgent mode", the update will be invisible to the user. + + The method employs a urgent field which is carried in all segments + transmitted. The URG control flag indicates that the urgent field is + meaningful and must be added to the segment sequence number to yield + the urgent pointer. The absence of this flag indicates that there is + no urgent data outstanding. + + To send an urgent indication the user must also send at least one data + octet. If the sending user also indicates a push, timely delivery of + the urgent information to the destination process is enhanced. + + Managing the Window + + The window sent in each segment indicates the range of sequence + numbers the sender of the window (the data receiver) is currently + prepared to accept. There is an assumption that this is related to + the currently available data buffer space available for this + connection. + + Indicating a large window encourages transmissions. If more data + arrives than can be accepted, it will be discarded. This will result + in excessive retransmissions, adding unnecessarily to the load on the + network and the TCPs. Indicating a small window may restrict the + transmission of data to the point of introducing a round trip delay + between each new segment transmitted. + + The mechanisms provided allow a TCP to advertise a large window and to + subsequently advertise a much smaller window without having accepted + that much data. This, so called "shrinking the window," is strongly + discouraged. The robustness principle dictates that TCPs will not + shrink the window themselves, but will be prepared for such behavior + on the part of other TCPs. + + The sending TCP must be prepared to accept from the user and send at + least one octet of new data even if the send window is zero. The + sending TCP must regularly retransmit to the receiving TCP even when + the window is zero. Two minutes is recommended for the retransmission + interval when the window is zero. This retransmission is essential to + guarantee that when either TCP has a zero window the re-opening of the + window will be reliably reported to the other. + + When the receiving TCP has a zero window and a segment arrives it must + still send an acknowledgment showing its next expected sequence number + and current window (zero). + + The sending TCP packages the data to be transmitted into segments + + +[Page 42] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + which fit the current window, and may repackage segments on the + retransmission queue. Such repackaging is not required, but may be + helpful. + + In a connection with a one-way data flow, the window information will + be carried in acknowledgment segments that all have the same sequence + number so there will be no way to reorder them if they arrive out of + order. This is not a serious problem, but it will allow the window + information to be on occasion temporarily based on old reports from + the data receiver. A refinement to avoid this problem is to act on + the window information from segments that carry the highest + acknowledgment number (that is segments with acknowledgment number + equal or greater than the highest previously received). + + The window management procedure has significant influence on the + communication performance. The following comments are suggestions to + implementers. + + Window Management Suggestions + + Allocating a very small window causes data to be transmitted in + many small segments when better performance is achieved using + fewer large segments. + + One suggestion for avoiding small windows is for the receiver to + defer updating a window until the additional allocation is at + least X percent of the maximum allocation possible for the + connection (where X might be 20 to 40). + + Another suggestion is for the sender to avoid sending small + segments by waiting until the window is large enough before + sending data. If the the user signals a push function then the + data must be sent even if it is a small segment. + + Note that the acknowledgments should not be delayed or unnecessary + retransmissions will result. One strategy would be to send an + acknowledgment when a small segment arrives (with out updating the + window information), and then to send another acknowledgment with + new window information when the window is larger. + + The segment sent to probe a zero window may also begin a break up + of transmitted data into smaller and smaller segments. If a + segment containing a single data octet sent to probe a zero window + is accepted, it consumes one octet of the window now available. + If the sending TCP simply sends as much as it can whenever the + window is non zero, the transmitted data will be broken into + alternating big and small segments. As time goes on, occasional + pauses in the receiver making window allocation available will + + + [Page 43] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + result in breaking the big segments into a small and not quite so + big pair. And after a while the data transmission will be in + mostly small segments. + + The suggestion here is that the TCP implementations need to + actively attempt to combine small window allocations into larger + windows, since the mechanisms for managing the window tend to lead + to many small windows in the simplest minded implementations. + +3.8. Interfaces + + There are of course two interfaces of concern: the user/TCP interface + and the TCP/lower-level interface. We have a fairly elaborate model + of the user/TCP interface, but the interface to the lower level + protocol module is left unspecified here, since it will be specified + in detail by the specification of the lowel level protocol. For the + case that the lower level is IP we note some of the parameter values + that TCPs might use. + + User/TCP Interface + + The following functional description of user commands to the TCP is, + at best, fictional, since every operating system will have different + facilities. Consequently, we must warn readers that different TCP + implementations may have different user interfaces. However, all + TCPs must provide a certain minimum set of services to guarantee + that all TCP implementations can support the same protocol + hierarchy. This section specifies the functional interfaces + required of all TCP implementations. + + TCP User Commands + + The following sections functionally characterize a USER/TCP + interface. The notation used is similar to most procedure or + function calls in high level languages, but this usage is not + meant to rule out trap type service calls (e.g., SVCs, UUOs, + EMTs). + + The user commands described below specify the basic functions the + TCP must perform to support interprocess communication. + Individual implementations must define their own exact format, and + may provide combinations or subsets of the basic functions in + single calls. In particular, some implementations may wish to + automatically OPEN a connection on the first SEND or RECEIVE + issued by the user for a given connection. + + + + + +[Page 44] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + In providing interprocess communication facilities, the TCP must + not only accept commands, but must also return information to the + processes it serves. The latter consists of: + + (a) general information about a connection (e.g., interrupts, + remote close, binding of unspecified foreign socket). + + (b) replies to specific user commands indicating success or + various types of failure. + + Open + + Format: OPEN (local port, foreign socket, active/passive + [, timeout] [, precedence] [, security/compartment] [, options]) + -> local connection name + + We assume that the local TCP is aware of the identity of the + processes it serves and will check the authority of the process + to use the connection specified. Depending upon the + implementation of the TCP, the local network and TCP identifiers + for the source address will either be supplied by the TCP or the + lower level protocol (e.g., IP). These considerations are the + result of concern about security, to the extent that no TCP be + able to masquerade as another one, and so on. Similarly, no + process can masquerade as another without the collusion of the + TCP. + + If the active/passive flag is set to passive, then this is a + call to LISTEN for an incoming connection. A passive open may + have either a fully specified foreign socket to wait for a + particular connection or an unspecified foreign socket to wait + for any call. A fully specified passive call can be made active + by the subsequent execution of a SEND. + + A transmission control block (TCB) is created and partially + filled in with data from the OPEN command parameters. + + On an active OPEN command, the TCP will begin the procedure to + synchronize (i.e., establish) the connection at once. + + The timeout, if present, permits the caller to set up a timeout + for all data submitted to TCP. If data is not successfully + delivered to the destination within the timeout period, the TCP + will abort the connection. The present global default is five + minutes. + + The TCP or some component of the operating system will verify + the users authority to open a connection with the specified + + + [Page 45] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + precedence or security/compartment. The absence of precedence + or security/compartment specification in the OPEN call indicates + the default values must be used. + + TCP will accept incoming requests as matching only if the + security/compartment information is exactly the same and only if + the precedence is equal to or higher than the precedence + requested in the OPEN call. + + The precedence for the connection is the higher of the values + requested in the OPEN call and received from the incoming + request, and fixed at that value for the life of the + connection.Implementers may want to give the user control of + this precedence negotiation. For example, the user might be + allowed to specify that the precedence must be exactly matched, + or that any attempt to raise the precedence be confirmed by the + user. + + A local connection name will be returned to the user by the TCP. + The local connection name can then be used as a short hand term + for the connection defined by the <local socket, foreign socket> + pair. + + Send + + Format: SEND (local connection name, buffer address, byte + count, PUSH flag, URGENT flag [,timeout]) + + This call causes the data contained in the indicated user buffer + to be sent on the indicated connection. If the connection has + not been opened, the SEND is considered an error. Some + implementations may allow users to SEND first; in which case, an + automatic OPEN would be done. If the calling process is not + authorized to use this connection, an error is returned. + + If the PUSH flag is set, the data must be transmitted promptly + to the receiver, and the PUSH bit will be set in the last TCP + segment created from the buffer. If the PUSH flag is not set, + the data may be combined with data from subsequent SENDs for + transmission efficiency. + + If the URGENT flag is set, segments sent to the destination TCP + will have the urgent pointer set. The receiving TCP will signal + the urgent condition to the receiving process if the urgent + pointer indicates that data preceding the urgent pointer has not + been consumed by the receiving process. The purpose of urgent + is to stimulate the receiver to process the urgent data and to + indicate to the receiver when all the currently known urgent + + +[Page 46] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + data has been received. The number of times the sending user's + TCP signals urgent will not necessarily be equal to the number + of times the receiving user will be notified of the presence of + urgent data. + + If no foreign socket was specified in the OPEN, but the + connection is established (e.g., because a LISTENing connection + has become specific due to a foreign segment arriving for the + local socket), then the designated buffer is sent to the implied + foreign socket. Users who make use of OPEN with an unspecified + foreign socket can make use of SEND without ever explicitly + knowing the foreign socket address. + + However, if a SEND is attempted before the foreign socket + becomes specified, an error will be returned. Users can use the + STATUS call to determine the status of the connection. In some + implementations the TCP may notify the user when an unspecified + socket is bound. + + If a timeout is specified, the current user timeout for this + connection is changed to the new one. + + In the simplest implementation, SEND would not return control to + the sending process until either the transmission was complete + or the timeout had been exceeded. However, this simple method + is both subject to deadlocks (for example, both sides of the + connection might try to do SENDs before doing any RECEIVEs) and + offers poor performance, so it is not recommended. A more + sophisticated implementation would return immediately to allow + the process to run concurrently with network I/O, and, + furthermore, to allow multiple SENDs to be in progress. + Multiple SENDs are served in first come, first served order, so + the TCP will queue those it cannot service immediately. + + We have implicitly assumed an asynchronous user interface in + which a SEND later elicits some kind of SIGNAL or + pseudo-interrupt from the serving TCP. An alternative is to + return a response immediately. For instance, SENDs might return + immediate local acknowledgment, even if the segment sent had not + been acknowledged by the distant TCP. We could optimistically + assume eventual success. If we are wrong, the connection will + close anyway due to the timeout. In implementations of this + kind (synchronous), there will still be some asynchronous + signals, but these will deal with the connection itself, and not + with specific segments or buffers. + + In order for the process to distinguish among error or success + indications for different SENDs, it might be appropriate for the + + + [Page 47] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + buffer address to be returned along with the coded response to + the SEND request. TCP-to-user signals are discussed below, + indicating the information which should be returned to the + calling process. + + Receive + + Format: RECEIVE (local connection name, buffer address, byte + count) -> byte count, urgent flag, push flag + + This command allocates a receiving buffer associated with the + specified connection. If no OPEN precedes this command or the + calling process is not authorized to use this connection, an + error is returned. + + In the simplest implementation, control would not return to the + calling program until either the buffer was filled, or some + error occurred, but this scheme is highly subject to deadlocks. + A more sophisticated implementation would permit several + RECEIVEs to be outstanding at once. These would be filled as + segments arrive. This strategy permits increased throughput at + the cost of a more elaborate scheme (possibly asynchronous) to + notify the calling program that a PUSH has been seen or a buffer + filled. + + If enough data arrive to fill the buffer before a PUSH is seen, + the PUSH flag will not be set in the response to the RECEIVE. + The buffer will be filled with as much data as it can hold. If + a PUSH is seen before the buffer is filled the buffer will be + returned partially filled and PUSH indicated. + + If there is urgent data the user will have been informed as soon + as it arrived via a TCP-to-user signal. The receiving user + should thus be in "urgent mode". If the URGENT flag is on, + additional urgent data remains. If the URGENT flag is off, this + call to RECEIVE has returned all the urgent data, and the user + may now leave "urgent mode". Note that data following the + urgent pointer (non-urgent data) cannot be delivered to the user + in the same buffer with preceeding urgent data unless the + boundary is clearly marked for the user. + + To distinguish among several outstanding RECEIVEs and to take + care of the case that a buffer is not completely filled, the + return code is accompanied by both a buffer pointer and a byte + count indicating the actual length of the data received. + + Alternative implementations of RECEIVE might have the TCP + + + +[Page 48] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + allocate buffer storage, or the TCP might share a ring buffer + with the user. + + Close + + Format: CLOSE (local connection name) + + This command causes the connection specified to be closed. If + the connection is not open or the calling process is not + authorized to use this connection, an error is returned. + Closing connections is intended to be a graceful operation in + the sense that outstanding SENDs will be transmitted (and + retransmitted), as flow control permits, until all have been + serviced. Thus, it should be acceptable to make several SEND + calls, followed by a CLOSE, and expect all the data to be sent + to the destination. It should also be clear that users should + continue to RECEIVE on CLOSING connections, since the other side + may be trying to transmit the last of its data. Thus, CLOSE + means "I have no more to send" but does not mean "I will not + receive any more." It may happen (if the user level protocol is + not well thought out) that the closing side is unable to get rid + of all its data before timing out. In this event, CLOSE turns + into ABORT, and the closing TCP gives up. + + The user may CLOSE the connection at any time on his own + initiative, or in response to various prompts from the TCP + (e.g., remote close executed, transmission timeout exceeded, + destination inaccessible). + + Because closing a connection requires communication with the + foreign TCP, connections may remain in the closing state for a + short time. Attempts to reopen the connection before the TCP + replies to the CLOSE command will result in error responses. + + Close also implies push function. + + Status + + Format: STATUS (local connection name) -> status data + + This is an implementation dependent user command and could be + excluded without adverse effect. Information returned would + typically come from the TCB associated with the connection. + + This command returns a data block containing the following + information: + + local socket, + + + [Page 49] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + + foreign socket, + local connection name, + receive window, + send window, + connection state, + number of buffers awaiting acknowledgment, + number of buffers pending receipt, + urgent state, + precedence, + security/compartment, + and transmission timeout. + + Depending on the state of the connection, or on the + implementation itself, some of this information may not be + available or meaningful. If the calling process is not + authorized to use this connection, an error is returned. This + prevents unauthorized processes from gaining information about a + connection. + + Abort + + Format: ABORT (local connection name) + + This command causes all pending SENDs and RECEIVES to be + aborted, the TCB to be removed, and a special RESET message to + be sent to the TCP on the other side of the connection. + Depending on the implementation, users may receive abort + indications for each outstanding SEND or RECEIVE, or may simply + receive an ABORT-acknowledgment. + + TCP-to-User Messages + + It is assumed that the operating system environment provides a + means for the TCP to asynchronously signal the user program. When + the TCP does signal a user program, certain information is passed + to the user. Often in the specification the information will be + an error message. In other cases there will be information + relating to the completion of processing a SEND or RECEIVE or + other user call. + + The following information is provided: + + Local Connection Name Always + Response String Always + Buffer Address Send & Receive + Byte count (counts bytes received) Receive + Push flag Receive + Urgent flag Receive + + +[Page 50] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + TCP/Lower-Level Interface + + The TCP calls on a lower level protocol module to actually send and + receive information over a network. One case is that of the ARPA + internetwork system where the lower level module is the Internet + Protocol (IP) [2]. + + If the lower level protocol is IP it provides arguments for a type + of service and for a time to live. TCP uses the following settings + for these parameters: + + Type of Service = Precedence: routine, Delay: normal, Throughput: + normal, Reliability: normal; or 00000000. + + Time to Live = one minute, or 00111100. + + Note that the assumed maximum segment lifetime is two minutes. + Here we explicitly ask that a segment be destroyed if it cannot + be delivered by the internet system within one minute. + + If the lower level is IP (or other protocol that provides this + feature) and source routing is used, the interface must allow the + route information to be communicated. This is especially important + so that the source and destination addresses used in the TCP + checksum be the originating source and ultimate destination. It is + also important to preserve the return route to answer connection + requests. + + Any lower level protocol will have to provide the source address, + destination address, and protocol fields, and some way to determine + the "TCP length", both to provide the functional equivlent service + of IP and to be used in the TCP checksum. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 51] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + + + +3.9. Event Processing + + The processing depicted in this section is an example of one possible + implementation. Other implementations may have slightly different + processing sequences, but they should differ from those in this + section only in detail, not in substance. + + The activity of the TCP can be characterized as responding to events. + The events that occur can be cast into three categories: user calls, + arriving segments, and timeouts. This section describes the + processing the TCP does in response to each of the events. In many + cases the processing required depends on the state of the connection. + + Events that occur: + + User Calls + + OPEN + SEND + RECEIVE + CLOSE + ABORT + STATUS + + Arriving Segments + + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + Timeouts + + USER TIMEOUT + RETRANSMISSION TIMEOUT + TIME-WAIT TIMEOUT + + The model of the TCP/user interface is that user commands receive an + immediate return and possibly a delayed response via an event or + pseudo interrupt. In the following descriptions, the term "signal" + means cause a delayed response. + + Error responses are given as character strings. For example, user + commands referencing connections that do not exist receive "error: + connection not open". + + Please note in the following that all arithmetic on sequence numbers, + acknowledgment numbers, windows, et cetera, is modulo 2**32 the size + of the sequence number space. Also note that "=<" means less than or + equal to (modulo 2**32). + + + +[Page 52] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification + + + + A natural way to think about processing incoming segments is to + imagine that they are first tested for proper sequence number (i.e., + that their contents lie in the range of the expected "receive window" + in the sequence number space) and then that they are generally queued + and processed in sequence number order. + + When a segment overlaps other already received segments we reconstruct + the segment to contain just the new data, and adjust the header fields + to be consistent. + + Note that if no state change is mentioned the TCP stays in the same + state. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 53] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + OPEN Call + + + + OPEN Call + + CLOSED STATE (i.e., TCB does not exist) + + Create a new transmission control block (TCB) to hold connection + state information. Fill in local socket identifier, foreign + socket, precedence, security/compartment, and user timeout + information. Note that some parts of the foreign socket may be + unspecified in a passive OPEN and are to be filled in by the + parameters of the incoming SYN segment. Verify the security and + precedence requested are allowed for this user, if not return + "error: precedence not allowed" or "error: security/compartment + not allowed." If passive enter the LISTEN state and return. If + active and the foreign socket is unspecified, return "error: + foreign socket unspecified"; if active and the foreign socket is + specified, issue a SYN segment. An initial send sequence number + (ISS) is selected. A SYN segment of the form <SEQ=ISS><CTL=SYN> + is sent. Set SND.UNA to ISS, SND.NXT to ISS+1, enter SYN-SENT + state, and return. + + If the caller does not have access to the local socket specified, + return "error: connection illegal for this process". If there is + no room to create a new connection, return "error: insufficient + resources". + + LISTEN STATE + + If active and the foreign socket is specified, then change the + connection from passive to active, select an ISS. Send a SYN + segment, set SND.UNA to ISS, SND.NXT to ISS+1. Enter SYN-SENT + state. Data associated with SEND may be sent with SYN segment or + queued for transmission after entering ESTABLISHED state. The + urgent bit if requested in the command must be sent with the data + segments sent as a result of this command. If there is no room to + queue the request, respond with "error: insufficient resources". + If Foreign socket was not specified, then return "error: foreign + socket unspecified". + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 54] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +OPEN Call + + + + SYN-SENT STATE + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Return "error: connection already exists". + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 55] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEND Call + + + + SEND Call + + CLOSED STATE (i.e., TCB does not exist) + + If the user does not have access to such a connection, then return + "error: connection illegal for this process". + + Otherwise, return "error: connection does not exist". + + LISTEN STATE + + If the foreign socket is specified, then change the connection + from passive to active, select an ISS. Send a SYN segment, set + SND.UNA to ISS, SND.NXT to ISS+1. Enter SYN-SENT state. Data + associated with SEND may be sent with SYN segment or queued for + transmission after entering ESTABLISHED state. The urgent bit if + requested in the command must be sent with the data segments sent + as a result of this command. If there is no room to queue the + request, respond with "error: insufficient resources". If + Foreign socket was not specified, then return "error: foreign + socket unspecified". + + SYN-SENT STATE + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + + Queue the data for transmission after entering ESTABLISHED state. + If no space to queue, respond with "error: insufficient + resources". + + ESTABLISHED STATE + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Segmentize the buffer and send it with a piggybacked + acknowledgment (acknowledgment value = RCV.NXT). If there is + insufficient space to remember this buffer, simply return "error: + insufficient resources". + + If the urgent flag is set, then SND.UP <- SND.NXT-1 and set the + urgent pointer in the outgoing segments. + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 56] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEND Call + + + + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Return "error: connection closing" and do not service request. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 57] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + RECEIVE Call + + + + RECEIVE Call + + CLOSED STATE (i.e., TCB does not exist) + + If the user does not have access to such a connection, return + "error: connection illegal for this process". + + Otherwise return "error: connection does not exist". + + LISTEN STATE + SYN-SENT STATE + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + + Queue for processing after entering ESTABLISHED state. If there + is no room to queue this request, respond with "error: + insufficient resources". + + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + If insufficient incoming segments are queued to satisfy the + request, queue the request. If there is no queue space to + remember the RECEIVE, respond with "error: insufficient + resources". + + Reassemble queued incoming segments into receive buffer and return + to user. Mark "push seen" (PUSH) if this is the case. + + If RCV.UP is in advance of the data currently being passed to the + user notify the user of the presence of urgent data. + + When the TCP takes responsibility for delivering data to the user + that fact must be communicated to the sender via an + acknowledgment. The formation of such an acknowledgment is + described below in the discussion of processing an incoming + segment. + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 58] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +RECEIVE Call + + + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Since the remote side has already sent FIN, RECEIVEs must be + satisfied by text already on hand, but not yet delivered to the + user. If no text is awaiting delivery, the RECEIVE will get a + "error: connection closing" response. Otherwise, any remaining + text can be used to satisfy the RECEIVE. + + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Return "error: connection closing". + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 59] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + CLOSE Call + + + + CLOSE Call + + CLOSED STATE (i.e., TCB does not exist) + + If the user does not have access to such a connection, return + "error: connection illegal for this process". + + Otherwise, return "error: connection does not exist". + + LISTEN STATE + + Any outstanding RECEIVEs are returned with "error: closing" + responses. Delete TCB, enter CLOSED state, and return. + + SYN-SENT STATE + + Delete the TCB and return "error: closing" responses to any + queued SENDs, or RECEIVEs. + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + + If no SENDs have been issued and there is no pending data to send, + then form a FIN segment and send it, and enter FIN-WAIT-1 state; + otherwise queue for processing after entering ESTABLISHED state. + + ESTABLISHED STATE + + Queue this until all preceding SENDs have been segmentized, then + form a FIN segment and send it. In any case, enter FIN-WAIT-1 + state. + + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + Strictly speaking, this is an error and should receive a "error: + connection closing" response. An "ok" response would be + acceptable, too, as long as a second FIN is not emitted (the first + FIN may be retransmitted though). + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 60] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +CLOSE Call + + + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Queue this request until all preceding SENDs have been + segmentized; then send a FIN segment, enter CLOSING state. + + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Respond with "error: connection closing". + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 61] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + ABORT Call + + + + ABORT Call + + CLOSED STATE (i.e., TCB does not exist) + + If the user should not have access to such a connection, return + "error: connection illegal for this process". + + Otherwise return "error: connection does not exist". + + LISTEN STATE + + Any outstanding RECEIVEs should be returned with "error: + connection reset" responses. Delete TCB, enter CLOSED state, and + return. + + SYN-SENT STATE + + All queued SENDs and RECEIVEs should be given "connection reset" + notification, delete the TCB, enter CLOSED state, and return. + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Send a reset segment: + + <SEQ=SND.NXT><CTL=RST> + + All queued SENDs and RECEIVEs should be given "connection reset" + notification; all segments queued for transmission (except for the + RST formed above) or retransmission should be flushed, delete the + TCB, enter CLOSED state, and return. + + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Respond with "ok" and delete the TCB, enter CLOSED state, and + return. + + + + + + + + +[Page 62] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +STATUS Call + + + + STATUS Call + + CLOSED STATE (i.e., TCB does not exist) + + If the user should not have access to such a connection, return + "error: connection illegal for this process". + + Otherwise return "error: connection does not exist". + + LISTEN STATE + + Return "state = LISTEN", and the TCB pointer. + + SYN-SENT STATE + + Return "state = SYN-SENT", and the TCB pointer. + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + + Return "state = SYN-RECEIVED", and the TCB pointer. + + ESTABLISHED STATE + + Return "state = ESTABLISHED", and the TCB pointer. + + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + + Return "state = FIN-WAIT-1", and the TCB pointer. + + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + Return "state = FIN-WAIT-2", and the TCB pointer. + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Return "state = CLOSE-WAIT", and the TCB pointer. + + CLOSING STATE + + Return "state = CLOSING", and the TCB pointer. + + LAST-ACK STATE + + Return "state = LAST-ACK", and the TCB pointer. + + + + + + [Page 63] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + STATUS Call + + + + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Return "state = TIME-WAIT", and the TCB pointer. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 64] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + If the state is CLOSED (i.e., TCB does not exist) then + + all data in the incoming segment is discarded. An incoming + segment containing a RST is discarded. An incoming segment not + containing a RST causes a RST to be sent in response. The + acknowledgment and sequence field values are selected to make the + reset sequence acceptable to the TCP that sent the offending + segment. + + If the ACK bit is off, sequence number zero is used, + + <SEQ=0><ACK=SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN><CTL=RST,ACK> + + If the ACK bit is on, + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + Return. + + If the state is LISTEN then + + first check for an RST + + An incoming RST should be ignored. Return. + + second check for an ACK + + Any acknowledgment is bad if it arrives on a connection still in + the LISTEN state. An acceptable reset segment should be formed + for any arriving ACK-bearing segment. The RST should be + formatted as follows: + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + Return. + + third check for a SYN + + If the SYN bit is set, check the security. If the + security/compartment on the incoming segment does not exactly + match the security/compartment in the TCB then send a reset and + return. + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + + + [Page 65] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + If the SEG.PRC is greater than the TCB.PRC then if allowed by + the user and the system set TCB.PRC<-SEG.PRC, if not allowed + send a reset and return. + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + If the SEG.PRC is less than the TCB.PRC then continue. + + Set RCV.NXT to SEG.SEQ+1, IRS is set to SEG.SEQ and any other + control or text should be queued for processing later. ISS + should be selected and a SYN segment sent of the form: + + <SEQ=ISS><ACK=RCV.NXT><CTL=SYN,ACK> + + SND.NXT is set to ISS+1 and SND.UNA to ISS. The connection + state should be changed to SYN-RECEIVED. Note that any other + incoming control or data (combined with SYN) will be processed + in the SYN-RECEIVED state, but processing of SYN and ACK should + not be repeated. If the listen was not fully specified (i.e., + the foreign socket was not fully specified), then the + unspecified fields should be filled in now. + + fourth other text or control + + Any other control or text-bearing segment (not containing SYN) + must have an ACK and thus would be discarded by the ACK + processing. An incoming RST segment could not be valid, since + it could not have been sent in response to anything sent by this + incarnation of the connection. So you are unlikely to get here, + but if you do, drop the segment, and return. + + If the state is SYN-SENT then + + first check the ACK bit + + If the ACK bit is set + + If SEG.ACK =< ISS, or SEG.ACK > SND.NXT, send a reset (unless + the RST bit is set, if so drop the segment and return) + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + and discard the segment. Return. + + If SND.UNA =< SEG.ACK =< SND.NXT then the ACK is acceptable. + + second check the RST bit + + +[Page 66] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + If the RST bit is set + + If the ACK was acceptable then signal the user "error: + connection reset", drop the segment, enter CLOSED state, + delete TCB, and return. Otherwise (no ACK) drop the segment + and return. + + third check the security and precedence + + If the security/compartment in the segment does not exactly + match the security/compartment in the TCB, send a reset + + If there is an ACK + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + Otherwise + + <SEQ=0><ACK=SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN><CTL=RST,ACK> + + If there is an ACK + + The precedence in the segment must match the precedence in the + TCB, if not, send a reset + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + If there is no ACK + + If the precedence in the segment is higher than the precedence + in the TCB then if allowed by the user and the system raise + the precedence in the TCB to that in the segment, if not + allowed to raise the prec then send a reset. + + <SEQ=0><ACK=SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN><CTL=RST,ACK> + + If the precedence in the segment is lower than the precedence + in the TCB continue. + + If a reset was sent, discard the segment and return. + + fourth check the SYN bit + + This step should be reached only if the ACK is ok, or there is + no ACK, and it the segment did not contain a RST. + + If the SYN bit is on and the security/compartment and precedence + + + [Page 67] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + are acceptable then, RCV.NXT is set to SEG.SEQ+1, IRS is set to + SEG.SEQ. SND.UNA should be advanced to equal SEG.ACK (if there + is an ACK), and any segments on the retransmission queue which + are thereby acknowledged should be removed. + + If SND.UNA > ISS (our SYN has been ACKed), change the connection + state to ESTABLISHED, form an ACK segment + + <SEQ=SND.NXT><ACK=RCV.NXT><CTL=ACK> + + and send it. Data or controls which were queued for + transmission may be included. If there are other controls or + text in the segment then continue processing at the sixth step + below where the URG bit is checked, otherwise return. + + Otherwise enter SYN-RECEIVED, form a SYN,ACK segment + + <SEQ=ISS><ACK=RCV.NXT><CTL=SYN,ACK> + + and send it. If there are other controls or text in the + segment, queue them for processing after the ESTABLISHED state + has been reached, return. + + fifth, if neither of the SYN or RST bits is set then drop the + segment and return. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 68] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + Otherwise, + + first check sequence number + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Segments are processed in sequence. Initial tests on arrival + are used to discard old duplicates, but further processing is + done in SEG.SEQ order. If a segment's contents straddle the + boundary between old and new, only the new parts should be + processed. + + There are four cases for the acceptability test for an incoming + segment: + + Segment Receive Test + Length Window + ------- ------- ------------------------------------------- + + 0 0 SEG.SEQ = RCV.NXT + + 0 >0 RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + + >0 0 not acceptable + + >0 >0 RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + or RCV.NXT =< SEG.SEQ+SEG.LEN-1 < RCV.NXT+RCV.WND + + If the RCV.WND is zero, no segments will be acceptable, but + special allowance should be made to accept valid ACKs, URGs and + RSTs. + + If an incoming segment is not acceptable, an acknowledgment + should be sent in reply (unless the RST bit is set, if so drop + the segment and return): + + <SEQ=SND.NXT><ACK=RCV.NXT><CTL=ACK> + + After sending the acknowledgment, drop the unacceptable segment + and return. + + + [Page 69] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + In the following it is assumed that the segment is the idealized + segment that begins at RCV.NXT and does not exceed the window. + One could tailor actual segments to fit this assumption by + trimming off any portions that lie outside the window (including + SYN and FIN), and only processing further if the segment then + begins at RCV.NXT. Segments with higher begining sequence + numbers may be held for later processing. + + second check the RST bit, + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + + If the RST bit is set + + If this connection was initiated with a passive OPEN (i.e., + came from the LISTEN state), then return this connection to + LISTEN state and return. The user need not be informed. If + this connection was initiated with an active OPEN (i.e., came + from SYN-SENT state) then the connection was refused, signal + the user "connection refused". In either case, all segments + on the retransmission queue should be removed. And in the + active OPEN case, enter the CLOSED state and delete the TCB, + and return. + + ESTABLISHED + FIN-WAIT-1 + FIN-WAIT-2 + CLOSE-WAIT + + If the RST bit is set then, any outstanding RECEIVEs and SEND + should receive "reset" responses. All segment queues should be + flushed. Users should also receive an unsolicited general + "connection reset" signal. Enter the CLOSED state, delete the + TCB, and return. + + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT + + If the RST bit is set then, enter the CLOSED state, delete the + TCB, and return. + + + + + + + + +[Page 70] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + third check security and precedence + + SYN-RECEIVED + + If the security/compartment and precedence in the segment do not + exactly match the security/compartment and precedence in the TCB + then send a reset, and return. + + ESTABLISHED STATE + + If the security/compartment and precedence in the segment do not + exactly match the security/compartment and precedence in the TCB + then send a reset, any outstanding RECEIVEs and SEND should + receive "reset" responses. All segment queues should be + flushed. Users should also receive an unsolicited general + "connection reset" signal. Enter the CLOSED state, delete the + TCB, and return. + + Note this check is placed following the sequence check to prevent + a segment from an old connection between these ports with a + different security or precedence from causing an abort of the + current connection. + + fourth, check the SYN bit, + + SYN-RECEIVED + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT STATE-1 + FIN-WAIT STATE-2 + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + If the SYN is in the window it is an error, send a reset, any + outstanding RECEIVEs and SEND should receive "reset" responses, + all segment queues should be flushed, the user should also + receive an unsolicited general "connection reset" signal, enter + the CLOSED state, delete the TCB, and return. + + If the SYN is not in the window this step would not be reached + and an ack would have been sent in the first step (sequence + number check). + + + + + + + [Page 71] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + fifth check the ACK field, + + if the ACK bit is off drop the segment and return + + if the ACK bit is on + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + + If SND.UNA =< SEG.ACK =< SND.NXT then enter ESTABLISHED state + and continue processing. + + If the segment acknowledgment is not acceptable, form a + reset segment, + + <SEQ=SEG.ACK><CTL=RST> + + and send it. + + ESTABLISHED STATE + + If SND.UNA < SEG.ACK =< SND.NXT then, set SND.UNA <- SEG.ACK. + Any segments on the retransmission queue which are thereby + entirely acknowledged are removed. Users should receive + positive acknowledgments for buffers which have been SENT and + fully acknowledged (i.e., SEND buffer should be returned with + "ok" response). If the ACK is a duplicate + (SEG.ACK < SND.UNA), it can be ignored. If the ACK acks + something not yet sent (SEG.ACK > SND.NXT) then send an ACK, + drop the segment, and return. + + If SND.UNA < SEG.ACK =< SND.NXT, the send window should be + updated. If (SND.WL1 < SEG.SEQ or (SND.WL1 = SEG.SEQ and + SND.WL2 =< SEG.ACK)), set SND.WND <- SEG.WND, set + SND.WL1 <- SEG.SEQ, and set SND.WL2 <- SEG.ACK. + + Note that SND.WND is an offset from SND.UNA, that SND.WL1 + records the sequence number of the last segment used to update + SND.WND, and that SND.WL2 records the acknowledgment number of + the last segment used to update SND.WND. The check here + prevents using old segments to update the window. + + + + + + + + + +[Page 72] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + + In addition to the processing for the ESTABLISHED state, if + our FIN is now acknowledged then enter FIN-WAIT-2 and continue + processing in that state. + + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + In addition to the processing for the ESTABLISHED state, if + the retransmission queue is empty, the user's CLOSE can be + acknowledged ("ok") but do not delete the TCB. + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Do the same processing as for the ESTABLISHED state. + + CLOSING STATE + + In addition to the processing for the ESTABLISHED state, if + the ACK acknowledges our FIN then enter the TIME-WAIT state, + otherwise ignore the segment. + + LAST-ACK STATE + + The only thing that can arrive in this state is an + acknowledgment of our FIN. If our FIN is now acknowledged, + delete the TCB, enter the CLOSED state, and return. + + TIME-WAIT STATE + + The only thing that can arrive in this state is a + retransmission of the remote FIN. Acknowledge it, and restart + the 2 MSL timeout. + + sixth, check the URG bit, + + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + If the URG bit is set, RCV.UP <- max(RCV.UP,SEG.UP), and signal + the user that the remote side has urgent data if the urgent + pointer (RCV.UP) is in advance of the data consumed. If the + user has already been signaled (or is still in the "urgent + mode") for this continuous sequence of urgent data, do not + signal the user again. + + + + [Page 73] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT + + This should not occur, since a FIN has been received from the + remote side. Ignore the URG. + + seventh, process the segment text, + + ESTABLISHED STATE + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + Once in the ESTABLISHED state, it is possible to deliver segment + text to user RECEIVE buffers. Text from segments can be moved + into buffers until either the buffer is full or the segment is + empty. If the segment empties and carries an PUSH flag, then + the user is informed, when the buffer is returned, that a PUSH + has been received. + + When the TCP takes responsibility for delivering the data to the + user it must also acknowledge the receipt of the data. + + Once the TCP takes responsibility for the data it advances + RCV.NXT over the data accepted, and adjusts RCV.WND as + apporopriate to the current buffer availability. The total of + RCV.NXT and RCV.WND should not be reduced. + + Please note the window management suggestions in section 3.7. + + Send an acknowledgment of the form: + + <SEQ=SND.NXT><ACK=RCV.NXT><CTL=ACK> + + This acknowledgment should be piggybacked on a segment being + transmitted if possible without incurring undue delay. + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 74] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + CLOSING STATE + LAST-ACK STATE + TIME-WAIT STATE + + This should not occur, since a FIN has been received from the + remote side. Ignore the segment text. + + eighth, check the FIN bit, + + Do not process the FIN if the state is CLOSED, LISTEN or SYN-SENT + since the SEG.SEQ cannot be validated; drop the segment and + return. + + If the FIN bit is set, signal the user "connection closing" and + return any pending RECEIVEs with same message, advance RCV.NXT + over the FIN, and send an acknowledgment for the FIN. Note that + FIN implies PUSH for any segment text not yet delivered to the + user. + + SYN-RECEIVED STATE + ESTABLISHED STATE + + Enter the CLOSE-WAIT state. + + FIN-WAIT-1 STATE + + If our FIN has been ACKed (perhaps in this segment), then + enter TIME-WAIT, start the time-wait timer, turn off the other + timers; otherwise enter the CLOSING state. + + FIN-WAIT-2 STATE + + Enter the TIME-WAIT state. Start the time-wait timer, turn + off the other timers. + + CLOSE-WAIT STATE + + Remain in the CLOSE-WAIT state. + + CLOSING STATE + + Remain in the CLOSING state. + + LAST-ACK STATE + + Remain in the LAST-ACK state. + + + [Page 75] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Functional Specification + SEGMENT ARRIVES + + + + TIME-WAIT STATE + + Remain in the TIME-WAIT state. Restart the 2 MSL time-wait + timeout. + + and return. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 76] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Functional Specification +USER TIMEOUT + + + + USER TIMEOUT + + For any state if the user timeout expires, flush all queues, signal + the user "error: connection aborted due to user timeout" in general + and for any outstanding calls, delete the TCB, enter the CLOSED + state and return. + + RETRANSMISSION TIMEOUT + + For any state if the retransmission timeout expires on a segment in + the retransmission queue, send the segment at the front of the + retransmission queue again, reinitialize the retransmission timer, + and return. + + TIME-WAIT TIMEOUT + + If the time-wait timeout expires on a connection delete the TCB, + enter the CLOSED state and return. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 77] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +[Page 78] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + + + + GLOSSARY + + + +1822 + BBN Report 1822, "The Specification of the Interconnection of + a Host and an IMP". The specification of interface between a + host and the ARPANET. + +ACK + A control bit (acknowledge) occupying no sequence space, which + indicates that the acknowledgment field of this segment + specifies the next sequence number the sender of this segment + is expecting to receive, hence acknowledging receipt of all + previous sequence numbers. + +ARPANET message + The unit of transmission between a host and an IMP in the + ARPANET. The maximum size is about 1012 octets (8096 bits). + +ARPANET packet + A unit of transmission used internally in the ARPANET between + IMPs. The maximum size is about 126 octets (1008 bits). + +connection + A logical communication path identified by a pair of sockets. + +datagram + A message sent in a packet switched computer communications + network. + +Destination Address + The destination address, usually the network and host + identifiers. + +FIN + A control bit (finis) occupying one sequence number, which + indicates that the sender will send no more data or control + occupying sequence space. + +fragment + A portion of a logical unit of data, in particular an internet + fragment is a portion of an internet datagram. + +FTP + A file transfer protocol. + + + + + + [Page 79] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Glossary + + + +header + Control information at the beginning of a message, segment, + fragment, packet or block of data. + +host + A computer. In particular a source or destination of messages + from the point of view of the communication network. + +Identification + An Internet Protocol field. This identifying value assigned + by the sender aids in assembling the fragments of a datagram. + +IMP + The Interface Message Processor, the packet switch of the + ARPANET. + +internet address + A source or destination address specific to the host level. + +internet datagram + The unit of data exchanged between an internet module and the + higher level protocol together with the internet header. + +internet fragment + A portion of the data of an internet datagram with an internet + header. + +IP + Internet Protocol. + +IRS + The Initial Receive Sequence number. The first sequence + number used by the sender on a connection. + +ISN + The Initial Sequence Number. The first sequence number used + on a connection, (either ISS or IRS). Selected on a clock + based procedure. + +ISS + The Initial Send Sequence number. The first sequence number + used by the sender on a connection. + +leader + Control information at the beginning of a message or block of + data. In particular, in the ARPANET, the control information + on an ARPANET message at the host-IMP interface. + + + +[Page 80] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Glossary + + + +left sequence + This is the next sequence number to be acknowledged by the + data receiving TCP (or the lowest currently unacknowledged + sequence number) and is sometimes referred to as the left edge + of the send window. + +local packet + The unit of transmission within a local network. + +module + An implementation, usually in software, of a protocol or other + procedure. + +MSL + Maximum Segment Lifetime, the time a TCP segment can exist in + the internetwork system. Arbitrarily defined to be 2 minutes. + +octet + An eight bit byte. + +Options + An Option field may contain several options, and each option + may be several octets in length. The options are used + primarily in testing situations; for example, to carry + timestamps. Both the Internet Protocol and TCP provide for + options fields. + +packet + A package of data with a header which may or may not be + logically complete. More often a physical packaging than a + logical packaging of data. + +port + The portion of a socket that specifies which logical input or + output channel of a process is associated with the data. + +process + A program in execution. A source or destination of data from + the point of view of the TCP or other host-to-host protocol. + +PUSH + A control bit occupying no sequence space, indicating that + this segment contains data that must be pushed through to the + receiving user. + +RCV.NXT + receive next sequence number + + + + [Page 81] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Glossary + + + +RCV.UP + receive urgent pointer + +RCV.WND + receive window + +receive next sequence number + This is the next sequence number the local TCP is expecting to + receive. + +receive window + This represents the sequence numbers the local (receiving) TCP + is willing to receive. Thus, the local TCP considers that + segments overlapping the range RCV.NXT to + RCV.NXT + RCV.WND - 1 carry acceptable data or control. + Segments containing sequence numbers entirely outside of this + range are considered duplicates and discarded. + +RST + A control bit (reset), occupying no sequence space, indicating + that the receiver should delete the connection without further + interaction. The receiver can determine, based on the + sequence number and acknowledgment fields of the incoming + segment, whether it should honor the reset command or ignore + it. In no case does receipt of a segment containing RST give + rise to a RST in response. + +RTP + Real Time Protocol: A host-to-host protocol for communication + of time critical information. + +SEG.ACK + segment acknowledgment + +SEG.LEN + segment length + +SEG.PRC + segment precedence value + +SEG.SEQ + segment sequence + +SEG.UP + segment urgent pointer field + + + + + +[Page 82] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + Glossary + + + +SEG.WND + segment window field + +segment + A logical unit of data, in particular a TCP segment is the + unit of data transfered between a pair of TCP modules. + +segment acknowledgment + The sequence number in the acknowledgment field of the + arriving segment. + +segment length + The amount of sequence number space occupied by a segment, + including any controls which occupy sequence space. + +segment sequence + The number in the sequence field of the arriving segment. + +send sequence + This is the next sequence number the local (sending) TCP will + use on the connection. It is initially selected from an + initial sequence number curve (ISN) and is incremented for + each octet of data or sequenced control transmitted. + +send window + This represents the sequence numbers which the remote + (receiving) TCP is willing to receive. It is the value of the + window field specified in segments from the remote (data + receiving) TCP. The range of new sequence numbers which may + be emitted by a TCP lies between SND.NXT and + SND.UNA + SND.WND - 1. (Retransmissions of sequence numbers + between SND.UNA and SND.NXT are expected, of course.) + +SND.NXT + send sequence + +SND.UNA + left sequence + +SND.UP + send urgent pointer + +SND.WL1 + segment sequence number at last window update + +SND.WL2 + segment acknowledgment number at last window update + + + + [Page 83] + + + September 1981 +Transmission Control Protocol +Glossary + + + +SND.WND + send window + +socket + An address which specifically includes a port identifier, that + is, the concatenation of an Internet Address with a TCP port. + +Source Address + The source address, usually the network and host identifiers. + +SYN + A control bit in the incoming segment, occupying one sequence + number, used at the initiation of a connection, to indicate + where the sequence numbering will start. + +TCB + Transmission control block, the data structure that records + the state of a connection. + +TCB.PRC + The precedence of the connection. + +TCP + Transmission Control Protocol: A host-to-host protocol for + reliable communication in internetwork environments. + +TOS + Type of Service, an Internet Protocol field. + +Type of Service + An Internet Protocol field which indicates the type of service + for this internet fragment. + +URG + A control bit (urgent), occupying no sequence space, used to + indicate that the receiving user should be notified to do + urgent processing as long as there is data to be consumed with + sequence numbers less than the value indicated in the urgent + pointer. + +urgent pointer + A control field meaningful only when the URG bit is on. This + field communicates the value of the urgent pointer which + indicates the data octet associated with the sending user's + urgent call. + + + + + +[Page 84] + + +September 1981 + Transmission Control Protocol + + + + REFERENCES + + + +[1] Cerf, V., and R. Kahn, "A Protocol for Packet Network + Intercommunication", IEEE Transactions on Communications, + Vol. COM-22, No. 5, pp 637-648, May 1974. + +[2] Postel, J. (ed.), "Internet Protocol - DARPA Internet Program + Protocol Specification", RFC 791, USC/Information Sciences + Institute, September 1981. + +[3] Dalal, Y. and C. Sunshine, "Connection Management in Transport + Protocols", Computer Networks, Vol. 2, No. 6, pp. 454-473, + December 1978. + +[4] Postel, J., "Assigned Numbers", RFC 790, USC/Information Sciences + Institute, September 1981. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 85] + |