How TCP Establishes A Connection

TCP Is a Connection-Oriented Protocol

TCP opens up a virtual connection between the client and server programs running on separate computers so that multiple and/or sporadic streams of data can be sent over an indefinite period of time between them. TCP keeps track of the packets sent by giving each one a sequence number with the remote server sending back acknowledgment packets confirming correct delivery. Programs that use TCP therefore have a means of detecting connection failures and requesting the retransmission of missing packets. TCP is a good example of a connection-oriented protocol.

How TCP Establishes A Connection

Any form of communication requires some form of acknowledgement for it to become meaningful. Someone knocks on the door to a house, the person inside asks "Who is it?", to which the visitor replies, "It's me!" Then the door opens. Both persons knew who was on the other side of the door before it opened and now a conversation can now begin.

TCP acts in a similar way. The server initiating the connection sends a segment with the SYN bit set in TCP header. The target replies with a segment with the SYN and ACK bits set, to which the originating server replies with a segment with the ACK bit set. This SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK mechanism is often called the "three-way handshake".

The communication then continues with a series of segment exchanges, each with the ACK bit set. When one of the servers needs to end the communication, it sends a segment to the other with the FIN and ACK bits set, to which the other server also replies with a FIN-ACK segment also. The communication terminates with a final ACK from the server that wanted to end the session.

This is the equivalent of ending a conversation by saying "I really have to go now, I have to go for lunch", to which the reply is "I think I'm finished here too, see you tomorrow..." The conversation ends with a final "bye" from the hungry person.

 

You can clearly see the three way handshake to connect and disconnect the session.

hostA -> hostB TCP 1443 > http [SYN] Seq=9766 Ack=0 Win=5840 Len=0 hostB -> hostA TCP http > 1443 [SYN, ACK] Seq=8404 Ack=9767 Win=5792 Len=0 hostA -> hostB TCP 1443 > http [ACK] Seq=9767 Ack=8405 Win=5840 Len=0 hostA -> hostB HTTP HEAD/HTTP/1.1 hostB -> hostA TCP http > 1443 [ACK] Seq=8405 Ack=9985 Win=54 Len=0 hostB -> hostA HTTP HTTP/1.1 200 OK hostA -> hostB TCP 1443 > http [ACK] Seq=9985 Ack=8672 Win=6432 Len=0 hostB -> hostA TCP http > 1443 [FIN, ACK] Seq=8672 Ack=9985 Win=54 Len=0 hostA -> hostB TCP 1443 > http [FIN, ACK] Seq=9985 Ack=8673 Win=6432 Len=0 hostB -> hostA TCP http > 1443 [ACK] Seq=8673 Ack=9986 Win=54

In this trace, the sequence number represents the serial number of the first byte of data in the segment. So in the first line, a random value of 9766 was assigned to the first byte and all subsequent bytes for the connection from this host will be sequentially tracked. This makes the second byte in the segment number 9767, the third number 9768 etc. The acknowledgment number or Ack, not to be confused with the ACK bit, is the byte serial number of the next segment it expects to receive from the other end, and the total number of bytes cannot exceed the Win or window value that follows it. If data isn't received correctly, the receiver will re-send the requesting segment asking for the information to be sent again. The TCP code keeps track of all this along with the source and destination ports and IP addresses to ensure that each unique connection is serviced correctly.