Computer Networks (CS425)

Instructor: Dr. Dheeraj Sanghi

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Transport Layer Protocol (continued)

TCP connection is a duplex connection. That means there is no difference between two sides once the connection is established.
Salient Features of TCP

TCP segment header:

Explanation of header fields:

Topics to be Discussed relating TCP

  1. Maximum Segment Size : It refers to the maximum size of segment ( MSS ) that is acceptable to both ends of the connection. TCP negotiates for MSS using OPTION field. In Internet environment MSS is to be selected optimally. An arbitrarily small segment size will result in poor bandwith utilization since Data to Overhead ratio remains low. On the other hand extremely large segment size will necessitate large IP Datagrams which require fragmentation. As there are finite chances of a fragment getting lost, segment size above "fragmentation threshold " decrease the Throughput. Theoretically an optimum segment size is the size that results in largest IP Datagram, which do not require fragmentation anywhere enroute from source to destination. However it is very difficult to find such an optimum segmet size. In system V a simple technique is used to identify MSS. If H1 and H2 are on the same network use MSS=1024. If on different networks then MSS=5000.
  2. Flow Control : TCP uses Sliding Window mechanism at octet level. The window size can be variable over time. This is achieved by utilizing the concept of "Window Advertisement" based on :
    1. Buffer availabilty at the receiver
    2. Network conditions ( traffic load etc.)
    In the former case receiver varies its window size depending upon the space available in its buffers. The window is referred as RECEIVE WINDOW (Recv_Win). When receiver buffer begin to fill it advertises a small Recv_Win so that the sender does'nt send more data than it can accept. If all buffers are full receiver sends a "Zero" size advertisement. It stops all transmission. When buffers become available receiver advertises a Non Zero widow to resume retransmission. The sender also periodically probes the "Zero" window to avoid any deadlock if the Non Zero Window advertisement from receiver is lost. The Variable size Recv_Win provides efficient end to end flow control.
    The second case arises when some intermediate node ( e.g. a router ) controls the source to reduce transmission rate. Here another window referred as COGESTION WINDOW (C_Win) is utilized. Advertisement of C_Win helps to check and avoid congestion.
  3. Congestion Control : Congestion is a condition of severe delay caused by an overload of datagrams at any intermediate node on the Internet. If unchecked it may feed on itself and finally the node may start dropping arriving datagrams.This can further aggravate congestion in the network resulting in congestion collapse. TCP uses two techniques to check congestion.
    1. Slow Start : At the time of start of a connection no information about network conditios is available. A Recv_Win size can be agreed upon however C_Win size is not known. Any arbitrary C_Win size can not be used because it may lead to congestion. TCP acts as if the window size is equal to the minimum of ( Recv_Win & C_Win). So following algorithm is used.
      1. Recv_Win=X
      2. SET C_Win=1
      3. for every ACK received C_Win++
    2. Multiplicative decrease : This scheme is used when congestion is encountered ( ie. when a segment is lost ). It works as follows. Reduce the congestion window by half if a segment is lost and exponentially backoff the timer ( double it ) for the segments within the reduced window. If the next segment also gets lost continue the above process. For successive losses this scheme reduces traffic into the connection exponentially thus allowing the intermediate nodes to clear their queues. Once congestion ends SLOW START is used to scale up the transmission.
  4. Congestion Avoidance : This procedure is used at the onset of congestion to minimize its effect on the network. When transmission is to be scaled up it should be done in such a way that it does'nt lead to congestion again. Following algorithm is used .
    1. At loss of a segment SET C_Win=1
    2. SET SLOW START THRESHOLD (SST) = Send_Win / 2
    3. Send segment
    4. If ACK Received, C_Win++ till C_Win <= SST
    5. else for each ACK C_Win += 1 / C_Win
  5. Time out and Retransmission : Following two schemes are used :
    1. Fast Retransmit
    2. Fast Recovery
    When a source sends a segment TCP sets a timer. If this value is set too low it will result in many unnecessary treransmissions. If set too high it results in wastage of banwidth and hence lower throughput. In Fast Retransmit scheme the timer value is set fairly higher than the RTT. The sender can therefore detect segment loss before the timer expires. This scheme presumes that the sender will get repeated ACK for a lost packet.
  6. Round Trip Time (RTT) : In Internet environment the segments may travel across different intermediate networks and through multiple routers. The networks and routers may have different delays, which may vary over time. The RTT therefore is also variable. It makes difficult to set timers. TCP allows varying timers by using an adaptive retransmission algorithm. It works as follows.
    1. Note the time (t1) when a segment is sent and the time (t2) when its ACK is received.
    2. Compute RTT(sample) = (t 2 - t 1 )
    3. Again Compute RTT(new) for next segment.
    4. Compute Average RTT by weighted average of old and new values of RTT
    5. RTT(est) = a *RTT(old) + (1-a) * RTT (new) where 0 < a < 1
      A high value of 'a' makes the estimated RTT insensitive to changes that last for a short time and RTT relies on the history of the network. A low value makes it sensitive to current state of the network. A typical value of 'a' is 0.75
    6. Compute Time Out = b * RTT(est) where b> 1
      A low value of 'b' will ensure quick detection of a packet loss. Any small delay will however cause unnecessary retransmission. A typical value of 'b' is kept at .2

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