Comment on RFC 793

RFC 793 - Transmission Control Protocol

Search the Archives

Display RFC by number

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 
 
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. 
 

Comment on RFC 793