(TCP Full Form: What is Full Form of TCP?)
TCP Full Form is “Transmission Control Protocol“. It is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol (IP) suite, which is used to establish and maintain a reliable connection between two devices communicating over a network. In this article, we will discuss the full form of TCP, its functions, and the way it works in detail.
1-What is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)?
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a connection-oriented protocol that provides reliable, ordered delivery of data between devices on a network. It is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol (IP) suite, along with the Internet Protocol (IP) itself and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). TCP is a transport layer protocol, which means it sits between the application layer and the network layer in the OSI model.
2-How Does TCP Work?
TCP works by establishing a virtual connection between two devices on a network. This connection is made up of two “endpoints,” which are the IP addresses and port numbers of the devices that are communicating. Once a connection is established, the two devices can then exchange data in a reliable, ordered manner.
When a device sends data over a TCP connection, it is broken up into smaller packets called segments. Each segment contains a header that includes information such as the source and destination IP addresses and port numbers, as well as a sequence number and an acknowledgement number. The data payload of the segment is also included.
The receiving device then acknowledges the receipt of each segment by sending an acknowledgement packet back to the sender. This acknowledgement packet contains the acknowledgement number, which is used to confirm that the receiving device has received the segment. The sender keeps track of which segments have been acknowledged and resends any segments that have not been acknowledged.
3-What are the Functions of TCP?
TCP has several important functions that help to ensure the reliable delivery of data between devices on a network. These functions include:
- Connection Establishment: TCP establishes a virtual connection between two devices by exchanging a series of control packets. This connection is made up of two “endpoints,” which are the IP addresses and port numbers of the devices that are communicating.
- Flow Control: TCP uses a sliding window mechanism to ensure that the sender does not overwhelm the receiver with too much data. The sender starts by sending a small amount of data, and the receiver acknowledges the receipt of each segment. As the receiver acknowledges more segments, the sender can send more data.
- Error Checking: TCP includes a checksum in each segment to ensure that the data has not been corrupted in transit. If the receiver detects an error in a segment, it discards the segment and requests that it be resent.
- Congestion Control: TCP uses a mechanism called slow start to prevent network congestion. When a new connection is established, the sender starts by sending a small amount of data, and gradually increases the amount of data it sends as the receiver acknowledges receipt of the segments. This helps to prevent the sender from overwhelming the network with too much data.
- Reliable Data Transfer: Once the virtual connection is established, TCP ensures the reliable delivery of data by resending any segments that are not acknowledged by the receiver. This helps to ensure that all data is delivered to the receiver and in the order it was sent.
4-Advantages of TCP
Orderly Data Delivery:
TCP ensures that the data is delivered to the receiver in the order it was sent. This is important for applications such as file transfer, email, and web browsing, where the data needs to be received in a specific order.
Error Detection:
TCP includes a checksum in each segment to ensure that the data has not been corrupted in transit. This helps to detect and correct errors, which improves the reliability of the data transfer.
Flow Control:
TCP uses a sliding window mechanism to ensure that the sender does not overwhelm the receiver with too much data. This helps to prevent network congestion and ensures that the data transfer is efficient.
Congestion Control:
TCP uses a mechanism called slow start to prevent network congestion. This helps to ensure that the network is not overwhelmed with too much data, which improves the overall performance of the network.
Connection-oriented:
TCP is a connection-oriented protocol, which means it establishes a virtual connection between two devices before data transfer can begin. This ensures that the devices are communicating with the correct device and helps to prevent unauthorized access.
Compatibility:
TCP is widely used and supported by a wide range of devices and operating systems, which makes it a highly compatible protocol. This makes it easy to establish connections between different types of devices and networks.
Conclusion:
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a reliable, connection-oriented protocol that provides orderly delivery of data between devices on a network. It has several important functions such as error detection, flow control, congestion control, and reliable data transfer. Its advantages include reliability, orderly delivery, error detection, flow control, congestion control, connection-oriented and compatibility.