Networking Fundamentals - Class Notes
Course: CS 101 - Introduction to Networking
Instructor: Prof. Davis
Date: November 2, 2023
Topic: Transport Layer Deep Dive - TCP & UDP
1. The Role of the Transport Layer (Layer 4)
Primary Goal: Provide logical communication between application
processes running on different hosts.
Key Responsibilities:
Process-to-Process Delivery: Using port numbers to multiplex/demultiplex
data to the correct application.
Connection Management (TCP): Establishing and terminating sessions.
Reliability (TCP): Ensuring data arrives completely and correctly.
Flow Control: Managing the rate of data transmission to prevent
overwhelming the receiver.
Congestion Control: Managing the rate of data transmission to prevent
overwhelming the network.
2. Socket Address: The Full Destination
A network communication is defined by a combination of two addresses:
Socket Address = IP Address + Port Number
Example: 192.168.1.100:80 -> The web server process on a specific host.
3. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - The Reliable Protocol
Core Characteristics: Connection-oriented, reliable, byte-stream delivery.
A. The TCP Segment Header (Key Fields)
Field Purpose
Source Port The port number of the sending application.
Destination Port The port number of the target application.
Sequence Number Identifies the byte order of the data sent.
Acknowledgment Number Confirms receipt of data; tells sender the
next byte expected.
Control Flags SYN - Synchronize (Initiate connection)
ACK - Acknowledgment
FIN - Finish (Terminate connection)
RST - Reset (Abort connection)
PSH - Push (Send data immediately)
URG - Urgent
Window Size Advertises the receiver's available buffer space for Flow
Control.
B. The TCP Connection Lifecycle
Connection Establishment - Three-Way Handshake
Client --> Server: SYN (Seq = x)
Server --> Client: SYN-ACK (Seq = y, Ack = x+1)
Client --> Server: ACK (Seq = x+1, Ack = y+1)
Connection is now established. Data can be transferred.
Data Transfer (with Reliability)
Acknowledgment: For every segment (or group of segments) received, the
sender must get an ACK packet back.
Retransmission Timer: If an ACK is not received before the timer expires,
the sender assumes the segment was lost and retransmits it.
Connection Termination - Four-Way Handshake
Client --> Server: FIN (Seq = x)
Server --> Client: ACK (Ack = x+1)
Server --> Client: FIN (Seq = y)
Client --> Server: ACK (Ack = y+1)
Connection is now fully closed.
C. Flow Control vs. Congestion Control
Feature Flow Control Congestion Control
Purpose Prevent the receiver from being overwhelmed. Prevent the
network from being overwhelmed.
Mechanism Receiver Window (rwnd). The receiver advertises its free
buffer space in the TCP header. The sender cannot send more data than
the window allows. Congestion Window (cwnd). The sender's estimate
of how much data the network can handle. Dynamically adjusted based on
packet loss (the main signal of congestion).
Who it Protects The Receiving Host The Network Infrastructure
(routers, links)
The sender's actual sending window is the minimum of the receiver's
window (rwnd) and the congestion window (cwnd).
4. UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - The Simple Protocol
Core Characteristics: Connectionless, unreliable, message-based delivery.
The UDP Datagram Header
Only 4 fields: Source Port, Destination Port, Length, Checksum.
No sequence numbers, acknowledgment numbers, or flags.
No handshaking for connection setup/teardown.
When to Use UDP:
Speed is Critical: Real-time applications can't afford retransmission delays
(e.g., VoIP, live video streaming, online games). A lost packet is simply
skipped.
Simple Query/Response: DNS lookups. The request is small, and if the
response is lost, the client can just retry the query.
Protocol Efficiency: Protocols like DHCP and TFTP are built on UDP for
simplicity and low overhead.
Multicast/Broadcast: TCP only handles one-to-one (unicast)
communication. UDP can send to multiple hosts.
5. TCP vs. UDP Summary Table
Feature TCP UDP
Connection Connection-oriented Connectionless
Reliability Reliable (ACKs, Retransmissions) Unreliable (Best-effort
delivery)
Ordering Guaranteed in-order delivery No ordering guarantees
Overhead High (header size, control traffic) Very Low (8-byte header)
Speed Slower due to handshakes & control Faster
Data Flow Byte stream Message (datagram) boundaries preserved
Use Cases Web, Email, File Transfers Video, Voice, DNS, Games
Key Takeaway: The choice between TCP and UDP is a fundamental design
decision. **Choose TCP for reliability and data integrity. Choose UDP for
speed, simplicity, and real-time applications where timeliness is more
important than perfect data
