Wednesday, June 22, 2011

TCP 4-times close

TCP 4-times close


TCP close diagram.png
1. Client send finish datagram to the server, indicated that client will close the transmission from client to server. This is called active close. (FIN=1, seq=u)
2. Server acknowledged the FIN datagram. (ACK=1, seq=v, ack=u+1)
3. Server contiues to transmit, if the server finishs the transmission it will close transmission from server to client. This is called passive close.(FIN=1, ACK=1, seq=w, ack=u+1)
4. Client acknowledged the FIN datagram to the server.[1] (ACK=1, seq=u+1, ack=w+1) 

Capture Example

4 times close.pcap



[1]. After the ACK send, the client will not release the resource immediately, it will turn into TIME-WAIT status and wait 2-MSL (Maximum Segment Lifetime) time to release resource.

TCP 3-way handshake

TCP 3-way handshake


We assume that both host (A) and server (B) side start from CLOSED status.
http://www.netpro360.com/_images/Three_way_handshake.png
1. The server process create a TCB [1] and use TCB prepares to accept the host's request. After TCB born the server change status to LISTEN.
2. The host does the same thing, create a TCB and use this TCB to send request, set the "SYN=1" in the request header, and initates a arbitrary sequence number, seq=x. SYN paccket (which means SYN=1) can not take any data content, but it will consume a sequence number. After request sent, the host goes into SYN-SENT status.
3. After receiving the host's request:
  • i. If the server accept to this connection, it will send back a confirm response. In the response both SYN and ACK bits should be '1', and server side also initiates a SEQ number, seq=y. The server will send its sequence number within packet which is used to be acknowledged to the clinet's SYN packet. This packet can not take any data content either, but it consumes a sequence number. So in this packet seq=y, ack=x+1. And the server goes into SYN-RCVD status.
  • ii. If the server rejects the connection, it just responses a RST packet to reset the connection.
4. After the host received the server's response, it will send back also a confirm packet with ACK bit sets to '1' and seq=x+1, ack=y+1. [2]
After that, both side gose into ESTABLISHED status. This is what we called three-way handshake.


Capture Example


[1]. TCB---Transmission Control Block, something like PCB, it stores some significant info like, TCP connectio table, the pointer for the sending and receiving buffer, retransmission queue pointer, the current sequence number and acknowledge number and ext.
[2]. ACK packet could take data content, if not, this packet will not consume SYN number. So the sequence number of the confirm packet is seq=x+1. But in practice, at times, TCP 3-way handshake not only just initiates the connection, but also negotiate some very important parameters. MSS (maximum segment size) negotiation occurs in this steps.