Question

TCP's simultaneous open feature is seldom used. (a) Propose a change to TCP in which this is disallowed. Indicate what changes would be made in the state diagram (and if necessary in the undiagrammed event responses). (b) Could TCP reasonably disallow simultaneous close? (c) Propose a change to TCP in which simultaneous SYNs exchanged by two hosts lead to two separate connections. Indicate what state diagram changes this entails, and also what header changes become necessary. Note that this now means that more than one connection can exist over a given pair of \langlehost, port)s. (You might also look up the first "Discussion" item on page 87 of Request for Comments \(1122 .\) )

Short answer

Disallow simultaneous open by aborting on SYN receipt in SYN-SENT state. Do not disallow simultaneous close. Allow simultaneous SYNs to create separate connections by adjusting the state diagram and TCP headers for unique identification.

Step-by-step solution

- Disallow Simultaneous Open

To disallow simultaneous open in TCP, modify the TCP state diagram to ensure that when a SYN is received while in the SYN-SENT state, the connection is aborted or reset instead of moving to the SYN-RECEIVED state. This prevents the simultaneous open scenario where both endpoints attempt to open a connection at the same time.

- Reasoning for Disallowing Simultaneous Close

Disallowing simultaneous close in TCP wouldn't be practical as it is a natural way for both sides to finish sending and to terminate the connection gracefully. Simultaneous FINs lead to the TIME-WAIT state ensuring any lost segments in the network are managed correctly. Therefore, simultaneous close should be allowed.

- Allowing Separate Connections for Simultaneous SYNs

To allow two simultaneous SYNs to lead to two separate connections, change the state diagram to allow a transition such that separate connections can be maintained when SYNs are received simultaneously. This requires each connection between two hosts to be uniquely identified, necessitating changes to the TCP header to include a connection identifier or extended addressing scheme to manage more than one connection between the same pair of host-port sets.

Key concepts

TCP state diagram

The TCP state diagram is crucial for understanding how connections progress through various states from initiation to termination. It visually represents the transitions between different states such as LISTEN, SYN-SENT, SYN-RECEIVED, ESTABLISHED, FIN-WAIT-1, FIN-WAIT-2, TIME-WAIT, and CLOSED. By modifying this diagram, we can control how TCP handles different scenarios.
For instance, to disallow simultaneous open, when a SYN is received in the SYN-SENT state, the state should transition to an aborted or reset state instead of SYN-RECEIVED. This ensures that both ends do not try to establish the connection concurrently, thereby avoiding conflicting states.

simultaneous open

A simultaneous open occurs when two devices send SYN packets simultaneously, attempting to establish a connection at the same time. This is rare but allowed by standard TCP. However, we can adjust this behavior by changing the TCP state diagram.
Instead of transitioning to SYN-RECEIVED when SYN packets meet in the SYN-SENT state, the connection can be aborted or reset. This change helps to eliminate the ambiguity of state transitions and ensures clear connection paths, avoiding the simultaneous open situation.
Practically, this means updating the state diagram to reflect that any incoming SYN in the SYN-SENT state results in an aborted connection, maintaining a straightforward and unambiguous state flow.

simultaneous close

Simultaneous close happens when both sides of a TCP connection send a FIN packet at nearly the same time. This mechanism helps both parties to agree on closing the connection gracefully.
This process is useful because it leads the connection to progress into the TIME-WAIT state, ensuring any last segments in the network are properly managed before finally closing. Disallowing simultaneous close would undermine the reliability of connection termination in TCP.
Simultaneous close should be maintained in current TCP implementations as it ensures a more robust and error-tolerant closure method.

connection management

Managing TCP connections involves state transitions, the exchange of packets, and proper termination to ensure data integrity and network efficiency. The key processes include three-way handshake for connection establishment and four-way handshake for termination.
The three-way handshake involves SYN, SYN-ACK, and ACK packets, ensuring both ends synchronize and acknowledge the connection. For termination, the four-way handshake uses FIN and ACK packets from both sides to close the connection properly.
Effective connection management ensures reliable data transfer and stable network communications, especially crucial for maintaining multiple connections simultaneously.

TCP header modifications

Modifying TCP's behavior like handling simultaneous SYNs to allow separate connections requires changes to the TCP header. The original TCP header doesn't support multiple connections between the same host-port pairs.
To achieve this, we might introduce a unique connection identifier in TCP headers, helping manage multiple connections by distinguishing each one uniquely even between the same sets of host and port.
This change ensures each concurrent connection is properly isolated and identifiable, reducing ambiguity and enhancing TCP's capability to handle more complex networking scenarios.