2.14 Summary

UDP is a simple, unreliable, connectionless protocol, while TCP is a complex, reliable, connection-oriented protocol. SCTP combines some of the features of both protocols, providing additional features beyond those found in TCP. While most applications on the Internet use TCP (the Web, Telnet, FTP, and email), there is a need for all three transport layers. In Section 22.4, we will discuss the reasons to choose UDP instead of TCP. In Section 23.12, we will discuss the reasons to choose SCTP instead of TCP.

TCP establishes connections using a three-way handshake and terminates connections using a four-packet exchange. When a TCP connection is established, it goes from the CLOSED state to the ESTABLISHED state, and when it is terminated, it goes back to the CLOSED state. There are 11 states in which a TCP connection can be, and a state transition diagram gives the rules on how to go between the states. Understanding this diagram is essential to diagnosing problems using the netstat command and understanding what happens when an application calls functions such as connect, accept, and close.

TCP's TIME_WAIT state is a continual source of confusion with network programmers. This state exists to implement TCP's full-duplex connection termination (i.e., to handle the case of the final ACK being lost), and to allow old duplicate segments to expire in the network.

SCTP establishes an association by using a four-way handshake and terminates connections using a three-packet exchange. When an SCTP association is established, it goes from the CLOSED state to the ESTABLISHED state, and when it is terminated, it goes back to the CLOSED state. There are eight states in which an SCTP association can be, and a state transition diagram gives the rules on how to go between the states. SCTP does not need the TIME_WAIT state as TCP does due to its use of verification tags.