Networking Essentials easy
What is the correct sequence of the TCP 3-Way Handshake?
- A PING, PONG, ACK, which is used in low-level hardware heartbeat protocols to ensure that two physical devices remain synchronized over a live cable.
- B SYN, ACK, SYN-ACK, which allows two hosts to negotiate initial encryption keys and buffer sizes before any plaintext data is exchanged over the wire.
- C HELLO, HELO, EHLO, which are the standard identification commands used by mail servers to initiate a transaction and negotiate supported extensions.
- D SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK, which enables two hosts to establish a reliable, stateful connection and synchronize their internal sequence numbers for data tracking.
Answer: D. SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK, which enables two hosts to establish a reliable, stateful connection and synchronize their internal sequence numbers for data tracking.
TCP is a 'connection-oriented' protocol, meaning it must establish a formal state before sending data. It does this via the 3-Way Handshake: (1) The client sends a SYN (Synchronize) packet to request a connection. (2) The server replies with a SYN-ACK (Synchronize + Acknowledge) if it accepts. (3) The client sends a final ACK to confirm. This ensures both parties are ready and have established starting sequence numbers, which TCP uses to ensure all data arrives in exactly the right order. While this adds reliability, the 'ping-pong' required for the handshake adds one full round-trip of latency before the first bit of application data can be sent.
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