Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

Lecture 17
TCP reliable data transfer
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

TCP round trip time, timeout

Q: how to set TCP Q: how to estimate RTT?

timeout value? • SampleRTT: measured time
from segment transmission
• longer than RTT
until ACK receipt
– but RTT varies
– ignore retransmissions
• too short: premature • SampleRTT will vary, want
timeout, unnecessary estimated RTT “smoother”
retransmissions – average several recent
• too long: slow reaction measurements, not just
to segment loss current SampleRTT

Transport Layer 3-2

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

TCP round trip time, timeout

EstimatedRTT = (1- )*EstimatedRTT + *SampleRTT
 exponential weighted moving average
 influence of past sample decreases
exponentially fast RTT: gaia.cs.umass.edu to fantasia.eurecom.fr
 typical value:  = 0.125
350

RTT: gaia.cs.umass.edu to fantasia.eurecom.fr

300
(milliseconds)

250
RTT (milliseconds)

200
RTT

sampleRTT
150

EstimatedRTT

100
1 8 15 22 29 36 43 50 57 64 71 78 85 92 99 106
time (seconnds)

SampleRTT Estimated RTT

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

TCP round trip time, timeout

• timeout interval: EstimatedRTT plus “safety margin”

– large variation in EstimatedRTT -> larger safety margin
• estimate SampleRTT deviation from EstimatedRTT:

DevRTT = (1-)*DevRTT +
*|SampleRTT-EstimatedRTT|
(typically,  = 0.25)

TimeoutInterval = EstimatedRTT + 4*DevRTT

estimated RTT “safety margin”

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

TCP reliable data transfer

• TCP creates rdt service

on top of IP’s
unreliable service
– pipelined segments
– cumulative acks let’s initially consider
– single retransmission simplified TCP sender
timer
• Retransmissions
triggered by:
– timeout events
– duplicate acks

Transport Layer 3-5

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP sender events:
data rcvd from app: timeout:
• create segment with • retransmit segment that
seq # caused timeout
• seq # is byte-stream • restart timer
number of first data ack rcvd:
byte in segment • if ack acknowledges
• start timer if not already previously unacked
running segments
– think of timer as for – update what is known to
oldest unacked segment be ACKed
– expiration interval: – start timer if there are
TimeOutInterval still unacked segments

Transport Layer 3-6

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

TCP sender (simplified)

data received from application above
create segment, seq. #: NextSeqNum
pass segment to IP (i.e., “send”)
NextSeqNum = NextSeqNum + length(data)
if (timer currently not running)
 start timer
NextSeqNum = InitialSeqNum wait
SendBase = InitialSeqNum for
event timeout
retransmit not-yet-acked
segment with
smallest seq. #
ACK received, with ACK field value y start timer

if (y > SendBase) {
SendBase = y
/* SendBase–1: last cumulatively ACKed byte */
if (there are currently not-yet-acked segments)
start timer
}
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP: retransmission
scenarios
Host A Host B Host A Host B

SendBase=92
Seq=92, 8 bytes of data Seq=92, 8 bytes of data

Seq=100, 20 bytes of data

timeo

timeo
ACK=100
X
ut

ut
ACK=100
ACK=120

Seq=92, 8 bytes of data Seq=92, 8

SendBase=100 bytes of data
SendBase=120
ACK=100
ACK=120

SendBase=120

lost ACK scenario premature timeout

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP: retransmission
scenarios
Host A Host B

Seq=92, 8 bytes of data

Seq=100, 20 bytes of data

ACK=100
timeo

X
ut

ACK=120

Seq=120, 15 bytes of data

cumulative ACK
Transport Layer 3-9
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
Modified TCP – Doubling Timeout
Interval
• Whenever the timeout event occurs, it sets the next
timeout interval to twice the previous value,
– rather than deriving it from the last EstimatedRTT and DevRTT
– However, in case of other two events (app data received or ACK
received), it is derived.

• It also provides a limited form of congestion control.

– Timer expiration due to congestion
– It is better to wait rather than keep sending
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

Modified TCP – Fast Retransmit

• Timeout-triggered retransmissions can take long

• Duplicate ACKs can help sender to detect packet loss

• A duplicate ACK is an ACK that reacknowledges a

segment for which the sender has already received an
earlier acknowledgment.

• When it is sent/received?
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP ACK generation [RFC 1122,
RFC 2581]

event at receiver TCP receiver action

arrival of in-order segment with delayed ACK. Wait up to 500ms
expected seq #. All data up to for next segment. If no next segment,
expected seq # already ACKed send ACK

arrival of in-order segment with immediately send single cumulative

expected seq #. One other ACK, ACKing both in-order segments
segment has ACK pending

arrival of out-of-order segment immediately send duplicate ACK,

higher-than-expect seq. # . indicating seq. # of next expected byte
Gap detected

arrival of segment that immediate send ACK, provided that

partially or completely fills gap segment starts at lower end of gap
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

TCP fast retransmit

• time-out period often

TCP fast retransmit
relatively long:
– long delay before if sender receives 3
resending lost packet ACKs for same data
• detect lost segments via (“triple duplicate ACKs”),
duplicate ACKs. resend unacked
segment with
– sender often sends many smallest seq #
segments back-to-back  likely that unacked
– if segment is lost, there segment lost, so don’t
will likely be many wait for timeout
duplicate ACKs.

Transport Layer 3-13

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP fast
retransmit
Host A Host B

Seq=92, 8 bytes of data

Seq=100, 20 bytes of data
X

ACK=100
ACK=100
timeo

ACK=100
ut

ACK=100
Seq=100, 20 bytes of data

fast retransmit after sender

receipt of triple duplicate ACK
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP uses Go-Back-N or Selective
Repeat?
• Go-Back-N?
– TCP acknowledgments are cumulative
– TCP sender need only maintain SendBase
and NextSeqNum

• So? What do you say?

Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer
TCP uses Go-Back-N or Selective
Repeat?
• Selective Repeat?
– If n lost, only retransmit n
– Receiver would buffer out of order segments

• So? What do you say?

• It can be considered as an hybrid of both
Go-Back-N and Selective Repeat
Lecture 17:TCP reliable data transfer

Computer Networking: A Top Down Approach

6th edition
Jim Kurose, Keith Ross
Addison-Wesley
March 2012

A note on the origin of these ppt slides:

These slides are freely provided by the book authors and it represents a lot of work on their part.
We would like to thank J.F Kurose and K.W. Ross.