Terminology » Networking Basics » TCP/IP: Advantages and Disadvantages

TCP/IP: Advantages and Disadvantages

tcp/ip networking protocol internet data transmission

This page explores the benefits and drawbacks of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).

What is TCP/IP? (Introduction)

  • It establishes a connection-oriented service.
  • It is defined in RFC793.
  • It’s considered a highly reliable connection due to the presence of SYN/ACK fields.
  • The TCP header, containing the protocol field with a value of “0x06” in the IP header, is detailed below.

The TCP header includes: source port, destination port, sequence number, acknowledgment number, header length, flags (U, A, P, R, S, F), window, checksum, pointer, and some padding bits.

  • TCP/IP uses a continuous stream of ordered data, fed from the upper layer and segmented before transmission. It utilizes a window size to protect buffer space and manage packet routing. This flow control mechanism is crucial in TCP/IP.
  • It performs multiplexing and demultiplexing of applications based on unique port address fields.
  • It’s a reliable in-order byte-stream protocol.
  • As depicted in Figure 1, TCP is used at the 4th layer (Transport Layer) and IP is used at the 3rd layer (Network Layer) of the OSI model.

TCP-IP

Figure 1: TCP/IP stack compared to OSI stack

TCP Header

Figure 2: TCP Header

IPV4 header

Figure 3: IPV4 header

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the fields within the TCP and IP headers, respectively.

TCP Connection Establishment and Termination

Figure 4: TCP Connection Establishment and Termination

Figure 4 outlines the TCP connection establishment and termination procedures. It employs a 3-way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) for connection establishment and the “FIN” flag for termination.

Benefits or Advantages of TCP/IP

Here are the benefits and advantages of TCP/IP:

  • It’s an industry-standard and open protocol with a scalable architecture.
  • TCP protocol is connection-oriented and utilizes sequence numbers unique to each packet. This ensures data delivery in the correct order without duplication.
  • It incorporates flow control, error control, and congestion control mechanisms.
  • Since the stack is embedded within the Operating System (OS), the kernel handles reassembly, acknowledgments, flow control, etc. This simplifies the tasks usually managed by the programmer.
  • Routers can read TCP packets and prioritize them accordingly.
  • TCP provides relatively better throughput, especially on modem or LAN connections.

Drawbacks or Disadvantages of TCP/IP

The following are the drawbacks or disadvantages of TCP/IP:

  • It can be more complex to set up and maintain compared to NetBEUI or IPX/SPX.
  • It can be slower than IPX/SPX and NetBEUI on networks with light to medium traffic.
  • Handoff overhead can be significant.
  • Centralized TCP/IP domain assignment requires registration and associated costs.
  • TCP/IP cannot conclude transmission until all data in transit has been explicitly acknowledged.
  • TCP doesn’t inherently define block boundaries; the programmer needs to implement their own.