tcp(7) CLIX tcp(7)
NAME
tcp - Internet Transmission Control protocol
DESCRIPTION
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) provides reliable, flow-
controlled, two-way transmission of data. It is a byte-stream protocol
used to support the sock_stream abstraction. TCP uses the standard
Internet address format and provides a per-host collection of port
addresses. Thus, each address is composed of an Internet address
specifying the host and network, with a specific TCP port on the host
identifying the peer entity.
Sockets using the TCP protocol are either active or passive. Active
sockets initiate connections to passive sockets. By default TCP sockets
are created active; to create a passive socket the listen() function must
be used after binding the socket with the bind() function. Only passive
sockets may use the accept() call to accept incoming connections. Only
active sockets may use the connect() call to initiate connections.
Passive sockets may underspecify their location to match incoming
connection requests from multiple networks. This technique, termed
wildcard addressing, allows a single server to provide service to clients
on multiple networks. To create a socket that listens on all networks,
the user must bind() the Internet address INADDR_ANY. The TCP port may
still be specified at this time; if the port is not specified, the system
will assign one. Once a connection has been established, the socket's
address is fixed by the peer entity's location. The address assigned the
socket is the address associated with the network interface through which
packets are being transmitted and received. Normally, this address
corresponds to the peer entity's network.
RELATED INFORMATION
Functions: accept(2), bind(2), connect(2), listen(2)
Files: inet(7), ip(7), intro(7)
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