Question

Which of the following below accurately describes Transmission Control Protocol? (Choose all that apply)

a) Connection-oriented

b) Stateless

c) Datagram-oriented

d) Reliable

Answer 1

TCP is a core Internet protocol that is connection-oriented and reliable. It establishes a connection for data transfer and ensures accurate and ordered delivery of information. 'Stateless' and 'Datagram-oriented' do not accurately describe TCP.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main protocols of the Internet protocol suite, which is used by the internet and networked computers to send data in a reliable and ordered way. The attributes that accurately describe the Transmission Control Protocol are:

• Connection-oriented: This means that TCP establishes a connection before sending data and maintains this connection until all data has been transmitted and acknowledged.
• Reliable: TCP ensures data is delivered accurately and in the same order in which it was sent. This is achieved through error checking and confirmation of data delivery, known as acknowledgements.

From the options provided:

1. Connection-oriented (a) is correct.
2. Reliable (d) is also correct.
3. The options that do not accurately describe TCP are:

• Stateless (b): This is not accurate as TCP does maintain state information about the connections.
• Datagram-oriented (c): TCP is not datagram-oriented; rather, UDP (User Datagram Protocol) fits this description because it sends messages called datagrams in a connectionless and often unreliable fashion, which is opposite of TCP's characteristics.