RFC 2416 · INFORMATIONAL · 1998

When TCP Starts Up With Four Packets Into Only Three Buffers

Overview

RFC 2416, “When TCP Starts Up With Four Packets Into Only Three Buffers”, is an Informational document published in September 1998 by T. Shepard, C. Partridge. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.

Abstract

This memo is to document a simple experiment. The experiment showed that in the case of a TCP receiver behind a 9600 bps modem link at the edge of a fast Internet where there are only 3 buffers before the modem (and the fourth packet of a four-packet start will surely be dropped), no significant degradation in performance is experienced by a TCP sending with a four-packet start when compared with a normal slow start (which starts with just one packet). This memo provides information for the Internet community.

Abstract as published in the RFC, via rfc-editor.org.

What “Informational” means

Published for the general information of the community. It does not define an IETF standard and carries no standards-track status.

Read this RFC

The canonical text of RFC 2416 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.

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