RFC 2581 · PROPOSED STANDARD · 1999

TCP Congestion Control

Overview

RFC 2581, “TCP Congestion Control”, is a Proposed Standard document published in April 1999 by M. Allman, V. Paxson, W. Stevens. It obsoletes RFC 2001. It has since been updated by RFC 3390. It has been obsoleted by RFC 5681 — refer to the newer document for the authoritative version. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.

Abstract

This document defines TCP's four intertwined congestion control algorithms: slow start, congestion avoidance, fast retransmit, and fast recovery. In addition, the document specifies how TCP should begin transmission after a relatively long idle period, as well as discussing various acknowledgment generation methods. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

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

What “Proposed Standard” means

An entry-level standards-track specification: stable, peer-reviewed and a solid basis for implementation, though it may still evolve before becoming an Internet Standard.

Read this RFC

The canonical text of RFC 2581 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.

Relationships to other RFCs
This RFC obsoletes
RFC 2001
Obsoleted by
RFC 5681
Updated by
RFC 3390
Other RFCs from 1999

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