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References

This section lists the references and related resources cited in RFC 793.

Normative References​

[1] A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication​

Authors: V. Cerf and R. Kahn
Title: "A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication"
Publication: IEEE Transactions on Communications
Volume: Vol. COM-22, No. 5
Pages: pp 637-648
Date: May 1974

Significance: This is the foundational paper for TCP/IP protocols, first proposing the core concepts of Internet protocols.

[2] Internet Protocol - DARPA Internet Program Protocol Specification​

Editor: J. Postel
Title: "Internet Protocol - DARPA Internet Program Protocol Specification"
RFC: RFC 791
Institution: USC/Information Sciences Institute
Date: September 1981

Significance: Defines the Internet Protocol (IP), the network layer protocol on which TCP depends.

Online Access:

[3] Connection Management in Transport Protocols​

Authors: Y. Dalal and C. Sunshine
Title: "Connection Management in Transport Protocols"
Publication: Computer Networks
Volume: Vol. 2, No. 6
Pages: pp. 454-473
Date: December 1978

Significance: Describes connection management mechanisms in transport protocols, including the theoretical foundation for the three-way handshake.

[4] Assigned Numbers​

Author: J. Postel
Title: "Assigned Numbers"
RFC: RFC 790
Institution: USC/Information Sciences Institute
Date: September 1981

Significance: Defines protocol numbers, port numbers, and other assigned numbers.

Note: RFC 790 has been updated by subsequent RFCs, current version is RFC 9293.

Updates and Supplements​

RFC 793, as the original TCP specification, has been updated and supplemented by numerous RFCs over the years:

Core Updates​

RFCTitleDateDescription
RFC 1122Requirements for Internet Hosts1989Host requirements specification
RFC 2581TCP Congestion Control1999Congestion control algorithms
RFC 5681TCP Congestion Control2009Congestion control update
RFC 6093On the Implementation of TCP URG2011URG flag implementation
RFC 6528Defending Against Sequence Number Attacks2012Defense against sequence number attacks
RFC 7323TCP Extensions for High Performance2014High performance TCP extensions
RFC 9293TCP Specification2022Latest TCP specification
RFCTitleDescription
RFC 1323TCP ExtensionsWindow scaling, timestamps
RFC 2018TCP Selective AcknowledgmentSACK option
RFC 2873TCP Processing of ICMPICMP processing
RFC 3168ECN in IPExplicit Congestion Notification
RFC 3390Increasing TCP Initial WindowIncrease initial window
RFC 5482TCP User TimeoutUser timeout option
RFC 6824TCP Extensions for MultipathMultipath TCP
RFC 7413TCP Fast OpenFast open
RFC 8312CUBIC Congestion ControlCUBIC congestion control

Historical Context​

TCP/IP Development Timeline​

1974 - Cerf & Kahn Paper: TCP/IP concept proposed
1981 - RFC 791 & 793: IP and TCP formal specifications
1983 - ARPANET Switch: Transition from NCP to TCP/IP
1989 - RFC 1122: Host requirements specification
1999 - RFC 2581: Standardized congestion control
2014 - RFC 7323: High performance extensions
2022 - RFC 9293: TCP specification modernization

Design Influences​

RFC 793's design was influenced by the following research:

  1. ARPANET NCP Protocol: Early network control protocol
  2. Packet Switching Theory: Work of Paul Baran and Donald Davies
  3. End-to-End Principle: Paper by Saltzer, Reed, and Clark
  4. Flow Control Research: Sliding window protocol theory

Transport Layer​

  • RFC 768: User Datagram Protocol (UDP) - Connectionless alternative to TCP
  • RFC 4960: Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) - Modern transport protocol
  • RFC 9000: QUIC - Modern UDP-based transport protocol

Network Layer​

  • RFC 791: Internet Protocol (IP) - Network layer TCP depends on
  • RFC 792: Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) - Error reporting
  • RFC 2460: IPv6 Specification - Next-generation IP

Application Layer​

Major application protocols using TCP:

  • RFC 854: Telnet Protocol
  • RFC 959: File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
  • RFC 2616/9110: HTTP - Web protocol
  • RFC 5321: SMTP - Mail transfer
  • RFC 9293: Modern TCP specification

Academic Resources​

Classic Textbooks​

  1. "Computer Networks" - Andrew S. Tanenbaum

    • Chapter 5: Transport Layer, detailed TCP coverage

  2. "TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1" - W. Richard Stevens

    • Classic TCP/IP protocol stack reference

  3. "Unix Network Programming" - W. Richard Stevens

    • Practical TCP programming guide

Research Papers​

  1. "Congestion Avoidance and Control" - Jacobson & Karels (1988)

    • Laid the foundation for TCP congestion control

  2. "The Synchronization of Periodic Routing Messages" - Floyd & Jacobson (1993)

    • Synchronization in routing and transport protocols

  3. "Improving the Start-up Behavior of a Congestion Control Scheme for TCP" - Allman, et al. (1997)

    • Improving TCP startup behavior

Online Resources​

Official Resources​

Implementations and Tools​

Educational Resources​

Standardization Process​

TCP Standard Evolution​

RFC 793 (1981)
    ↓
STD 7 (Internet Standard)
    ↓
Multiple updates (RFC 1122, 2581, 5681, etc.)
    ↓
RFC 9293 (2022) - Latest consolidated version

Working Groups​

Implementation References​

Major TCP Implementations​

  1. Linux TCP

    • Source: net/ipv4/tcp*.c
    • Implementation: Cubic congestion control, BBR, and other modern algorithms

  2. BSD TCP

    • FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD
    • Classic reliable implementation

  3. Windows TCP

    • Windows NT kernel TCP/IP stack
    • Compound TCP congestion control

  4. lwIP (Lightweight IP)

Testing and Verification​

Conformance Testing​

  • TCP Test Suite: NIST TCP/IP test suite
  • Packetdrill: Google's TCP testing tool
  • TAHI Project: IPv6 conformance testing

Performance Benchmarks​

  • iperf3: Network performance testing tool
  • netperf: Network benchmarking
  • nuttcp: Network performance measurement

Security Considerations​

Related security RFCs:

RFCTitleDescription
RFC 4953TCP Security ReviewTCP security review
RFC 5925TCP-AOTCP Authentication Option
RFC 6528Sequence Number AttacksDefense against sequence number attacks
RFC 7323TCP TimestampsTimestamp security
RFC 8446TLS 1.3Encryption layer over TCP

Citation​

Standard Citation Format​

APA Format:

Postel, J. (Ed.). (1981). Transmission Control Protocol (RFC 793). 
USC/Information Sciences Institute.

BibTeX Format:

@techreport{rfc793,
  author = {J. Postel},
  title = {Transmission Control Protocol},
  howpublished = {Internet Requests for Comments},
  type = {STD},
  number = {7},
  year = {1981},
  month = {September},
  issn = {2070-1721},
  publisher = {RFC Editor},
  institution = {RFC Editor},
  url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc793.txt}
}

RFC document copyright notice:

  • RFC documents typically have copyright of the IETF Trust upon publication
  • Free to copy, cite, and implement specifications
  • Must retain copyright notice and citation information

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