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TCP assumes that error correction of the physical channel is handled elsewhere, right? I guess that's just stating your point a different way. TCP doesn't know
by Buttons840 6y ago
TCP assumes that error correction of the physical channel is handled elsewhere, right? I guess that's just stating your point a different way. TCP doesn't know whether it goes over a wire or a radio link, it doesn't care. But that doesn't mean that no error correcting is happening, just that the error correction is handled outside of TCP.
> A basic assumption of TCP is that retransmission only happens due to congestion.
From the perspective of a single computer, what's the difference between an error caused by congestion and an error caused by a noisy channel? Can you tell the difference? Isn't a transmission error just a transmission error?
- tsimionescu 6y agoThe difference is in what you chose to do after you see an error. If you assume that packet loss can only mean congestion, you back off rather than re-transmit, as your re-transmission is likely to make the problem worse, not better. In the case of wireless comms though, that may just increase lag, as the packet may have been lost just because of physical issues and a swift re-trnasmit could be the best option.