ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses network topology and its operation. It discusses the operation of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) protocol weaknesses in synchronous networks. Packet switching is employed to optimize the use of the bandwidth available in a network and to minimize the latency, a measure of time delay experienced in a system. According to TCP, every continuous data stream must be segmented into several packets if it exceeds a predefined threshold. To establish or terminate a connection, TCP follows a specific procedure according to which both the source and the destination have to state their starting sequence numbers, information crucial to establish a robust communication. In a packet switching scheme, prior to transmitting a piece of information, the source divides the total amount of data into fundamental units of information called packets. Depending on the network, each packet can be of fixed or of variable size and consists mainly of two parts: the header and the body.
