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TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control PYQs for GATE CS

Solve 10+ TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control previous year questions for GATE CS with answers and detailed solutions. Free sample q

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Question 1

2026 Slot Set2 PYQ

Consider a new TCP connection between a sender and a receiver. The receiver advertised window is constant at 48 KB, the maximum segment size (MSS) is 2 KB, and the slow start threshold for TCP congestion control is 16 KB. Assume that there are no timeouts or duplicate acknowledgements. The number of rounds of transmission required for the congestion control algorithm of the TCP connection to reach the congestion avoidance phase is ___________. (answer in integer) Note: 1 K = 2^{10}

Question 2

2026 Slot Set1 PYQ

With respect to a TCP connection between a client and a server, which one of the following statements is true?

Question 3

2026 Slot Set1 PYQ

A TCP sender successfully establishes a connection with a TCP receiver and starts the transmission of segments. The TCP congestion control mechanism’s slow-start threshold is set to 10000 segments. Assume that the round-trip time is fixed at 1 millisecond. Assume that the sender always has data to send, the segments are numbered from 1, and no segment is lost. Let t denote the time (in milliseconds) at which the transmission of segment number 2000 starts. Which one of the following options is correct?

Question 4

2025 Slot Set1 PYQ

Consider the 3-way handshaking protocol for TCP connection establishment. Let the three packets exchanged during the connection establishment be denoted as P1, P2, and P3, in order. Which of the following option(s) is/are <b>TRUE</b> with respect to TCP header flags that are set in the packets?

Question 5

2024 Slot Set2 PYQ

Consider a TCP connection operating at a point of time with the congestion window of size 12 MSS (Maximum Segment Size), when a timeout occurs due to packet loss. Assuming that all the segments transmitted in the next two RTTs (Round Trip Time) are acknowledged correctly, the congestion window size <i>(in MSS)</i> during the third RTT will be __________

Question 6

2024 Slot Set1 PYQ

TCP client P successfully establishes a connection to TCP server Q. Let N_{P} denote the sequence number in the SYN sent from P to Q. Let N_{Q} denote the acknowledgement number in the SYN ACK from Q to P. Which of the following statements is/are CORRECT?

Question 7

2023 PYQ

Suppose you are asked to design a new reliable byte-stream transport protocol like TCP. This protocol, named myTCP, runs over a 100 Mbps network with Round Trip Time of 150 milliseconds and the maximum segment lifetime of 2 minutes. Which of the following is/are valid lengths of the Sequence Number field in the myTCP header?

Question 8

2022 PYQ

Consider the data transfer using TCP over a 1 Gbps link. Assuming that the maximum segment lifetime (MSL) is set to 60 seconds, the minimum number of bits required for the sequence number field of the TCP header, to prevent the sequence number space from wrapping around during the MSL is____________.

Question 9

2021 Slot Set2 PYQ

Consider the three-way handshake mechanism followed during TCP connection establishment between hosts P and Q. Let X and Y be two random 32-bit starting sequence numbers chosen by P and Q respectively. Suppose P sends a TCP connection request message to Q with a TCP segment having SYN bit = 1, SEQ number = X, and ACK bit = 0. Suppose Q accepts the connection request. Which one of the following choices represents the information present in the TCP segment header that is sent by Q to P?

Question 10

2021 Slot Set1 PYQ

A TCP server application is programmed to listen on port number P on host S . A TCP client is connected to the TCP server over the network. Consider that while the TCP connection was active, the server machine S crashed and rebooted. Assume that the client does not use the TCP keepalive timer. Which of the following behaviors is/are possible?

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TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control PYQs for GATE CS

Solve 10+ TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control previous year questions for GATE CS with answers and detailed solutions. Free sample questions below.

Chapter Roadmap: TCP Connection Management

Chapter Roadmap

TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control

1. TCP Handshake, State and Termination

The foundation. How connections are established, tracked via state machines, and gracefully closed.

2. TCP Sequence Numbers and Wraparound

The math of reliability. Ensuring bytes are ordered correctly and preventing sequence number space exhaustion.

3. TCP Slow Start and Congestion-Window Evolution

Network survival. How TCP dynamically adjusts its sending rate to avoid collapsing the internet.

TCP Handshake, Connection State and Termination

Topic 1 of 3

TCP Handshake, Connection State and Termination

How two machines agree to talk, track their conversation, and politely say goodbye.

What You Will Master

The exact mechanics of the 3-way handshake
Calculating Sequence and Acknowledgement numbers
TCP connection state transitions
Graceful termination and the TIME_WAIT state

TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control: Solved Questions with Step-by-Step Explanations (10 Problems)

Question 1 · Computer Networks · 2026_Set2 NAT

Consider a new TCP connection between a sender and a receiver. The receiver advertised window is constant at 48 KB, the maximum segment size (MSS) is 2 KB, and the slow start threshold for TCP congestion control is 16 KB. Assume that there are no timeouts or duplicate acknowledgements. The number of rounds of transmission required for the congestion control algorithm of the TCP connection to reach the congestion avoidance phase is ___________. (answer in integer)

Note:

1 K = 2^{10}

Question 2 · Computer Networks · 2026_Set1 MCQ

With respect to a TCP connection between a client and a server, which one of the following statements is true?

A.
The client and server use a two-way handshake mechanism before the start of data transmission
B.
The server cannot initiate closing of the connection before the client initiates closing of the connection
C.
The TCP connection is half-duplex
D.
The client and server can initiate closing of the connection at the same time

Question 3 · Computer Networks · 2026_Set1 MCQ

A TCP sender successfully establishes a connection with a TCP receiver and starts the transmission of segments. The TCP congestion control mechanism’s slow-start threshold is set to 10000 segments. Assume that the round-trip time is fixed at 1 millisecond. Assume that the sender always has data to send, the segments are numbered from 1, and no segment is lost. Let

t

denote the time (in milliseconds) at which the transmission of segment number 2000 starts.

Which one of the following options is correct?

A.
$9 \leq t < 10$
B.
$10 \leq t < 11$
C.
$11 \leq t < 12$
D.
$12 \leq t < 13$

Question 4 · Computer Networks · 2025_Set1 MSQ

Consider the 3-way handshaking protocol for TCP connection establishment. Let the three packets exchanged during the connection establishment be denoted as P1, P2, and P3, in order. Which of the following option(s) is/are <b>TRUE</b> with respect to TCP header flags that are set in the packets?

A.
P3: SYN = 1, ACK = 1
B.
P2: SYN = 1, ACK = 1
C.
P2: SYN = 0, ACK = 1
D.
P1: SYN = 1

Question 5 · Computer Networks · 2024_Set2 NAT

Consider a TCP connection operating at a point of time with the congestion window of size 12 MSS (Maximum Segment Size), when a timeout occurs due to packet loss. Assuming that all the segments transmitted in the next two RTTs (Round Trip Time) are acknowledged correctly, the congestion window size <i>(in MSS)</i> during the third RTT will be __________

Question 6 · Computer Networks · 2024_Set1 MSQ

TCP client P successfully establishes a connection to TCP server Q. Let $N_{P}$ denote the sequence number in the SYN sent from P to Q. Let $N_{Q}$ denote the acknowledgement number in the SYN ACK from Q to P. Which of the following statements is/are CORRECT?

A.
The sequence number $N_{P}$ is chosen randomly by P
B.
The sequence number $N_{P}$ is always 0 for a new connection
C.
The acknowledgement number $N_{Q}$ is equal to $N_{P}$
D.
The acknowledgement number $N_{Q}$ is equal to $N_{P} + 1$

Question 7 · Computer Networks · 2023 MSQ

Suppose you are asked to design a new reliable byte-stream transport protocol like TCP. This protocol, named myTCP, runs over a 100 Mbps network with Round Trip Time of 150 milliseconds and the maximum segment lifetime of 2 minutes.

Which of the following is/are valid lengths of the Sequence Number field in the myTCP header?

A.
30 bits
B.
32 bits
C.
34 bits
D.
36 bits

Question 8 · Computer Networks · 2022 NAT

Consider the data transfer using TCP over a 1 Gbps link. Assuming that the maximum segment lifetime (MSL) is set to 60 seconds, the minimum number of bits required for the sequence number field of the TCP header, to prevent the sequence number space from wrapping around during the MSL is____________.

Question 9 · Computer Networks · 2021_Set2 MCQ

Consider the three-way handshake mechanism followed during TCP connection establishment between hosts P and Q. Let X and Y be two random 32-bit starting sequence numbers chosen by P and Q respectively. Suppose P sends a TCP connection request message to Q with a TCP segment having SYN bit = 1, SEQ number = X, and ACK bit = 0. Suppose Q accepts the connection request. Which one of the following choices represents the information present in the TCP segment header that is sent by Q to P?

A.
SYN bit = 1, SEQ number = X+1, ACK bit = 0, ACK number = Y, FIN bit = 0
B.
SYN bit = 0, SEQ number = X+1, ACK bit = 0, ACK number = Y, FIN bit = 1
C.
SYN bit = 1, SEQ number = Y, ACK bit = 1, ACK number = X+1, FIN bit = 0
D.
SYN bit = 1, SEQ number = Y, ACK bit = 1, ACK number = X, FIN bit = 0

Question 10 · Computer Networks · 2021_Set1 MSQ

A TCP server application is programmed to listen on port number

P

on host

S

. A TCP client is connected to the TCP server over the network.
Consider that while the TCP connection was active, the server machine

S

crashed and rebooted. Assume that the client does not use the TCP keepalive timer.
Which of the following behaviors is/are possible?

A.
If the client was waiting to receive a packet, it may wait indefinitely.
B.
The TCP server application on $S$ can listen on $P$ after reboot.
C.
If the client sends a packet after the server reboot, it will receive a RST segment.
D.
If the client sends a packet after the server reboot, it will receive a FIN segment.

Try a question

Login to view the complete previous-year questions and solutions

Personalised first. High quality throughout.

Built around you, not around a syllabus PDF

Revision that hits your weak spots

Questions calibrated to the real exam

Notes written for recall, not for volume

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Honest progress

Unlock the whole course

TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control PYQs for GATE CS

Chapter Roadmap: TCP Connection Management

TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control

TCP Handshake, Connection State and Termination

TCP Handshake, Connection State and Termination

TCP Connection Management, Reliability and Congestion Control: Solved Questions with Step-by-Step Explanations (10 Problems)

More previous year questions (pyqs) in this unit