Reliable Data Transfer

What is Reliable Data Transfer?

Reliable data transfer ensures that data is delivered accurately, completely, and in the correct order from sender to receiver. It typically involves error detection, acknowledgment, and retransmission mechanisms.

Why is Reliable Data Transfer useful?

It is essential for applications where data integrity and delivery matter, such as file transfers, emails, financial transactions, and web communications.

How does Reliable Data Transfer work?

Reliable transfer mechanisms use acknowledgments (ACKs), sequence numbers, timeouts, and retransmissions to ensure that lost or corrupted packets are resent and correctly ordered at the receiver’s end.

Where is Reliable Data Transfer used?

It is used in protocols like TCP, FTP, SMTP, and other applications where guaranteed delivery is critical.

Which OSI layer does Reliable Data Transfer belong to?

Reliable data transfer is typically implemented at the Transport Layer (Layer 4), especially through protocols like TCP.

Is Reliable Data Transfer Windows specific?

No, reliable data transfer is a core networking concept and is implemented on all operating systems including Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Is Reliable Data Transfer Linux specific?

No, it is universally supported across all major platforms and network stacks.

Which Transport Protocol is used by Reliable Data Transfer?

The most commonly used transport protocol for reliable data transfer is TCP (Transmission Control Protocol).

Is Reliable Data Transfer using client-server model?

Yes, reliable data transfer often operates in a client-server model where the client initiates communication and the server ensures reliable delivery and acknowledgment of data.

Topics in this section,

  • In this section, you are going to learn

  • Terminology

  • Version Info

  • setup

Reliable Data Transfer - Testcases

S.No

Test Case

Description

Expected Result

1

Data Delivery Confirmation

Send data from client to server

ACK received for each segment

2

Ordered Data Delivery

Send multiple segments

Data received in correct order

3

Duplicate Data Handling

Send duplicate segments

Duplicates discarded

4

Lost Segment Recovery

Drop a segment

Retransmission occurs

5

Timeout-Based Retransmission

Simulate timeout

Segment retransmitted

6

Sequence Number Tracking

Monitor sequence numbers

Numbers increment correctly

7

Acknowledgment Number Tracking

Monitor ACK numbers

ACKs match received data

8

Flow Control with Window Size

Adjust window size

Sender adapts transmission rate

9

Congestion Control Activation

Simulate congestion

TCP reduces transmission rate

10

Fast Retransmit

Trigger triple duplicate ACKs

Lost segment retransmitted quickly

11

Fast Recovery

Recover after fast retransmit

Congestion window adjusted

12

Selective Acknowledgment (SACK)

Enable SACK

Only missing segments retransmitted

13

Data Integrity Check

Corrupt data

TCP checksum detects error

14

Data Reassembly

Send fragmented data

Receiver reassembles correctly

15

Zero Window Advertisement

Set window to 0

Sender pauses transmission

16

Window Update

Increase window size

Sender resumes transmission

17

Retransmission Limit

Exceed retry limit

Connection reset

18

Keepalive Mechanism

Enable keepalive

Idle connection maintained

19

Connection Termination

Send FIN

All data acknowledged before close

20

Connection Reset

Send RST

Connection terminated immediately

21

Data Transfer Over VPN

Use VPN tunnel

Data reliably transferred

22

Data Transfer Over NAT

Use NAT device

Data reliably transferred

23

Data Transfer Over IPv6

Use IPv6

Data reliably transferred

24

Data Transfer Over IPv4

Use IPv4

Data reliably transferred

25

Data Transfer with Packet Loss

Drop packets

TCP recovers lost data

26

Data Transfer with Packet Reordering

Reorder packets

TCP reorders correctly

27

Data Transfer with Duplicate Packets

Send duplicates

TCP discards duplicates

28

Data Transfer with Fragmentation

Fragment large data

TCP reassembles correctly

29

Data Transfer with High Latency

Simulate delay

TCP maintains reliability

30

Data Transfer with High Bandwidth

Send large data

TCP handles throughput

31

Data Transfer with TLS

Use TLS over TCP

Secure and reliable transfer

32

Data Transfer with Application Layer

Use HTTP over TCP

Data reliably delivered

33

Data Transfer with Nagles Algorithm

Enable Nagle

Small packets coalesced

34

Data Transfer with Push Flag

Set PSH flag

Data pushed immediately

35

Data Transfer with Urgent Pointer

Use URG flag

Urgent data processed

36

Data Transfer with Checksum Error

Corrupt checksum

Segment discarded

37

Data Transfer with Invalid Flags

Send invalid flags

Segment dropped

38

Data Transfer with SYN Flood

Simulate attack

Server handles or drops

39

Data Transfer with FIN Flood

Simulate attack

Server handles or drops

40

Data Transfer with RST Flood

Simulate attack

Server handles or drops

41

Data Transfer with Multiple Streams

Open multiple TCP connections

All streams reliable

42

Data Transfer with Connection Migration

Change IP mid-session

TCP connection fails

43

Data Transfer with Firewall

Block port

Connection fails

44

Data Transfer with Proxy

Use proxy server

Data reliably transferred

45

Data Transfer with Load Balancer

Use load balancer

Data reliably routed

46

Data Transfer with Monitoring Tool

Monitor TCP stream

Data integrity confirmed

47

Data Transfer with Automation Script

Automate TCP test

Reliable delivery verified

48

Data Transfer with Compliance Audit

Run audit

TCP meets reliability standards

49

Data Transfer with Simulation

Simulate TCP session

Data reliably transferred

50

Data Transfer with Packet Sniffer

Capture TCP packets

All segments verified

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