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RFC 5681: TCP Congestion Control

Still current, but amended. Parts of this document are changed or extended by RFC 9438. Read both.

In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC

This document defines TCP's four intertwined congestion control algorithms: slow start, congestion avoidance, fast retransmit, and fast recovery. In addition, the document specifies how TCP should begin transmission after a relatively long idle period, as well as discussing various acknowledgment generation methods. This document obsoletes RFC 2581. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Document record

Document ID
RFC5681
Published
September 2009
Authors
M. Allman; V. Paxson; E. Blanton
Status
DRAFT STANDARD
Stream
IETF
Area
wit
Pages
18
Also known as
—
Obsoletes:
RFC 2581
Updated by:
RFC 9438

Topics

Standards lineage

This document is one revision in a chain of 3 RFCs, each formally replacing the one before it.

  1. RFC 2001 (1997)
  2. RFC 2581 (1999)
  3. RFC 5681 (2009)

Read the full history of TCP Congestion Control →

Referenced by

One later RFC formally updates or obsoletes part of this document.

Related documents

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About this page

The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.

Last checked against the RFC Editor index on . RFCs are never revised after publication; changes are issued as new documents.

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canonical URL: /rfc/5681-tcp-congestion-control