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The level of handshake required for managing a connection

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Abstract.

A connection between two hosts across a wide-area network may consist of many sessions over time, each called an incarnation. A connection is synchronized using a connection establishment protocol, based on a handshake mechanism, to allow reliable exchange of data. This paper identifies the precise level of handshake needed under different assumptions on the nodes and on the network, using a formal model for connection management. In particular, the following parameters are studied: the size of the memory at the nodes, the information retained between incarnations, and the existence of time constraints on the network. Among the results we obtain are: (1) If both nodes have bounded memory, no incarnation management protocol exists. (2) If the nodes have unbounded memory, then a two-way handshake incarnation management protocol exists. (3) If the nodes have unbounded memory, and the server does not retain connection-specific information between incarnations, then a three-way handshake incarnation management protocol exists. On the other hand, a two-way handshake incarnation management protocol does not exist, even if some global information is retained. (4) If a bound on maximum packet lifetime (MPL) is known, then a two-way handshake incarnation management protocol exists, in which the server does not retain connection-specific information between incarnations.

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Received: July 1995 / Accepted: July 1997

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Attiya, H., Rappoport, R. The level of handshake required for managing a connection. Distrib Comput 11, 41–57 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004460050041

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004460050041

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