1tcp

1tcp is a transport-layer protocol conceived as an educational and experimental alternative to conventional transport protocols such as TCP. It aims to provide reliable, in-order data delivery with lower complexity and reduced resource consumption on constrained devices and networks characterized by high latency or loss.

Origins and usage: The term 1tcp appears in academic discussions and open-source project repositories in the 2010s and 2020s as a teaching model and proof-of-concept. It has not achieved standardization by major standards bodies and remains primarily within experimental, academic, or hobbyist contexts.

Design and protocol features: 1tcp uses a compact header and a straightforward state machine. It relies on sequence numbers and acknowledgments to ensure reliability and in-order delivery. A sliding window controls flow and a congestion-control mechanism adjusts sending rate. Optional features may include selective acknowledgment and round-trip time estimation, but the design emphasizes simplicity and predictable resource usage over feature parity with TCP.

Implementation and evaluation: Several open-source implementations exist for educational purposes, usually within network-simulation environments or lightweight operating systems. Proponents cite lower code complexity and faster startup times compared with full TCP stacks, while critics note limited interoperability and weaker performance on heterogeneous networks.

See also: Transmission Control Protocol, User Datagram Protocol, QUIC, SCTP, networking protocols used in education.