Understanding TCP: Three‑Way Handshake, Data Transfer, and Four‑Way Teardown with Python and Wireshark

The author introduces TCP as a connection‑oriented, reliable transport‑layer protocol defined by RFC 793, and places it in the OSI model (layer 4) and the TCP/IP suite.

Using Python on macOS, a simple TCP server listening on port 20000 is created with socketserver.BaseRequestHandler and TCPServer , while a client uses the socket module to connect, send data, and shut down the connection.

from socketserver import BaseRequestHandler, TCPServer
class EchoHandler(BaseRequestHandler):
    def handle(self):
        print('Got connection from', self.client_address)
        while True:
            msg = self.request.recv(8192)
            if not msg:
                break
            self.request.send(msg)
if __name__ == '__main__':
    serv = TCPServer(('', 20000), EchoHandler)
    serv.serve_forever()

The client script creates a socket, connects to localhost:20000 , sends the bytes b'AB' , receives the echo, and finally calls s.shutdown(2) to close the connection.

import socket
s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
s.connect(('localhost', 20000))
s.send(b'AB')
response = s.recv(8192)
s.shutdown(2)

Wireshark is used to capture the entire communication, illustrating the three‑way handshake (SYN, SYN‑ACK, ACK), the data exchange (sequence and acknowledgment numbers, flags such as PSH and ACK), a TCP Window Update, and the four‑step termination (FIN‑ACK sequence). Each step is accompanied by diagrams showing source/destination ports, sequence numbers, and flag values.

The article also briefly explains related concepts such as byte vs. bit, ASCII encoding, and hexadecimal conversion, providing a practical reference for anyone learning socket programming and TCP packet analysis.

References include Wireshark tutorials, TCP/IP textbooks, and Python networking documentation.