Network acceleration with TCP Fast Open
Getting There Faster
With TCP Fast Open, Google introduces a protocol extension, implemented in the Linux kernel, that avoids unnecessary latency in network traffic and promises up to 41 percent acceleration, depending on the application.
In mid-2011, Google’s “Make the web faster” team, which is led by Sivasankar Radhakrishnan, Arvind Jain, Yuchung Cheng, and Jerry Chu, presented a draft for reducing preventable latency. The technique, which is called TCP Fast Open (TFO), depends on streamlining the process of opening a TCP session.
The idea itself is not new – way back in 1994, RFC1379 and RFC1644 specified the conceptually similar Transactional TCP (T/ TCP). Unfortunately, an analysis published in September 1996 revealed serious security issues with T/TCP [5], and the technique failed to establish itself on a broader front. Based on this previous experience, the Google team refined the approach when developing TFO, leading to an improved result. Linux kernel 3.6 implements the necessary client-side infrastructure, and 3.7 will include support for TFO on the server end, so it looks like the era of faster TCP connections might be just around the corner.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.