TCP option 8, Timestamp

Protocol suite:	TCP/IP.
Protocol type:	Transport layer protocol.
Option length:	10 bytes.
Host implementation:
Router implementation:
Links:	IANA: TCP option numbers.

The TCP Timestamp option obsoletes the TCP Echo request and Echo reply options.

RFC 1323:

The timestamps are used for two distinct mechanisms: RTTM (Round Trip Time Measurement) and PAWS (Protect Against Wrapped Sequences).

MAC header

IP header

TCP header

TCP option 8

Data

TCP Option 8:

00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
Kind								Length
Timestamp Value -
Timestamp Echo Reply -

Kind. 8 bits. Set to 8.

Length. 8 bits. Set to 10.

Timestamp Value (TSval). 32 bits.
This field contains the current value of the timestamp clock of the TCP sending the option.

Timestamp Echo Reply (TSecr). 32 bits.
This field is only valid if the ACK bit is set in the TCP header. If it is valid, it echos a timestamp value that was sent by the remote TCP in the TSval field of a Timestamps option. When TSecr is not valid, its value must be zero. The TSecr value will generally be from the most recent Timestamp option that was received; however, there are exceptions that are explained below. A TCP may send the Timestamp option in an initial SYN segment (i.e., segment containing a SYN bit and no ACK bit), and may send a TSopt in other segments only if it received a TSopt in the initial SYN segment for the connection.

Glossary:

RFCs:

[RFC 1323] TCP Extensions for High Performance.

Defines TCP options 3 (Window Scale) and 8 (Timestamp).
Obsoletes:
RFC 1072, RFC 1185.

Publications:

Obsolete RFCs: