What is the purpose of the TCP 3-way handshake?

The TCP 3-way handshake is a fundamental process used to establish a reliable connection between a client and a server before any data can be transmitted. This process involves three steps:

1. SYN: The client sends a synchronization packet (SYN) to the server to indicate a request to establish a connection.

2. SYN-ACK: The server responds with a synchronization acknowledgment packet (SYN-ACK) to acknowledge the receipt of the client’s request and also to indicate its willingness to establish a connection.

3. ACK: The client sends an acknowledgment packet (ACK) back to the server, signaling that the connection is established and both parties can begin communicating.

The purpose of this handshake is to ensure that both the client and server are ready for communication and that they are in agreement to open a reliable session. This process also helps in determining the initial sequence numbers for data transmission, which is crucial for maintaining data integrity and order.

While the other options touch on aspects related to networking, they do not accurately describe the primary objective of the TCP 3-way handshake. Data packet transfer is a subsequent activity that occurs after the connection has been established, encryption generally pertains to securing data in transit rather than the connection