What is a TCP Server?

A TCP server is a software application or component that listens for incoming network connections from clients using the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and provides services or resources to those clients. TCP is one of the core protocols in the suite of Internet protocols and is responsible for reliable, connection-oriented communication between devices over a network. A TCP server typically performs the following functions:

1. Socket Creation and Binding: The TCP server creates a socket, which is an endpoint for network communication. It binds the socket to a specific IP address and port number, allowing it to listen for incoming client connections on that address and port.

2. Listening for Connections: The server enters a listening state, waiting for incoming client connections. When a client initiates a connection request, the server's listening socket accepts the connection.

3. Connection Establishment: Upon accepting a client's connection request, the server establishes a connection with the client. This connection provides a two-way communication channel for data exchange.

4. Data Exchange: The server and client can exchange data bidirectionally over the established TCP connection. The server can send responses to client requests and receive data from clients.

5. Service Provision: The server provides services or resources to clients based on their requests. These services can vary widely, including file transfers, web content, database queries, messaging, or any other application-specific functionality.

6. Concurrency: TCP servers are often designed to handle multiple client connections simultaneously. They may use multi-threading or asynchronous programming to serve multiple clients without blocking or slowing down the server's performance.

7. Error Handling: TCP servers implement error handling to manage unexpected situations, such as network interruptions or client disconnections. They may provide error messages to clients when appropriate.

8. Security: To protect data and ensure secure communication, TCP servers can implement security mechanisms, such as encryption and authentication, especially when handling sensitive information.

9. Logging and Monitoring: Servers often log client interactions and monitor server performance to assist with troubleshooting and analysis.

10. Scalability: TCP servers may be designed to scale to accommodate a large number of client connections, often by employing load balancing, clustering, or other techniques to distribute client requests across multiple server instances.

TCP servers are used in a wide range of applications and services, including web servers, email servers, database servers, and custom network services. They play a fundamental role in providing networked resources and services to clients across the internet and local networks, ensuring reliable and efficient data communication.

Configuration

• Port: The port the TCP server will listen on.

• Dataflow: The data flow relay that data sent to the server will be processed by. This is an array of object that contain

• Execute data flow on connect: A Boolean that determines if the flow should be run when a client connects to the server

Functions

There are no relevant device functions for this device type.

Testing

Putty - 

Download PuTTY - a free SSH and telnet client for Windows

Putty can be used to easily connect to a raw TCP server. Once connected you will have a terminal that will allow you to write data to the socket.