Forcing a TCP stream to send buffer contents

Question

I am using Csharp tcp sockets to send data between a client and server. Now the problem as i see it or as i perceive it is that tcp is a stream protocol and will not push (send) data unless their is a sufficient amount of it.

For instance say i wanted to send some data whatever it is doesnt matter lets just say its 8 bytes long. The behaviour i am seeing is no matter how long i wait it wont send that data unless i push more behind it presumably until i reach the tcp buffer.

So my question is. If i want to send a small amount of data via tcp do i need to append garbage to the end to force the socket to send. ( I wouldnt feel good about this ) or is their an alternative way i can force the front segment of the stream to send.

thanks in advance. i am still learning tcp so excuse the ignorance.

Answer 1

Don't set NoDelay unless you are an expert at TCP/IP and understand its full ramifications. If you haven't read Stevens, don't even think about it.

Here's an example question: if you establish a socket connection and send 8 bytes on it, are the 8 bytes immediately sent or does the Nagle algorithm wait for more data to send? The answer is "the 8 bytes are sent immediately" - but don't consider messing with Nagle until you understand exactly why that is the answer.

Here's another question: in a standard command/response protocol, how much Nagle delay is applied to each packet? The answer: none. Again, you should research why Nagle causes no delays in this common scenario.

If you're not seeing the data sent by 250 milliseconds (the maximum delay caused by Nagle in the worst possible scenario), then there is something else wrong.

Answer 2

You could set the NoDelay property (I think it's what disables Nagle).