The secret messages in Google’s 2008 logo revealed. Google put silently two hidden messages in its 2008 logo. Google is celebrating 25 years of TCP/IP and the New Year.

Following are the two messages, with its meaning.

1. In this message Google is showing a cable making 2008.



2. The second message shows “SYN SYN/ACK ACK” on the bottom of the logo in little colored dots (see carefully).

What is syn syn ack ack?
The syn syn ack ack is referred as a “Three Way Handshake.”

To establish a connection, TCP uses a three-way handshake. Before a client attempts to connect with a server, the server must first bind to a port to open it up for connections: this is called a passive open. Once the passive open is established, a client may initiate an active open. To establish a connection, the three-way (or 3-step) handshake occurs: Wikipedia

The “SYN” flags are requests by the TCP stack at one end of a socket to synchronize themselves to the sequence numbering for this new sessions. The ACK flags acknowledge earlier packets in this session. Obviously only the initial packet has no ACK flag, since there are no previous packets to acknowledge. Only the second packet (the first response from a server to a client) has both the SYN and the ACK bits set.

In the neverending journey for sockets to shake hands, there has always been the cordial behind the scenes introduction. To imagine life without SYN/ACK would be kindred to imagining life without the Internet. And that’s quite scary.

Source: DigInside