this method is used to connect two hosts on a computer network together, each host known as the client (the main host) and the server (a distant host), respectively. once the client wants to make a connection to the server, the client can start a tcp three-way handshake with the server. this will allow the client computer (the main device) to send and receive messages to and from the server (a distant device) once the process is complete. starting a normal tcp connection requires three separate steps: