The subject matter of this disclosure can be implemented in, among other things, a method. In these examples, the method includes sending a request from a first network node to a second network node to request a bundled transport control protocol (TCP) connection between the first network node and the second network node, wherein the bundled TCP connection includes a group of member TCP connections associated with the bundled TCP connection. The method may also include receiving a response message with the first network node sent from the second network node, wherein the response message includes an indication of a status of the request, sending an acknowledgment message from the first network node to the second network node, and establishing the bundled TCP connection when the status of the request included in the response message indicates that the request is successful.