Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyTCP vs UDP Comparison and Protocols

A network administrator is reviewing bandwidth efficiency for application traffic traversing a low-bandwidth WAN link. Which statement accurately compares the baseline header size overhead between Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)?

  1. TCP requires a 20-byte minimum header to accommodate reliability tracking fields, whereas UDP uses an 8-byte header to minimize transmission overhead.Answer
  2. B
    UDP requires a 20-byte header to manage packet sequencing and retransmissions, whereas TCP uses an 8-byte fixed header.
  3. C
    Both TCP and UDP utilize an identical 20-byte baseline header structure to maintain standardized Layer 4 port multiplexing.
  4. D
    TCP maintains an 8-byte header because dynamic windowing eliminates the need for header-based flow control fields.

Answer

TCP requires a 20-byte minimum header to accommodate reliability tracking fields, whereas UDP uses an 8-byte header to minimize transmission overhead.
The option identifying TCP's 20-byte minimum header and UDP's 8-byte fixed header is correct because TCP must carry fields for flow control, error recovery, and sequencing, whereas UDP only carries basic addressing, length, and checksum information.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze TCP header requirements
TCP is a connection-oriented, reliable protocol that requires fields for Source/Destination Ports, Sequence Number, Acknowledgment Number, Data Offset, Control Flags, Window Size, Checksum, and Urgent Pointer, consuming 20 bytes minimum.
Reliability mechanisms demand additional header fields.
2
Analyze UDP header requirements
UDP is a connectionless, best-effort protocol containing only Source Port, Destination Port, Length, and Checksum fields, totaling 8 bytes.
Absence of sequencing and flow control allows for minimal header overhead.
3
Compare protocol header sizes
TCP headers are at least 20 bytes, while UDP headers are fixed at 8 bytes.
This structural difference directly reflects their performance and reliability tradeoffs.

Key Concept

TCP vs UDP Header Size and Overhead Comparison
Rate this question

Topics

TCP vs UDP Comparison and Protocols

More questions from this topic