Question

Difficulty: HardNetworking Ports and Protocols

An IT technician is provisioning access control rules on a management subnet firewall for a new network monitoring server. The server must collect device performance metrics from managed network switches and maintain accurate, synchronized time logs across all network infrastructure. Which of the following port and transport protocol combinations must be permitted through the firewall to support these functions? (Select TWO.)

  1. UDP port 161 for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)Answer
  2. B
    TCP port 161 for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
  3. UDP port 123 for Network Time Protocol (NTP)Answer
  4. D
    TCP port 123 for Network Time Protocol (NTP)

Answer

The correct port and protocol combinations are UDP port 161 for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and UDP port 123 for Network Time Protocol (NTP).
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) utilizes UDP port 161 to poll devices and gather metric data. Network Time Protocol (NTP) utilizes UDP port 123 for system clock synchronization across network infrastructure. Both services require UDP transport to minimize latency and overhead.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the required network service for gathering device performance metrics.
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used to poll and query network switches for performance metrics.
SNMP operates over UDP port 161 for standard polling and query operations.
2
Identify the required service for clock synchronization across network infrastructure.
Network Time Protocol (NTP) synchronizes system clocks for accurate timestamping across logs.
NTP operates over UDP port 123 to minimize overhead and latency.
3
Select the correct combination of transport protocols and port numbers.
Permit UDP 161 (SNMP) and UDP 123 (NTP) through the firewall.
Both protocols require connectionless UDP transport rather than TCP.

Key Concept

Identifying standard transport layer ports and protocols for network management services (SNMP on UDP 161 and NTP on UDP 123).
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