Question

Difficulty: MediumConnection-Oriented vs Connectionless Protocols

A network administrator is deploying a telemetry system for an industrial facility. Environment sensors transmit high-frequency status updates every few milliseconds to a monitoring dashboard, where minimal delay is critical and occasional missing telemetry readings are acceptable. However, executive override commands sent to remote control actuators require guaranteed, error-checked, and sequentially delivered packets to prevent equipment damage. Which transport layer protocol pair best satisfies the operational requirements for status updates and executive control commands, respectively?

  1. UDP for status updates, and TCP for executive control commandsAnswer
  2. B
    TCP for status updates, and UDP for executive control commands
  3. C
    IP for status updates, and Ethernet for executive control commands
  4. D
    UDP using TCP port 80 for status updates, and TCP using UDP port 53 for executive control commands

Answer

The telemetry status updates require UDP due to low overhead and latency tolerance, while the control commands require TCP due to strict requirements for reliability and sequential packet delivery.
The combination of UDP for status updates and TCP for executive control commands correctly aligns protocol behavior with application needs. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is connectionless and incurs low overhead, ideal for high-frequency telemetry where low latency is paramount. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is connection-oriented, utilizing sequence numbers and acknowledgements to guarantee delivery and order for critical control instructions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the requirements for high-frequency sensor telemetry
Identified low-latency requirement and tolerance for occasional dropped packets, matching connectionless UDP.
UDP operates without virtual connection setup, error recovery, or packet sequencing, minimizing processing overhead for real-time data.
2
Analyze the requirements for executive actuator control commands
Identified mandatory delivery guarantee, packet sequencing, and error checking, matching connection-oriented TCP.
TCP uses a three-way handshake, sequence numbers, and acknowledgements to ensure every payload reaches its destination accurately and in sequence.
3
Select the correct combination matching both application profiles
UDP for status updates, and TCP for executive control commands.
Proper protocol selection aligns application requirements with transport layer operational characteristics.

Key Concept

Connection-Oriented (TCP) vs Connectionless (UDP) Transport Protocols
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