Question

Difficulty: MediumConnection-Oriented vs Connectionless Protocols

A network administrator is configuring a low-latency network telemetry application that uses UDP to transmit continuous system performance metrics. Which of the following operational characteristics distinguish connectionless transport protocols from connection-oriented protocols in this implementation? (SELECT TWO)

  1. Transmission of data packets without requiring an initial session establishment handshakeAnswer
  2. Omission of header fields for sequence numbers, acknowledgment tracking, and window sizeAnswer
  3. C
    Dynamic modification of sliding window sizes to perform network congestion control
  4. D
    Guaranteed in-order reassembly of payload segments at the destination transport layer
  5. E
    Automatic retransmission of missing segments triggered by acknowledgement timeouts

Answer

Connectionless protocols such as UDP transmit data without establishing a prior connection handshake and utilize minimalistic headers that omit sequence numbers, acknowledgments, and flow control fields.
Connectionless protocols transmit data statelessly without performing a handshake to set up a connection before transmission. Furthermore, their headers are lightweight because they lack mechanisms for sequence tracking, arrival acknowledgments, and windowing-based flow control.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze transport layer connection setup mechanisms
Connectionless protocols eliminate session setup delays by sending data immediately without negotiating a three-way handshake.
This reduces initial transmission latency.
2
Examine protocol header structures for overhead and control functions
Connectionless protocol headers omit sequence numbers, acknowledgment fields, and windowing values.
Because reliability and sequencing are not provided at the transport layer, header size is kept minimal to reduce bandwidth consumption.

Key Concept

Operational differences between connection-oriented (TCP) and connectionless (UDP) protocols
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