A network engineer is designing a transport layer architecture for an enterprise safety infrastructure. The deployment consists of two distinct components: a real-time emergency alert service that must rapidly transmit 64-byte emergency broadcast triggers to thousands of workstation endpoints simultaneously without session setup delay, and an automated audit compliance service that must transfer large system logs to a centralized server where every packet must be acknowledged and processed strictly in order. Which of the following transport protocol selections best satisfies both operational requirements while optimizing network overhead?
- Utilize UDP for the emergency alert trigger service and TCP for the audit compliance service.Answer
- BUtilize TCP for the emergency alert trigger service to ensure missed triggers are retransmitted, and UDP for the audit compliance service to prevent central server buffer exhaustion.
- CUtilize Data Link layer Ethernet frames directly for the log audit service to ensure reliability, and Transport layer UDP for the emergency alert triggers.
- DUtilize UDP on port 443 for guaranteed log audit delivery to bypass stateful firewalls, and TCP on port 53 for real-time emergency alert triggers.
Answer
Utilize UDP for the emergency alert trigger service and TCP for the audit compliance service.
UDP is connectionless and header-light (8 bytes), eliminating three-way handshake delays and retransmission buffers, which makes it ideal for real-time emergency alert triggers. TCP is connection-oriented, providing sequence numbers, acknowledgments, and flow control necessary for complete, ordered audit log delivery.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Transport Layer Protocol Selection (Connection-Oriented TCP vs. Connectionless UDP)