100-150 Question 12
Single answerA network technician is troubleshooting a data transmission issue between two devices on a network. The technician confirms that the devices are successfully exchanging IP packets but notices that the data inside the packets is corrupted. At which layer of the OSI model should the technician focus their troubleshooting efforts?
- A
Physical layer
- B
Data Link layer
- C
Transport layer
- D
Network layer
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The corruption of data inside IP packets is typically handled by the Transport layer, which ensures reliable data delivery through mechanisms like error detection, error correction, and retransmission of corrupted or missing segments. The other layers mentioned do not handle this specific responsibility.
- A. Incorrect.
The Physical layer is responsible for the transmission of raw bits over a physical medium (e.g., cables or wireless signals). It does not handle data integrity or packet contents, so troubleshooting here is not relevant for corrupted data within packets.
- B. Incorrect.
The Data Link layer handles error detection and correction for frames at the local network level. However, this layer does not deal with the integrity of data within IP packets, as those belong to higher layers.
- C. Correct.
The Transport layer (e.g., TCP) is responsible for ensuring reliable data transmission, including error detection and correction for the data inside packets. Since the issue involves corrupted data within packets, this is the correct layer to investigate.
- D. Incorrect.
The Network layer is responsible for routing and forwarding IP packets between devices. It ensures packets are delivered to the correct destination but does not handle the integrity of the data inside the packets.