200-301 Question 82
Single answerA network engineer is troubleshooting an application that streams live video. The application is experiencing delays and intermittent buffering. The engineer is considering switching the transport protocol from TCP to UDP. What is the primary advantage of using UDP in this scenario?
- A
UDP provides reliable delivery by retransmitting lost packets.
- B
UDP has lower latency since it does not establish or maintain a connection.
- C
UDP ensures packets are delivered in sequence to maintain data integrity.
- D
UDP uses flow control mechanisms to prevent network congestion.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
UDP is a connectionless protocol that prioritizes speed and low latency over reliability and sequencing. This makes it well-suited for applications like live video streaming or VoIP, where timely delivery is more important than ensuring every packet is received or delivered in order. By avoiding the overhead of connection establishment, retransmissions, and flow control, UDP reduces latency, improving the performance of real-time applications.
- A. Incorrect.
UDP does not provide reliable delivery as it does not retransmit lost packets. This is a feature of TCP, not UDP.
- B. Correct.
UDP has lower latency because it is connectionless and does not require the overhead of establishing or maintaining a connection like TCP does.
- C. Incorrect.
UDP does not ensure packet sequencing. Packets may arrive out of order, which is acceptable for applications like live video streaming.
- D. Incorrect.
UDP does not include flow control mechanisms. TCP uses flow control to manage congestion, but UDP leaves this responsibility to the application layer.