N10-009 Question 10
Single answerLayer 5 - SessionA company uses a terminal server environment where remote employees connect to an internal Windows application through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Users report that after brief WAN interruptions, their screens freeze and they must sign in again, losing unsaved work. Network monitoring shows that IP connectivity is usually restored within seconds, but the user session is not being resumed. Which action would best address this issue from an OSI Layer 5 perspective?
- A
Configure session persistence and reconnection settings on the Remote Desktop Services host
- B
Replace the access switches with models that support a larger MAC address table
- C
Disable TCP window scaling on client devices
- D
Change the cabling between the core switch and firewall from Cat 6 to fiber
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question focuses on the OSI Session layer's role in maintaining dialog state between applications. In real environments, technologies such as Microsoft Remote Desktop Services rely on session management features to let users reconnect to an existing session after transient network loss. When users must sign in again and lose unsaved work even though connectivity returns quickly, the most appropriate fix is to review session timeout, disconnection, and reconnection settings rather than changing switching hardware, cabling, or TCP tuning. This aligns with common vendor guidance for remote application delivery platforms, where preserving user context across short interruptions is handled through session management and reconnection policies rather than lower-layer network changes.
- A. Correct.
Correct. OSI Layer 5, the Session layer, is responsible for establishing, managing, and terminating communication sessions between applications. In a Remote Desktop Services environment, configuring disconnected session limits, session persistence, and reconnection behavior directly addresses the problem of users needing to reauthenticate and losing application state after a brief interruption. This is the option that most closely maps to session management rather than lower-layer connectivity changes.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A larger MAC address table is a Layer 2 switching consideration and would be relevant for issues such as MAC flooding or address learning limits. It does not address the application session being dropped after a temporary WAN interruption.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. TCP window scaling is a transport-layer performance feature related to throughput and receive window size. While transport issues can affect responsiveness, disabling window scaling would not be the best solution for preserving and resuming authenticated user sessions after a short disconnect.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Changing copper cabling to fiber between infrastructure devices affects the Physical layer and possibly bandwidth or distance limitations. The scenario already states that IP connectivity returns quickly, so the primary issue is session continuity, not the medium used for the uplink.