Unlock hundreds more features
Save your Quiz to the Dashboard
View and Export Results
Use AI to Create Quizzes and Analyse Results

Sign inSign in with Facebook
Sign inSign in with Google

Transport Network Knowledge Assessment Quiz

Evaluate Your Understanding of Transport Networks

Difficulty: Moderate
Questions: 20
Learning OutcomesStudy Material
Colorful paper art featuring various modes of transport for a network knowledge quiz

Ready to test your mastery of transport layer networking and congestion control? This Transport Network Knowledge Assessment is perfect for students and IT professionals looking to sharpen their understanding of TCP/UDP protocols. Dive into 15 multiple-choice questions and see how you stack up against topics covered in the Network Fundamentals Practice Quiz and the Network Protocols Knowledge Quiz . Everyone can take this quiz, customise it in our intuitive editor, and share it in our quizzes library. Join today to elevate your networking expertise and confidence!

What is the primary function of the transport layer in the TCP/IP model?
Data encryption
End-to-end communication
Routing of packets
Physical transmission
The transport layer provides end-to-end communication services between applications on different hosts. It ensures data is transferred reliably or unreliably as needed depending on the protocol.
Which transport protocol provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data between applications?
UDP
IP
TCP
ICMP
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) offers reliability through sequence numbers, acknowledgments, and retransmissions. These features guarantee ordered and error-checked delivery of data.
Which protocol is connectionless and does not guarantee packet delivery?
HTTP
FTP
UDP
TCP
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is connectionless and does not provide acknowledgments or retransmissions. It offers minimal overhead but no delivery guarantees.
What mechanism does the transport layer use to differentiate between multiple applications running on the same device?
Subnets
Port numbers
MAC addresses
Ethernet frames
Port numbers identify specific application endpoints on a host. Both TCP and UDP use port addressing to multiplex and demultiplex data streams.
Which field in the TCP header is used to ensure that segments are reassembled in the correct order at the receiver?
Port number
Sequence number
Acknowledgment number
Checksum
Sequence numbers in the TCP header allow the receiver to reorder segments that arrive out of order. They are essential for reliable data reassembly.
What is the purpose of the TCP three-way handshake?
To terminate a connection
To establish a connection and synchronize sequence numbers
To encrypt data
To multiplex multiple sessions
The three-way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) establishes a reliable connection and synchronizes initial sequence numbers. This process ensures both sides are ready to transmit and receive data.
Which flow control mechanism does TCP utilize to prevent the sender from overwhelming the receiver?
Token bucket
Sliding window
Leaky bucket
Static queue
TCP uses a sliding window mechanism to control the amount of unacknowledged data in transit. The receiver advertises a window size that tells the sender how much data it can accept.
During TCP congestion control, what does the slow start phase do to the congestion window (cwnd)?
Decreases cwnd linearly
Increases cwnd exponentially
Keeps cwnd constant
Sets cwnd to zero
In slow start, TCP doubles the congestion window each round-trip time until it reaches the slow start threshold. This exponential growth probes the available network capacity.
What happens when a TCP receiver advertises a window size of zero?
Sender resets the connection
Sender continues sending until receiver resets window
Sender stops sending until the window opens
Sender switches to UDP
A zero window advertisement signals the sender to halt data transmission until the receiver has buffer space available. The sender periodically probes until a non-zero window is advertised.
Which scenario is most appropriate for using UDP over TCP?
File transfer requiring reliability
Live video streaming needing low latency
Email delivery
Software download
UDP's low overhead and lack of retransmission make it suitable for real-time applications like video streaming. Occasional packet loss is preferable to the delays caused by retransmission.
Which sequence of socket calls should a TCP server use to accept incoming connections?
listen(), accept(), connect(), close()
bind(), listen(), accept(), close()
connect(), send(), receive(), close()
bind(), connect(), listen(), close()
A server must bind its socket to an address and port, listen for incoming requests, then accept a connection. Close is used to terminate the connection when done.
In TCP segmentation, which parameter defines the maximum amount of data in a single segment?
Maximum Segment Size (MSS)
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
Window size
Payload length
The MSS specifies the largest segment of data that TCP will send in a single packet. It is negotiated during the handshake to avoid fragmentation.
What is the role of the TCP selective acknowledgment (SACK) option?
To synchronize sequence numbers
To allow the receiver to inform the sender about only the missing segments
To reduce RTT measurements
To manage flow control windows
SACK enables the receiver to specify blocks of data that have been received successfully. This reduces unnecessary retransmissions and improves recovery from loss.
Which TCP component is responsible for measuring round-trip time (RTT) and adjusting retransmission timers?
UDP header
TCP timer subsystem
Application socket
IP fragmentation module
The TCP timer subsystem tracks RTT for sent segments and adjusts the retransmission timeout (RTO) accordingly. Accurate RTT measurement is essential to avoid spurious retransmissions.
How does UDP handle data that exceeds the path MTU?
Relies on IP fragmentation
Performs its own segmentation
Uses sliding window
Queues data until MTU changes
UDP does not segment large messages itself; it relies on IP to fragment packets that exceed the path MTU. The receiver reassembles these fragments transparently.
Which technique can improve the accuracy of TCP retransmission timeout (RTO) calculations and reduce spurious retransmissions?
Disabling Nagle's algorithm
Increasing the initial congestion window
Enabling TCP timestamps
Reducing the MSS
TCP timestamps allow the sender to measure RTT more precisely even when packets are retransmitted. This leads to better RTO estimates and fewer unnecessary retransmissions.
A TCP connection's congestion window has stopped growing despite available bandwidth. Which adjustment is most likely to restore throughput?
Increasing the slow start threshold (ssthresh)
Decreasing the receiver's advertised window
Increasing the receiver's advertised window size
Lowering the initial congestion window
If the receiver's advertised window is smaller than the congestion window, it caps growth. Increasing the advertised window allows the sender to expand its window and use available bandwidth.
In a high bandwidth-delay product network, which parameter must be increased to achieve efficient TCP throughput?
Maximum Segment Size (MSS)
Sliding window size to match the bandwidth-delay product
Round-trip time (RTT)
IP Time To Live (TTL)
Large bandwidth-delay product paths require a correspondingly large TCP window to keep the pipe full. Increasing the window size enables high throughput over long-distance links.
On a client system exhausting ephemeral ports during many short-lived TCP connections, which OS configuration change is most effective?
Reducing the MSS
Increasing the maximum number of TCP retransmissions
Expanding the ephemeral port range
Enabling TCP slow start
Expanding the ephemeral port range provides more unique client-side source ports. This prevents port exhaustion when many connections are opened and closed rapidly.
Which combination of metrics is most useful for diagnosing congestion-related packet loss at the transport layer?
RTT variance and duplicate acknowledgment count
IP TTL and MTU sizes
Port numbers and payload size
MSS and advertised window
High RTT variance may indicate queuing delays, and duplicate ACKs are a direct signal of lost packets. Together they help diagnose congestion and loss at the transport layer.
0
{"name":"What is the primary function of the transport layer in the TCP\/IP model?", "url":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/QPREVIEW","txt":"What is the primary function of the transport layer in the TCP\/IP model?, Which transport protocol provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data between applications?, Which protocol is connectionless and does not guarantee packet delivery?","img":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/3012/images/ogquiz.png"}

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyze the functions of transport layer protocols like TCP and UDP.
  2. Identify key transport network components and data flow mechanisms.
  3. Evaluate congestion control and flow control strategies in networks.
  4. Apply segmentation and reassembly concepts to data transmission.
  5. Demonstrate understanding of port addressing and socket communication.
  6. Master troubleshooting techniques for transport layer performance issues.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Understand the core functions of TCP and UDP - TCP reliably delivers data in order with error checking, ideal for web browsing and email. UDP skips handshakes for speed, great for live video streaming. Read more on GeeksforGeeks
  2. Recognize key transport layer components - The transport layer handles end-to-end communication, managing segmentation, reassembly, and error correction. It keeps data whole so messages arrive intact across networks. Explore GeeksforGeeks
  3. Evaluate congestion control strategies - TCP's congestion control uses slow start and congestion avoidance to adjust sending rates. These tactics prevent network overload and maintain smooth traffic flow. Read the Wiley chapter
  4. Apply segmentation and reassembly concepts - Segmentation splits messages into smaller chunks, and reassembly puts them back in order. This process ensures efficient, reliable data delivery across networks. Explore GeeksforGeeks
  5. Understand port addressing and socket communication - Port numbers (0 - 65535) act like apartment numbers to route data to the correct application. Sockets pair IP addresses with ports, making network communication precise. Check Wikipedia
  6. Master flow control techniques - TCP's sliding window protocol adjusts data flow to match receiver capacity and prevent buffer overflow. This coordination helps avoid packet loss and keeps connections stable. Explore GeeksforGeeks
  7. Differentiate between TCP and UDP headers - TCP headers range from 20 to 60 bytes and include control flags, while UDP headers are a simple, fixed 8 bytes. These differences affect overhead and speed. Read more on GeeksforGeeks
  8. Explore error detection methods - Both TCP and UDP use checksums to spot corrupted data during transit. When errors are found, TCP requests retransmission while UDP may drop flawed packets. Check Wikipedia
  9. Learn about multiplexing and demultiplexing - Multiplexing combines multiple data streams into one channel, and demultiplexing separates them at the destination. Ports guide the transport layer in directing traffic accurately. Explore GeeksforGeeks
  10. Develop troubleshooting skills for transport layer issues - Understanding TCP vs UDP behavior, flow control, and congestion control helps diagnose slow or dropped packets. These insights make network debugging more effective. Read more on GeeksforGeeks
Powered by: Quiz Maker