How does the Transport Layer handle large messages before transmission?

• A. It breaks them down into smaller pieces called segments.
• B. It broadcasts the message to all network devices.
• C. It stores the message until a connection is established.
• D. It leaves the message intact and sends as one unit.

Answer: (A)

Breaking a large message into smaller units called segments is how the transport layer prepares data for transmission. This segmentation fits the data within network MTU limits, and it enables reliable, ordered delivery: each segment carries its own header with sequence information, checksums, and port numbers so the receiver can reassemble the original message correctly and request retransmission if any piece is lost. Broadcasting everything to all devices, waiting to store until a connection is established, or sending the message as one intact unit would waste bandwidth, complicate reliability, or violate MTU constraints, respectively. So dividing the message into segments is the appropriate approach.