Which mechanism is primarily responsible for ensuring data does not overwhelm the receiver in a TCP connection?

Enhance your networking knowledge! Tackle our Transport Layer Protocols and Functions Test featuring flashcards and multiple-choice questions with insightful hints and explanations. Elevate your exam readiness now!

Multiple Choice

Which mechanism is primarily responsible for ensuring data does not overwhelm the receiver in a TCP connection?

Explanation:
Flow control is the mechanism that prevents a sender from overwhelming the receiver in a TCP connection. In TCP, the receiver advertises a receive window (the rwnd) in its acknowledgments, which tells the sender how much data it can buffer. The sender must keep the amount of data in flight (unacknowledged data) within that window. If the receiver’s buffer fills up, the advertised window shrinks or becomes zero, causing the sender to pause until more space is available. This keeps the receiver from being flooded with data it can’t handle. Routing, encryption, and compression don’t manage the pacing of data delivery to the receiver.

Flow control is the mechanism that prevents a sender from overwhelming the receiver in a TCP connection. In TCP, the receiver advertises a receive window (the rwnd) in its acknowledgments, which tells the sender how much data it can buffer. The sender must keep the amount of data in flight (unacknowledged data) within that window. If the receiver’s buffer fills up, the advertised window shrinks or becomes zero, causing the sender to pause until more space is available. This keeps the receiver from being flooded with data it can’t handle. Routing, encryption, and compression don’t manage the pacing of data delivery to the receiver.

Subscribe

Get the latest from Examzify

You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy