Tuesday 13 November 2012

Which layer of the OSI reference model is responsible for ensuring reliable end-to-end delivery of data?

A. Application
B. Presentation
C. Session
D. Transport
E. Network
F. Data-Link

Answer: D

Explanation:

A key function of the transport layer is to provide connection services for the protocoland applications that run at the levels above it. These can be categorized as either connection-oriented services or connectionless services. Some protocol suites, such as TCP/IP, provide both a connection-oriented and a connectionless transport layer protocol, to suit the needs of different applications.

The transport layer is also the place in the layer stack where functions are normally included to add features to end-to-end data transport. Where network layer protocols are normally concerned with just "best effort" communications, where delivery is not guaranteed. Transport layer protocols are given intelligence in the form of algorithms that ensure that reliable and efficient communication between devices takes place. This encompasses several related jobs, including lost transmission detection and handling, and managing the rate at which data is sent to ensure that the receiving device is not overwhelmed.

Transmission quality, meaning ensuring that transmissions are received as sent, is so important that some networking references define the transport layer on the basis of reliability and flow-control functions. However, not all transport layer protocols provide these services. Just as a protocol suite may have a connection-oriented and a connectionless transport layer protocol, it may also have one that provides reliability and data management services, and one that does not. Again, this is the case with TCP/IP: there is one main transport layer protocol; TCP, that includes reliability and flow control features, and a second, UDP, that doesn't.

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