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200-901 Network Fundamentals Practice Question

A network engineer is deploying a new application that requires low-latency, high-throughput communication between two data centers. The engineer decides to use UDP instead of TCP for the application's transport protocol. Which two characteristics of UDP make it suitable for this scenario? (Choose two.)

⚠ Common exam trap

The trap here is assuming that UDP provides reliability or ordering, which are TCP features, or that its lack of congestion control is always beneficial without considering network conditions.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

UDP has a smaller header size compared to TCP, reducing bandwidth overhead.

UDP is suitable for low-latency, high-throughput communication because it is connectionless, avoiding the overhead of establishing and maintaining a connection, and it has a smaller header size, reducing per-packet overhead. These characteristics make UDP ideal for real-time applications where speed is critical and some packet loss is tolerable. The other options describe features of TCP or incorrectly attribute reliability and congestion control to UDP.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
UDP guarantees packet ordering and delivery.
Why it's wrong here
UDP does not guarantee packet ordering or delivery. Packets may arrive out of order, be duplicated, or be lost entirely. Applications using UDP must handle these issues at the application layer if needed. This option confuses UDP with TCP, which provides ordered and reliable delivery through sequence numbers and acknowledgments.
✗
UDP provides reliable delivery through acknowledgments and retransmissions.
Why it's wrong here
UDP does not provide reliable delivery; it is a connectionless protocol that does not use acknowledgments or retransmissions. Reliability is a feature of TCP, not UDP. This option incorrectly attributes TCP's reliability mechanisms to UDP, which would not be suitable for a low-latency scenario where some packet loss is acceptable.
✓
UDP has a smaller header size compared to TCP, reducing bandwidth overhead.
Why this is correct
The UDP header is 8 bytes, while the TCP header is at least 20 bytes. This smaller header reduces per-packet overhead, which can improve efficiency for high-throughput applications. In scenarios where many small packets are sent, the reduced overhead can lead to better bandwidth utilization and lower latency.
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UDP performs congestion control to avoid network congestion.
Why it's wrong here
UDP does not perform congestion control. It sends data at the rate the application dictates, regardless of network conditions. Congestion control is a TCP feature that adjusts transmission rates based on network feedback. For low-latency applications, the lack of congestion control can be advantageous because it avoids delays caused by throttling, but it also risks network congestion.
✓
UDP has lower overhead because it does not establish a connection before sending data.
Why this is correct
UDP is connectionless, meaning it does not perform a three-way handshake before transmitting data. This reduces latency and overhead, making it suitable for applications that require low-latency communication. The absence of connection setup and teardown allows data to be sent immediately, which is beneficial for high-throughput, real-time applications.

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200-901 Network Fundamentals Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

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