- A
Provides guaranteed delivery
Why wrong: UDP is best-effort; guaranteed delivery is a characteristic of TCP.
- B
Uses sequence numbers
Why wrong: Sequence numbers are used by TCP for ordering and reliability.
- C
Supports three-way handshake
Why wrong: The three-way handshake is part of TCP connection establishment.
- D
Has lower overhead than TCP
UDP has minimal header size and no connection establishment, resulting in lower overhead.
Question 6 of 520
N10-009 Networking Concepts Practice Question
This N10-009 practice question tests your understanding of networking concepts. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which of the following is a characteristic of UDP?
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
✓
Has lower overhead than TCP
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a connectionless transport-layer protocol that provides minimal overhead compared to TCP. It does not establish a connection before sending data, nor does it provide reliability, flow control, or error recovery, making it ideal for real-time applications like VoIP and streaming where speed is prioritized over guaranteed delivery.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Provides guaranteed delivery
When this WOULD be correct
In a question asking 'Which of the following is a characteristic of TCP?', 'Provides guaranteed delivery' would be correct because TCP uses acknowledgments and retransmissions to ensure data arrives intact.
- ✗
Uses sequence numbers
- ✗
Supports three-way handshake
- ✓
Has lower overhead than TCP
Why this is correct
UDP has minimal header size and no connection establishment, resulting in lower overhead.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The N10-009 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Has lower overhead than TCPCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
UDP has minimal header size and no connection establishment, resulting in lower overhead.
✗Provides guaranteed deliveryWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not provide guaranteed delivery; it offers no acknowledgments or retransmissions, unlike TCP which ensures reliable data transfer.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a question asking 'Which of the following is a characteristic of TCP?', 'Provides guaranteed delivery' would be correct because TCP uses acknowledgments and retransmissions to ensure data arrives intact.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse UDP with TCP, assuming all transport protocols provide reliability, or they may think 'best-effort' delivery implies some guarantee.
✗Uses sequence numbersWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not use sequence numbers; sequence numbers are a feature of TCP for ordered delivery.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a question asking 'Which of the following is a characteristic of TCP?', option 'Uses sequence numbers' would be correct because TCP uses sequence numbers to ensure ordered data delivery.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse UDP with TCP, assuming all transport protocols use sequence numbers for reliability, or they may recall that UDP has a checksum but mistakenly think it includes sequence numbers.
✗Supports three-way handshakeWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not establish a session, so it does not support a three-way handshake, which is a TCP mechanism.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
In a question asking 'Which of the following is a characteristic of TCP?', option C would be correct because TCP uses a three-way handshake to establish a connection.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse UDP with TCP, as both are transport layer protocols, and mistakenly attribute TCP features like the three-way handshake to UDP.
Analysis generated from the official N10-009blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse UDP's lack of reliability with being 'unreliable' in a negative sense, but the exam tests that UDP's lower overhead is a deliberate design choice for performance-sensitive applications.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
UDP operates by sending datagrams directly to the destination without any prior setup, using a simple header that includes only source port, destination port, length, and checksum. The checksum is optional in IPv4 but mandatory in IPv6, and if a checksum error is detected, the datagram is silently discarded without notification to the sender. In real-world scenarios, DNS queries use UDP by default (port 53) because the overhead of a TCP handshake would be unacceptable for the small, frequent transactions typical of name resolution.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the N10-009 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
Visual reference
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this N10-009 question test?
Networking Concepts — This question tests Networking Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Has lower overhead than TCP — UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a connectionless transport-layer protocol that provides minimal overhead compared to TCP. It does not establish a connection before sending data, nor does it provide reliability, flow control, or error recovery, making it ideal for real-time applications like VoIP and streaming where speed is prioritized over guaranteed delivery.
What should I do if I get this N10-009 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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