(ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity Practice Exam

What is known as a lightweight, connectionless protocol?

1. A) TCP

2. B) UDP

3. C) RDP

4. D) LDAP

The correct answer is: B) UDP

The answer is UDP, which stands for User Datagram Protocol. This protocol is considered "lightweight" because it operates without the overhead associated with establishing and maintaining a connection between sender and receiver. Unlike TCP, which is connection-oriented and requires a handshake process to establish a reliable communication channel, UDP sends packets of data without ensuring delivery or ordering. This makes UDP suitable for applications that prioritize speed and efficiency over reliability, such as online gaming, video streaming, and voice over IP (VoIP). In addition to being connectionless, UDP allows for low latency communication, which is crucial for applications that require real-time data transmission. Because it doesn't require the extensive error-checking that TCP does, UDP can transmit data faster, making it a preferred choice in scenarios where speed is critical and occasional data loss is acceptable. Other options, such as TCP, RDP, and LDAP, are not connectionless protocols. TCP establishes a connection through a handshake, RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) facilitates remote connections with more features like session management, and LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is used for directory services and requires a connection. Therefore, UDP stands out as the lightweight, connectionless alternative among the choices provided.