28.02.

2025 15:03 MCQ University Exam Creation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT)
Final Exam: Computer Networks – Application Layer
Time: 2 Hours
Instructions: Select the best answer for each question. Some questions require reasoning based on
fundamental networking principles.

Section 1: Conceptual Foundations of the Application Layer

1. Which of the following best describes the primary role of the application layer in the OSI
model?
A) It ensures reliable data delivery between hosts
B) It manages the physical transmission of bits over the network
C) It provides network services directly to user applications
D) It determines the best route for data packets
Answer: C) It provides network services directly to user applications
2. HTTP, FTP, and SMTP all rely on TCP. Why is TCP preferred for these applications?
A) It allows for low-latency data transmission
B) It ensures reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data
C) It can handle real-time streaming more efficiently than UDP
D) It reduces network congestion by sending packets as quickly as possible
Answer: B) It ensures reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data
3. A peer-to-peer (P2P) system differs from the client-server model in that:
A) A P2P network always has a central server that coordinates peer connections
B) P2P networks are more scalable but require significant bandwidth for each peer
C) Client-server networks require less infrastructure than P2P networks
D) P2P systems always provide better security than client-server systems
Answer: B) P2P networks are more scalable but require significant bandwidth for each peer

Section 2: Web and HTTP - Performance and Design Trade-

offs
4. HTTP/1.1 introduced persistent connections. What performance advantage does this provide
over HTTP/1.0?

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A) It reduces the need for TCP handshakes, decreasing latency

B) It compresses HTTP headers to save bandwidth
C) It allows multiplexing of multiple requests over a single connection
D) It provides built-in encryption for web traffic
Answer: A) It reduces the need for TCP handshakes, decreasing latency
5. Consider a website that loads 50 small objects (e.g., images) per page. Which protocol choice
would minimize page load times?
A) HTTP/1.0 with separate TCP connections for each object
B) HTTP/1.1 with persistent connections
C) HTTP/2 with multiplexing
D) UDP instead of TCP
Answer: C) HTTP/2 with multiplexing
6. A company is deploying a web application that requires real-time responsiveness and low
latency. Which protocol should they use for real-time communication?
A) HTTP
B) FTP
C) WebSockets
D) SMTP
Answer: C) WebSockets

Section 3: DNS and Naming Systems

7. What is a key reason why DNS uses a hierarchical, distributed design instead of a centralized
system?
A) To improve security by making it difficult to modify domain names
B) To reduce latency and distribute query loads across multiple servers
C) To ensure all queries pass through a central authority for verification
D) To minimize the use of caching and ensure real-time lookups
Answer: B) To reduce latency and distribute query loads across multiple servers
8. If a company’s DNS records are being poisoned (hijacked), what is the most effective
countermeasure?
A) Switching from UDP to TCP for DNS queries
B) Disabling DNS caching on all servers
C) Using DNSSEC to authenticate DNS responses
D) Increasing the TTL (time-to-live) values on all DNS records
Answer: C) Using DNSSEC to authenticate DNS responses

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Section 4: Transport Protocols and Performance

Considerations
9. Why do video streaming applications typically use TCP rather than UDP, despite UDP’s lower
latency?
A) TCP supports real-time traffic better than UDP
B) TCP ensures reliable transmission, avoiding visual glitches and artifacts
C) UDP cannot handle video encoding efficiently
D) TCP automatically increases transmission speed when network congestion occurs
Answer: B) TCP ensures reliable transmission, avoiding visual glitches and artifacts
10. A new online multiplayer game requires low latency for a smooth experience. What transport
protocol is most suitable?
A) TCP
B) UDP
C) SMTP
D) FTP
Answer: B) UDP

Section 5: Reasoning and Problem-Solving

11. A company wants to improve the efficiency of its web application by using a Content Delivery
Network (CDN). What is the primary advantage of this approach?
A) It reduces the number of TCP connections required for each request
B) It ensures all content is encrypted before transmission
C) It moves content closer to end-users, reducing load times and bandwidth usage
D) It eliminates the need for DNS resolution
Answer: C) It moves content closer to end-users, reducing load times and bandwidth usage
12. A user reports that a website loads significantly slower in one country compared to another.
What is the most likely cause?
A) The website uses non-standard HTTP headers
B) The DNS query for the website takes longer due to geographic distance
C) The local ISP has a slow connection to the website’s hosting server
D) The website does not use TLS for encryption
Answer: C) The local ISP has a slow connection to the website’s hosting server

Section 6: Case Study - Applied Network Engineering

13. A company runs an e-commerce website and wants to optimize its backend to handle
increased user traffic. What is the best approach to improve scalability?
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A) Deploy a single, high-performance server

B) Use a round-robin DNS configuration to distribute traffic among multiple servers
C) Disable persistent connections to save bandwidth
D) Reduce the number of HTTP requests per page by using HTTP/0.9
Answer: B) Use a round-robin DNS configuration to distribute traffic among multiple servers
14. A new cloud service provider needs to handle millions of simultaneous user connections for
video conferencing. What architecture should they prioritize?
A) A single centralized data center
B) A peer-to-peer (P2P) system
C) A globally distributed Content Delivery Network (CDN) with load balancing
D) A local DNS-based authentication system
Answer: C) A globally distributed Content Delivery Network (CDN) with load balancing

Section 7: Advanced Topics and Emerging Technologies

15. HTTP/3 replaces TCP with QUIC. What is the key motivation behind this change?
A) QUIC allows multiplexed streams to avoid head-of-line blocking
B) QUIC requires less encryption than TCP
C) QUIC reduces congestion control mechanisms, making it faster
D) QUIC prevents DNS poisoning attacks
Answer: A) QUIC allows multiplexed streams to avoid head-of-line blocking
16. A cybersecurity expert is investigating a large-scale DDoS attack that targets a company’s
DNS servers. What is the most likely method attackers are using?
A) Sending fake HTTP GET requests to web servers
B) Using DNS amplification attacks by spoofing source addresses
C) Injecting SQL code into the company’s database
D) Encrypting all DNS traffic to prevent resolution
Answer: B) Using DNS amplification attacks by spoofing source addresses

End of Exam

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