CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

What is a key characteristic of broadcast communication in networking?

1. Send information to a specific address only

2. One packet received by everyone simultaneously

3. Utilizes multicast for routing

4. Requires acknowledgment from each receiver

The correct answer is: One packet received by everyone simultaneously

In networking, broadcast communication is characterized by the ability to send a packet of information to all devices within a network segment simultaneously. This means that when a broadcast message is transmitted, every device on the local network receives that packet at the same time, regardless of their individual IP addresses or specific targeting. This method is fundamental in scenarios where information needs to be disseminated broadly without the necessity for addressing each recipient individually. Broadcast communication typically operates over protocols that support this type of transmission, such as Ethernet, where a packet with a broadcast address is sent out and every connected device processes it. This contrasts with unicast communication, where messages are sent to specific devices, and multicast communication, which targets a selected group of devices. The other options describe different concepts in networking: sending to a specific address pertains to unicast communication; utilizing multicast refers to a different method of grouping send messages to multiple specific recipients; and requiring acknowledgment from each receiver pertains more to protocols that use reliable transmission, such as TCP, which differs significantly from the inherently non-acknowledged nature of broadcast communication.