Doubt about transport layer

[Gautham]

Page 16 "The transport Layer"

They provide end-to-end data transport services and can establish a logical connection between the sending host and destination host on the internetwork.


Please check the picture and tell me where i went wrong. Isn't connection and path one and the same?

[omd]

A path and a connection are not the same.

There is a path between my telephone and my mother's telephone (and many others, as well). But if the phones are in the cradle, there is no connection. Only when I haved picked up my phone, dialed her number, and she has picked up on her end, do we actually have a connection.

In the context of internetworking, certain words have very specific meanings and the word "connection" in particular should indeed key one in to looking at the transport layer and the telephone analogy. However, the word connection did not appear in the question.

That the path is described as _logical_ rules out the physical and data link layers. While these may provide a physical path between certain things, in the context of internetworking, we need the logical path provided by the network layer to create a path between any two hosts, any where.

I would agree that this is one of those questions where you have to sort of read between the lines. I suppose they do this to ensure that you deeply understand the material.

Lastly, I think I am obligated to say something about posting copyrighted material. Perhaps someone more familiar with the policies and the consequences could say something more.

[Gautham]

thanks a lot omd........

the example makes sense. I would have gone for network layer when it says logical in the question but after reading todd's explanation of transport layer in his book i hesitated.

how would you dodge this bullet in the exam?

p.s i was desperate to get an answer that i didnt think about copyright issues.I apologize.

[omd]

There is no substitute for a deep understanding of the material, so do whatever it takes to get there. Read the book more than once. Read more than one book.

When you look at practice questions, make sure you really understand why a certain answer is right, not just that you remember the right answer from the last time you went through that practice test.

I suggest reading online forums to see what others are struggling with. Many are struggling with the same things as you. But I would warn that you will run in to some stuff that is - well - less than concise.

The good news is that I felt like the questions on the real CCNA test were far more clear and concise than much of the practice material I found. But at the same time, there will be a few questions that will make you scratch your head. It is a timed test, so as I said; There is no substitute for a deep understanding of the material.