Which of the following is a maintenance protocol that permits routers and host computers to swap
basic control information when data is sent from one computer to another?

A.
IGMP

B.
ICMP

C.
SNMP

D.
BGP

Explanation:

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a maintenance protocol that allows routers and host
computers to swap basic control information when data is sent from one computer to another. It is
generally considered a part of the IP layer. It allows the computers on a network to share error and
status information. An ICMP message, which is encapsulated within an IP datagram, is very useful
to troubleshoot the network connectivity and can be routed throughout the Internet.
Answer option D is incorrect. BGP stands for Border Gateway Protocol. It is an interautonomous
system routing protocol and is a form of Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP). This protocol is defined
in RFC-1267 and RFC-1268. It is used for exchanging network reachability information with other
BGP systems. This information includes a complete list of intermediate autonomous systems that
the network traffic has to cover in order to reach a particular network. This information is used for
figuring out loop-free interdomain routing between autonomous systems.
BGP-4 is the latest version of BGP.

Answer option A is incorrect. Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is a communication
protocol that multicasts messages and information among all member devices in an IP multicast
group. However, multicast traffic is sent to a single MAC address but is processed by multiple
hosts. It can be effectively used for gaming and showing online videos. IGMP is vulnerable to
network attacks.
Answer option C is incorrect. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a part of the
TCP/IP protocol suite, which allows users to manage the network. SNMP is used to keep track of
what is being used on the network and how the object is behaving.