Question
Which one of the following protocols may need to broadcast some of its messages?
Official answer and solution
- Official answer
- C
- From
- Official GATE 2026 answer key
Solution
Identify which protocol operates before a host knows its own IP address or server address and therefore uses broadcast discovery.
When a newly booted host joins a network without an IP address, it uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and broadcasts a DHCPDISCOVER message (to destination IP 255.255.255.255 and MAC FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF) to locate a DHCP server. SMTP, FTP, and HTTP all run over point-to-point unicast TCP connections.
Option (C)
The answer is the one in the official GATE answer key. The solution is this site's own explanation.
Source
- Paper
- GATE 2026 Computer Science and Information Technology - Session 2 (CS2)
- Question
- 22 of 65
- Section
- Computer Science and Information Technology
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