Which type of traffic is handled by the data plane?

The data plane performs the initial reception, parsing, and processing of all incoming packets, including those whose destination address matches an interface on the device, before they are either forwarded or handed to the local CPU for termination.

Control packets, such as those used for routing protocols or network management, are primarily processed by the control plane, which uses them to build and maintain the forwarding information base.

While transit packets are a core function of the data plane, the option 'packets destined for the device' describes another specific type of traffic that the data plane handles by performing local delivery after initial processing.

Packets indirectly destined for the device is a vague term that largely overlaps with transit packets or packets where the device acts as an intermediary, which is handled by the data plane for forwarding.