What is a characteristics of traffic policing?

Question

Options

• Alacks support for marking or remarking
• Bmust be applied only to outgoing traffic
• Ccan be applied in both traffic directions
• Dqueues out-of-profile packets until the buffer is full

• A
  5% (2)
• B
  2% (1)
• C
  90% (37)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

Traffic Policing Characteristics

Traffic policing monitors traffic flows and enforces rate limits by dropping or marking packets that exceed a defined rate, and it can be applied to both inbound and outbound traffic - making option C correct. This bidirectional flexibility is one of its key advantages over traffic shaping, which is typically limited to outbound traffic.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• Option A is incorrect because traffic policing does support marking and remarking (e.g., lowering the DSCP value on out-of-profile packets rather than dropping them outright).
• Option B is incorrect because policing is not restricted to outgoing traffic - it is commonly applied to incoming traffic at network edges to enforce service agreements.
• Option D describes traffic shaping, not policing. Shaping buffers/queues excess packets until bandwidth is available, while policing simply drops or re-marks them immediately.

Memory Tip: Think of policing as a strict bouncer - it decides instantly at the door (in either direction) whether packets are allowed in or dropped. Shaping is more like a waiting room that holds packets until there's room.

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