350-401 · Question #78
Which technology provides a secure communication channel for all traffic at Layer 2 of the OSI model?
The correct answer is A. MACsec. MACsec (IEEE 802.1AE) operates at Layer 2 (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model, providing hop-by-hop encryption and authentication of Ethernet frames between directly connected devices - making it the only true Layer 2 security protocol listed. IPsec (B) operates at Layer 3 (Networ
Question
Which technology provides a secure communication channel for all traffic at Layer 2 of the OSI model?
Options
- AMACsec
- BIPsec
- CSSL
- DCisco Trustsec
How the community answered
(36 responses)- A89% (32)
- B6% (2)
- C3% (1)
- D3% (1)
Explanation
MACsec (IEEE 802.1AE) operates at Layer 2 (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model, providing hop-by-hop encryption and authentication of Ethernet frames between directly connected devices - making it the only true Layer 2 security protocol listed. IPsec (B) operates at Layer 3 (Network Layer), securing IP packets rather than Ethernet frames. SSL (C) works at the Application/Transport layer (Layer 5-7 depending on the model), securing application data like web traffic. Cisco TrustSec (D) is a Cisco-proprietary framework that uses Security Group Tags (SGTs) for policy-based access control - while it can leverage MACsec for encryption, TrustSec itself is a broader architecture, not a standalone Layer 2 encryption technology.
Memory Tip: Think "MAC = Layer 2" - just like MAC addresses live at Layer 2, MACsec secures traffic at that same layer. If the answer involves anything with "MAC," think Data Link Layer.
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