The 10G Wire Speed Encryption line card encrypts the payload of which protocol?

Question

Options

• AEthernet
• BOTN
• CIP
• DSONET/SDH

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  88% (28)
• C
  6% (2)
• D
  3% (1)

Explanation

OTN (Optical Transport Network) is correct because the 10G Wire Speed Encryption line card operates at the OTN layer, encrypting the payload carried within OTN frames before transmission across the optical network. OTN serves as a transport "wrapper" that can carry multiple client signals, and encryption at this layer protects data end-to-end across the optical infrastructure.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (Ethernet) - Ethernet is a Layer 2 protocol that rides inside the OTN frame as a client signal; encryption happens at the OTN transport layer, not the Ethernet layer itself.
• C (IP) - IP is a Layer 3 protocol, even further removed from where this line card operates; the card does not inspect or encrypt IP payloads directly.
• D (SONET/SDH) - SONET/SDH is an older transport technology that OTN was designed to supersede and encapsulate; the encryption card targets OTN, not the legacy framing it may carry.

Memory tip: Think of OTN as the "shipping container" of optical networks - the 10G encryption card locks the container (OTN payload), not the individual items inside it (Ethernet, IP, SONET). If the protocol name matches the layer the card itself lives on, that's your answer.

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