AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty Practice Exam

To increase throughput between application tiers, what is the best option to pursue?

1. Enhancing the application performance

2. Increase the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)

3. Switch to a different VPC

4. Reduce the number of application tiers

The correct answer is: Increase the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)

Increasing the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is a valid approach to enhance throughput between application tiers because it allows the transmission of larger packets of data in a single network frame. By increasing the MTU, the amount of data that can be sent in one go is maximized, which can reduce the overhead associated with packet headers and improve overall network efficiency. This is particularly beneficial in environments where large amounts of data are transferred frequently, as the reduction in the number of packets required to send the same amount of data leads to fewer transmission delays and decreased queuing times. Moreover, it minimizes fragmentation, which occurs when packets are too large for the network segments they traverse, potentially causing delays and reducing performance. Properly configuring the MTU across all devices in the network path is essential to fully realize these throughput benefits. While enhancing application performance, switching to a different VPC, or reducing the number of application tiers can also improve system performance in different scenarios, they do not specifically target the network layer's efficiency in the same way increasing the MTU does. Each of those alternatives might have its own use cases but would not directly address the goal of maximizing data throughput between tiers in a manner as efficient as adjusting the MTU settings.