How to Reduce Network Congestion and Improve Performance?
A company’s network is experiencing high latency and packet loss during peak hours. Network monitoring tools show increased traffic on a switch. Which of the following should a network technician implement to reduce the network congestion and improve performance?
Community Votes
50% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
Tests whether you know that load balancing distributes traffic to eliminate bottlenecks, while QoS only prioritizes flows without reducing actual congestion.
Learn to differentiate between load balancing and Quality of Service when addressing switch congestion. Official objectives and community consensus confirm load balancing is required to actively reduce traffic bottlenecks and packet loss.
Candidates often choose Quality of Service (C) because it improves perceived performance, but QoS cannot decrease total traffic volume or resolve physical/logical congestion, leading to continued packet loss.
Community Discussion (3 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Load balancing distributes network traffic across multiple paths or switch ports, preventing any single link from becoming overwhelmed during peak hours. By evenly spreading the data flow, it directly reduces congestion, minimizes packet loss, and lowers latency. CompTIA consistently associates active congestion reduction with traffic distribution mechanisms rather than prioritization tools.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Quality of Service (C) classifies and prioritizes traffic but does not increase available bandwidth or reduce the total volume of packets, leaving congestion intact. Port mirroring (B) is exclusively used for traffic capture and troubleshooting, offering zero performance benefits. Spanning Tree Protocol (D) prevents Layer 2 switching loops and can temporarily halt forwarding during reconvergence, which would worsen latency rather than solve it.Community Comment Notes
The voting split highlights a classic exam trap where candidates confuse traffic management strategies. As noted in top-rated comments, load balancing actively redistributes traffic to clear bottlenecks, whereas QoS merely organizes existing traffic under pressure. This distinction confirms that A is the only option that fulfills the requirement to "reduce congestion."Official Reference
Exam Strategy
Always align your answer with the exact verb in the question: "reduce congestion" requires capacity expansion or traffic distribution (load balancing), while "prioritize traffic" points to QoS. Quickly eliminate monitoring and loop-prevention protocols to narrow your focus to traffic engineering concepts.
Related Analysis
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