Which Technology Distributes User Traffic Across Web Servers?

N10-009 By islever Editorial Last updated

Short answer

D Load balancer

Question

Which of the following technologies is the best choice to listen for requests and distribute user traffic across web servers?
  1. Router
  2. Switch
  3. Firewall
  4. Load balancer Correct Answer

Key Takeaways

The exam tests your knowledge of network devices' roles, specifically that a load balancer not only listens for traffic but also distributes it to prevent server overload.

The best technology to listen for incoming requests and distribute user traffic across web servers is a load balancer. This CompTIA Network+ N10-009 question is unanimously answered as 'Load balancer' by the community.

Common mistake: Choosing 'Router' or 'Switch' is a common mistake because they forward traffic, but neither is designed to monitor application requests and balance load across multiple servers intelligently.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

A load balancer sits in front of web servers and listens for incoming client requests. It then distributes those requests across multiple servers to ensure no single server is overwhelmed, which matches the question's description exactly.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A router forwards packets between networks based on IP addresses; it does not make application-level load-balancing decisions. A switch forwards frames within a LAN, often unaware of HTTP requests. A firewall filters traffic based on security rules and does not distribute traffic across servers.

Community Comment Notes

All comments support option D. Comment [2] explains that a load balancer 'balances the load which it is listening for incoming requests and then distributes it evenly so that a single server does not crash due to excessive load.' Comment [3] adds that load balancing makes several servers appear as a single server, spreading processing and bandwidth needs.

Official Reference

https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9205

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

When you see a question about 'listening for requests' and 'distributing traffic across servers', think of layer 4/7 load balancers. Eliminate options that don't operate at the application layer or don't perform distribution based on server load.

Community Votes

D
100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer D. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 3 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 3

  1. chupapi_001 👍 3 Answered D
    the correct answer is D. Load balancer.
  2. BobbyCruz111 👍 2 Answered D
    Load Balancer balances the load which it is listening for incoming requests and then distributes it evenly so that a single server does not crash due to excessive load.
  3. HeatSquad77 👍 1 Answered D
    D. load balancing The process of taking several servers and making them look like a single server, spreading processing and supporting bandwidth needs.

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