Hiding Server Count and Addresses with Virtual IP
An organization plans to take online orders via a new website. Three web servers are available for this website. However, the organization does not want to reveal the network addresses or quantity of the individual servers to the general public. Which of the following would best fulfill these requirements?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer D. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
The question tests knowledge of network abstraction techniques; the trap is confusing security protocols like IPSec with addressing mechanisms that hide topology.
A Virtual IP (VIP) allows multiple backend servers to share a single public IP address, effectively hiding the actual number and addresses of individual servers from the public.
IPSsec is often chosen because it provides security, but it encrypts traffic rather than hiding server quantity or addresses.
Community Discussion (5 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
A Virtual IP (VIP) is an address that does not belong to any physical hardware but is used by one or more devices. In this scenario, the VIP acts as a single entry point for clients, while a load balancer distributes traffic behind the scenes. This architecture ensures that the public only sees one IP address, regardless of how many web servers are actually processing the requests.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
IPSec secures communication channels through encryption but does not conceal the underlying server infrastructure or reduce the visible IP count. An Explicit Proxy requires client configuration to route traffic through a specific proxy server, which is not ideal for a general public website. Port security is a feature on switches to restrict access based on MAC addresses, which operates at Layer 2 and is irrelevant to public-facing web server visibility.Community Comment Notes
Community consensus strongly supports Virtual IP as the correct solution. As CircaG noted, "D. Virtual IP (VIP) is a technique used to hide the network addresses and quantity of individual servers." paCer66 reinforced this by explaining that a load balancer presents a VIP representing the application to the client, hiding the backend instances.Exam Strategy
When a question asks to hide the 'quantity' or 'details' of backend resources, look for solutions involving Load Balancers, Virtual IPs, or Reverse Proxies. These technologies abstract the backend complexity from the end user.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't IPSec the right choice here?
IPSec encrypts traffic but does not hide the number of servers or their individual IP addresses from the public.
How does a Virtual IP hide server count?
It presents a single IP to the client while a load balancer distributes traffic to multiple backend servers transparently.