What is the purpose of Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)?

• A. A protocol that bonds multiple physical links into a single logical link for redundancy and higher bandwidth.
• B. A protocol that detects and prevents loops at Layer 2.
• C. A protocol that negotiates IP addressing automatically.
• D. A protocol that translates domain names to IP addresses.

Answer: (C)

LACP is used to bond multiple physical Ethernet links into a single logical link, creating a port channel that increases overall bandwidth and provides redundancy. It negotiates with the connected device to form the aggregation, decides which ports participate, and coordinates the distribution of traffic across the active links so links can fail over gracefully if one path drops. This is different from routing or addressing tasks handled by other protocols. The other options describe separate functions: preventing Layer 2 loops is done by Spanning Tree Protocol, automatically assigning IP addresses is DHCP, and translating domain names to IP addresses is DNS.