Packet forwarding on local networks occurs primarily at which layer?

• A. Link Layer
• B. Network Layer
• C. Transport Layer
• D. Application Layer

Answer: (A)

Local network packet forwarding is performed at the Data Link layer. In a LAN, data is sent as frames that carry MAC addresses, and switches forward these frames based on the destination MAC address. This Layer 2 forwarding handles delivery within the same local network segment and relies on MAC address learning and switching. The Network layer would handle routing between different networks using IP addresses (typically via routers), while the Transport and Application layers deal with end-to-end communication and applications, not frame-by-frame delivery. ARP helps map an IP address to a MAC address to enable local communication, but the actual forwarding decision happens at the Data Link layer.