What does IP do in a communication?

• A. Delivers datagrams to hosts using IP addresses
• B. Encrypts data
• C. Transports frames
• D. Determines network latency

Answer: (A)

IP's job is to deliver datagrams to the correct host using IP addresses. It operates at the network layer, handling routing and forwarding across interconnected networks. Data from higher layers is encapsulated into IP datagrams, each carrying source and destination IP addresses. Routers read the destination address and forward the datagram toward its destination, hopping from network to network until it reaches the target host. This delivery is best-effort and connectionless—IP does not guarantee delivery, ordering, or avoidance of duplicates; those reliability tasks are handled by higher-layer protocols if needed. Encryption isn’t a function of IP itself (it’s provided by protocols like TLS/SSL or IPsec), and IP doesn’t transport frames—that’s the role of the data link layer (Ethernet, Wi‑Fi), with IP datagrams carried inside those frames. Latency is a network performance characteristic, not something IP determines.