Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The correct answer is the SSL Record Protocol. This protocol is responsible for fragmenting data into manageable blocks before encryption and transport over the network. It ensures data integrity and confidentiality by encrypting the data blocks in a way that can be securely transmitted.

The SSL Record Protocol operates below the SSL Handshake Protocol and is central to the functioning of SSL, as it provides services for encapsulating various types of data that need to be securely sent. By breaking down the data into segments, it not only makes it easier to handle but also allows for more efficient error control and data recovery during transmission.

The SSL Handshake Protocol, while essential for establishing a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection by negotiating the encryption algorithms and exchanging keys, does not handle the fragmentation or encryption of data itself.

The SSL Alert Protocol is used primarily for sending alerts related to the success or failure of the SSL connection but does not deal with data fragmenting or transmission.

The SSL Change CipherSpec Protocol is used to signal a change in the encryption parameters of the session but does not include the process of fragmenting data for transmission.

Thus, the SSL Record Protocol is the one that actually fragments data into manageable blocks and handles its encryption for secure transmission.