Which best describes the UDP demultiplexing process?

The UDP demultiplexing process is best described by the use of port numbers, which allow multiple applications to communicate simultaneously on the same host. This is a fundamental feature of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), where each UDP segment includes a source and a destination port number. These port numbers enable the operating system to identify which application or service should receive the incoming data.

When data arrives at a host, the operating system examines the destination port number within the UDP header to route the segment to the correct application. This process allows multiple services to run on the same IP address and share the same network connection without conflict, promoting efficient communication in networked environments.

While UDP does rely on IP addressing for routing data, this aspect is more about how data is transmitted rather than the demultiplexing process specifically. UDP also segments data, but these segments are not variable sizes for flexibility; rather, they are defined by the maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the underlying network. Lastly, one of the key characteristics of UDP is that it does not guarantee the order of delivery for data packets, which is a distinguishing factor from other protocols like TCP. Hence, the emphasis on port numbers accurately reflects the mechanism of demultiplexing in UDP communication.