In GLBP, what is the purpose of an AVF?

In GLBP (Gateway Load Balancing Protocol), the Active Virtual Forwarder (AVF) plays a crucial role in the distribution of traffic among multiple routers to ensure efficient load balancing and redundancy. The AVF is responsible for forwarding packets to hosts on the local network. Each router participating in GLBP can take on the AVF role for specific virtual IP addresses, allowing them to share the forwarding responsibilities.

When a host sends a packet to the virtual IP address, the GLBP mechanism assigns one of the active routers as the AVF, which then proxies the request and forwards the packet to the appropriate destination. This process ensures that no single router becomes a bottleneck while also providing high availability. By having multiple AVFs that can alternate their roles, GLBP enhances the overall performance and reliability of the network.

Other options do not relate directly to the primary function of an AVF within GLBP's traffic management framework. For instance, managing digital communication, monitoring link performance, and encrypting data packets are separate functions that do not contribute to the specific role of load balancing and packet forwarding that the AVF is designed for. Thus, the AVF is integral to GLBP's architecture, promoting efficient resource utilization and fault tolerance within IP networks.