What is the purpose of outbound traffic?

Outbound traffic refers specifically to the data that is being sent from an internal network to external networks, such as the internet. This type of traffic typically encompasses requests made from users or servers within a local network to access resources, services, or systems outside of their own environment. For instance, when a user requests a web page, that request is considered outbound traffic as it is sent out of the local network to reach the web server hosting the page.

This definition highlights the nature of outbound traffic as a movement of data away from a local network, which is critical for communication and access to external resources. Understanding this concept is important for network security and management, as it helps in designing firewalls, managing bandwidth, and overseeing what data leaves the network.

The other options do not accurately describe outbound traffic: data entering a network refers to inbound traffic, data received from external networks also classifies as inbound, and data stored locally does not concern the flow of information across a network. Each of these aspects addresses different characteristics of network traffic, but none align with the concept of outbound traffic.