What type of traffic sends packets from one source to all hosts on a subnet?

Broadcast traffic refers to packets that are sent from a single source to all hosts within a given subnet. This type of communication is essential in scenarios where a source needs to reach multiple devices simultaneously, such as when an ARP request is initiated to find the MAC address of another device in the network. In a broadcast, the packet is addressed in such a way that all devices within the broadcast domain process and receive it, allowing for efficient communication without needing to send separate copies for each destination.

Understanding the scope of broadcast traffic is important in network design and management, especially in environments where network resources and bandwidth are critical factors. In comparison, unicast traffic targets a single device, multicast traffic targets a specific group of devices, and anycast targets the nearest device in a group, each serving different purposes in network communication.