To establish inter-site transports in Active Directory, which protocol is typically used?

To establish inter-site transports in Active Directory, the most commonly used protocol is IP. IP, or Internet Protocol, serves as the foundational network layer protocol that facilitates communication between different servers and sites in a network environment. In the context of Active Directory, different sites are connected through IP networks, allowing for the efficient routing of replication traffic between domain controllers located in separate sites.

While other protocols like HTTP and LDAP are important for various functions within Active Directory (HTTP for web services and LDAP for directory access), they are not specifically designated for site-to-site replication. SMTP is also a valid protocol for certain types of messaging between servers but is not the primary method for inter-site transport in Active Directory environments, where IP is essential for enabling the necessary data transfer across different sites. Thus, IP is the critical element that ensures effective communication and synchronization across geographically distributed sites.