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Question 10
A workstation initiates a TCP connection from its own ephemeral source port to a remote application server. Which role best describes the device originating this session, rather than a transit gateway?
- An endpoint client
- A transit Layer 3 router forwarding the workstation’s TCP packets
- A reverse proxy terminating the remote server side of a session
- An inline firewall observing the new TCP handshake
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The workstation is the connection initiator: it creates application traffic using its own source address and ephemeral transport state. An intermediary device such as a router or switch forwards transit traffic instead.
Incorrect Answers
B:The router may forward traffic but is not the user device that initiates the connection with its own ephemeral source port.
C:A proxy may establish distinct connections but is not the stated original workstation endpoint.
D:Inspection or filtering does not mean the device originated the workstation’s application flow.
Question 11
Accounting PCs in VLAN 110 and engineering PCs in VLAN 120 already have working Layer 2 connections but require a configured IP gateway to communicate across the different subnets. Which forwarding function is required?
- A trunk carrying both VLAN tags but no routed interface/default gateway
- An 802.1X authentication server permitting both groups of employees
- A routing function on a router or multilayer switch
- An STP root switch that decides the loop-free campus path
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Separately addressed VLANs need a Layer 3 gateway to move packets between their subnets. A router interface or multilayer-switch SVI applies a route lookup after the source host sends off-subnet traffic to its gateway MAC.
Incorrect Answers
A:An Ethernet trunk transports each VLAN separately at L2; it does not select a route between their IP subnets.
B:Authentication can authorize access but cannot act as their required routed IP gateway by itself.
D:Spanning Tree controls Layer 2 loops and cannot provide IP inter-VLAN forwarding without Layer 3 routing.
Question 12
Hosts in the same access VLAN must exchange ordinary Ethernet frames without leaving their Layer 2 broadcast domain or consulting a destination IP route. Which function accomplishes this?
- A Layer 2 bridge forwarding function
- Use an SVI routed interface for every frame between hosts already in the same VLAN
- Send every frame through a NAT outside-source mapping
- Use an OSPF route to select a next hop for local VLAN destination MACs
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Same-VLAN frames are switched using destination MAC entries without crossing an IP routing boundary. Keeping forwarding in the VLAN preserves the Layer 2 broadcast domain; an SVI is needed only for Layer 3 communication.
Incorrect Answers
B:Normal same-subnet Ethernet traffic follows VLAN MAC forwarding rather than unnecessary intersubnet routing.
C:NAT translation is not the ordinary same-VLAN Layer 2 delivery mechanism.
D:OSPF installs IP routes, not switch egress ports for same-VLAN Ethernet frames.
Question 13
A lightweight AP accepts wireless clients on SSID Staff, but their frames leave the AP on an uplink VLAN different from the staff VLAN used by the wired switch. Which AP-to-LAN function must be corrected so the already-associated clients reach the intended Layer 2 broadcast domain?
- Increase the AP's transmit power to extend the radio cell
- Configure an unrelated routed default route on the WAN router
- Correct the WLAN-to-wired VLAN mapping or tagged uplink policy for the AP
- Disable all 802.11 association and replace the AP with a PoE injector
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:The AP bridges accepted wireless client frames onto a mapped wired WLAN/VLAN. Matching that mapping and the switch uplink tagging restores the intended staff Layer 2 segment.
Incorrect Answers
A:Transmit power may alter the RF coverage, but successful association already occurs; it cannot move bridged data into the required wired VLAN.
B:An unrelated Internet-edge route operates after Layer 2 delivery and does not correct the AP's mismatched wired VLAN placement.
D:The AP provides the wireless radio association service; a PoE injector supplies electrical power and cannot bridge 802.11 client frames into the wired VLAN.
Question 14
Desk phones support IEEE 802.3 PoE and must work without local electrical adapters. The access hardware needs both sufficient aggregate power budget and per-port power delivery. Which equipment role satisfies this requirement?
- Configure high-speed fiber modules at each phone without power sourcing
- A PoE power-sourcing device with sufficient budget
- Provide only ordinary Ethernet access switching with all PoE disabled
- Raise the routed switch’s administrative distance for phone VLAN traffic
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:An Ethernet power-sourcing device with sufficient per-port and aggregate PoE budget can power compatible IP phones directly through the data cable. Merely switching Ethernet frames does not guarantee the required electrical budget.
Incorrect Answers
A:Optical capacity does not supply the RJ-45 IEEE 802.3 power expected by the desk phones.
C:Frame forwarding does not guarantee electrical power to phones without adapters.
D:Route preference is unrelated to supplying negotiated PoE wattage per access port.
Question 15
A corporate WLAN uses 802.1X/EAP. The access point relays authentication exchanges, but the team needs a separate component that checks client identities and returns accept or reject results. Which component serves that function?
- A RADIUS authentication server reachable by the WLAN authenticator
- A passive Ethernet tap that copies WLAN uplink frames
- A PoE power injector supplying an AP
- A Layer 2 switch that learns client MAC addresses
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The backend RADIUS authentication server evaluates EAP-associated client authentication under the configured identity policy and returns the result to the network authenticator.
Incorrect Answers
B:A tap only observes traffic and cannot independently decide whether a supplicant is authorized.
C:PoE provides electrical power, not a credential-validation or authentication service.
D:MAC learning provides Ethernet forwarding state, not verification of the client’s 802.1X credentials.
Question 16
A single-building campus keeps access switches on each floor but cannot justify a separate high-speed core layer. Which two functions are consolidated in Cisco’s two-tier collapsed-core design?
- Access and distribution functions, eliminating the core entirely
- Distribution and core functions, while access remains a separate tier
- The access and wireless client functions, leaving distribution separate
- The WAN and Internet edge functions, with the campus layers unchanged
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A collapsed core combines the distribution and core functions on the aggregation layer; access switches still connect clients below that layer.
Incorrect Answers
A:Collapsing access and distribution would leave the core separate, contrary to the stated two-tier campus hierarchy.
C:Wireless client connectivity can reside at access, but that does not describe which hierarchy tiers are merged in a collapsed-core model.
D:WAN edge services are not the two campus hierarchy functions that Cisco combines for this smaller deployment.
Question 17
A campus has several buildings with many access/distribution blocks and requires a distinct high-speed backbone tier. Which hierarchy retains separate access, distribution, and core layers?
- A collapsed-core two-tier campus that merges core and distribution roles
- A leaf-spine fabric treating floor access switches as data-center leafs
- A campus with access switches interconnected only by redundant peer trunks and no independent backbone
- A three-tier campus hierarchy with separate access, distribution, and core layers
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Three-tier campus architecture reserves access for endpoints, distribution for aggregation and policy, and a distinct high-speed core to interconnect distribution blocks.
Incorrect Answers
A:Two-tier collapsed-core combines distribution and core functions and therefore omits the distinct backbone tier requested for this large campus.
B:Leaf-spine is a common data-center fabric design; it does not create the explicitly described three hierarchical campus roles.
C:Redundant access-to-access trunks do not supply the separate distribution and core transit hierarchy required for many campus distribution blocks.
Question 18
Traffic between application racks in a data center needs uniform two-hop leaf-to-leaf forwarding and multiple ECMP spine paths. Which physical fabric architecture is designed for that east-west requirement?
- A traditional three-tier campus access/distribution/core hierarchy focused on north-south aggregation
- A spine-leaf fabric with each leaf connected to available spines for ECMP transit
- A collapsed-core campus with access switches connected directly to a combined distribution/core pair
- A daisy chain of top-of-rack switches where each adjacent rack is an intermediate forwarding hop
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Each leaf uses spine uplinks to reach another leaf through the fabric, allowing predictably short east-west paths and ECMP when configured.
Incorrect Answers
A:The campus hierarchy can connect many buildings but does not guarantee the requested consistent leaf-to-spine-to-leaf rack path with equal-cost alternatives.
C:A collapsed core is a compact campus design and does not describe the distributed rack fabric with multiple spine paths specified here.
D:A rack-switch daisy chain makes hop count grow with physical placement and creates intermediate dependencies rather than uniform two-hop fabric connectivity.
Question 19
A company must join office LANs in two different cities through a carrier network, not restructure switching inside either building. Which network scope describes that geographic interconnection?
- An extended access VLAN confined to two switching closets in one campus
- A collapsed-core campus where the aggregation layer merges distribution and backbone switching
- A wide area network interconnecting the remote city LANs over carrier facilities
- A VLAN trunk on a single building backbone between adjacent switches
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:A WAN connects geographically separate LANs using provider or independent long-haul transport; the local campus architecture at each site may remain unchanged.
Incorrect Answers
A:An access VLAN is one local broadcast segment and does not itself establish provider transport between two geographically separated cities.
B:Collapsed-core describes internal switching hierarchy within a campus, not the carrier interconnection required between separate city sites.
D:An 802.1Q trunk extends VLAN carriage on a local Ethernet path; by itself it is not a subscribed cross-city carrier service.
Question 20
A small retail location has one device for broadband routing, several Ethernet ports and Wi-Fi, with no separate campus distribution/core switches. Which integrated topology fits the site?
- A full-mesh WAN connecting many peer branches but supplying no local Wi-Fi or switching
- An integrated SOHO edge device combining broadband routing, Ethernet switching, and Wi-Fi
- A three-tier campus with dedicated access, distribution, and core switching appliances
- An autonomous access point that provides only radio bridging without Internet-edge routing
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:An integrated small-office edge gateway can combine WAN routing, multiple local switch ports and wireless access in one compact device.
Incorrect Answers
A:Mesh WAN topology specifies intersite transport and is unrelated to consolidating local router, LAN ports and Wi-Fi into one retail appliance.
C:Dedicated three-tier campus hardware conflicts with the stated absence of separate distribution and core devices at this single small site.
D:An AP bridges wireless clients into a wired VLAN but does not itself necessarily supply the integrated broadband routing and multiple switched LAN ports required.
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) (200-301) Practice Tests