Cisco CCNA Practice Test (200-301)

The recommended approach is to move every unused port into an unused (parking) VLAN that does not traverse any trunk links and then administratively shut the port. This prevents a rogue device from gaining access via default VLAN 1, which carries control protocols such as CDP, STP, VTP, and others. Leaving the port in VLAN 1, making it a dynamic trunk, or enabling PortFast on VLAN 1 all expose the network to potential attacks or misconfigurations.

A next-generation firewall (NGFW) combines stateful inspection with deep packet inspection, application awareness and control, and an integrated intrusion-prevention system. These combined functions allow one device to detect and block sophisticated threats at the application layer. Traditional firewalls perform only stateful inspection, routers and Layer-3 switches focus on routing and switching, and therefore none of them provide the full DPI, application control, and IPS feature set found in an NGFW.

To block traffic from a specific source network to a specific destination network, an extended access control list (ACL) should be used because it can filter traffic based on both source and destination IP addresses. Applying the extended ACL close to the source network prevents unwanted traffic from traversing the network, conserving bandwidth and resources. Standard ACLs filter only on source IP addresses and cannot specify destination addresses, making them unsuitable for this task. Time-based ACLs add time conditions but are unnecessary here since there is no time-based requirement.

The default route is used by the router when it receives a packet destined for a network that is not in its routing table. This route acts as a Gateway of last resort, providing a path for traffic to unknown networks.

A router makes forwarding decisions based on the most specific match, which corresponds to the route with the longest subnet mask. The longer the subnet mask, the more specific the route is to the destination IP address. Administrative distance and routing protocol metrics are used when multiple routes have the same prefix length; however, the router first looks for the most specific match regardless of these values.

Next-generation firewalls are designed to inspect traffic at the application layer, providing deep packet inspection and the ability to identify and control applications regardless of port or protocol. They offer advanced threat detection and prevention capabilities, including blocking sophisticated application-layer threats while maintaining visibility into applications and users. Layer 2 switches operate at the data link layer and lack these security features. Routers with Access Control Lists (ACLs) can filter traffic based on IP addresses and ports but cannot inspect application-layer data. Traditional firewalls provide basic stateful packet inspection but do not offer the advanced application-layer visibility and control provided by next-generation firewalls.

In this scenario, multicast addresses should be used. IPv6 multicast addresses allow a single packet to be delivered to multiple interfaces identified by the multicast address, enabling efficient one-to-many communication without duplicating traffic for each recipient. This conserves bandwidth and reduces network load. Unicast addresses are used for one-to-one communication, anycast addresses deliver packets to the nearest of multiple interfaces (one-to-nearest), and link-local addresses are used for communication within the same network segment and do not support efficient one-to-many distribution.

SNMP is an application-layer protocol that enables network-management systems to collect and modify management information (MIB variables) on routers, switches, servers, and other devices. It is used for monitoring status, gathering statistics, and (with appropriate permissions) changing configuration parameters. SNMP does not provide an interactive command-line session; secure remote shell access is provided by protocols such as SSH. File transfers are handled by protocols like TFTP or FTP, and VPN tunnels rely on technologies such as IPsec or SSL.

Devices assign themselves IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x range, known as Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA), when they cannot obtain an IP address from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. This indicates that the DHCP service is not functioning properly, as it is responsible for automatically providing IP configuration to devices on the network. Domain Name System (DNS) translates domain names to IP addresses but does not assign IP addresses to devices. Network Address Translation (NAT) allows multiple devices on a private network to access external networks using a single public IP address but does not affect initial IP address assignment. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used for network management and monitoring and is unrelated to IP address assignment.

In OSPF point-to-point networks, routers form adjacencies directly with each other without electing a Designated Router (DR). This is because there are only two routers on the link, eliminating the need for a DR/BDR election process. The other options are incorrect because DR/BDR elections occur in multi-access network types, such as broadcast or non-broadcast networks, where multiple routers need to manage adjacency relationships efficiently.

To configure a static route to a specific host, the ip route command is used with the destination IP address, a subnet mask of 255.255.255.255 (signifying a single host route), and the next-hop IP address. Therefore, the correct command is ip route 203.0.113.5 255.255.255.255 198.51.100.1.

Using a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 creates a network route for the entire 203.0.113.0/24 network, not just the single IP. A subnet mask of 0.0.0.0 defines a default route and does not specify a single host. Therefore, the other options do not correctly configure a static host route to the specific IP address.

Because a Catalyst 2960 is a Layer 2-only switch, it cannot route between VLANs. The simplest way to provide inter-VLAN connectivity is to use the router-on-a-stick method: connect a single physical router interface to the switch as an 802.1Q trunk, then create one subinterface per VLAN and assign each an IP address from the corresponding subnet. The router receives tagged traffic, makes a Layer 3 routing decision, and sends the packet back on the trunk with the appropriate VLAN tag. Features such as VTP pruning, assigning two VLANs to the same access port, or enabling PortFast do not perform routing and therefore do not allow hosts in different VLANs to communicate.

A router with integrated switch and wireless capabilities is the best choice for a SOHO environment needing minimal configuration and support for both wired and wireless devices. It combines routing, switching, and wireless functions into a single device, making it cost-effective and easy to set up. A standalone Layer 2 switch only provides connectivity for wired devices and lacks routing and wireless features. A dedicated wireless controller is unnecessary complexity for a small network and typically manages multiple access points in larger enterprise setups. A next-generation firewall appliance focuses on advanced security and does not offer the integrated wireless and switching functionalities required.

They should consider implementing a spine-leaf architecture. The spine-leaf design is specifically tailored for data centers that require high scalability and efficient east-west traffic flow. In this topology, every leaf switch connects to every spine switch, ensuring consistent latency and bandwidth. This structure enhances scalability by allowing easy addition of spine or leaf switches without significant reconfiguration. Two-tier architectures may not provide the necessary scalability and performance improvements. SOHO architectures are intended for small office/home office environments and are unsuitable for large data centers. WAN architectures focus on wide area connectivity rather than internal data center design.

In an SDN architecture the control functions (routing, path selection, policy enforcement) are moved out of the individual switches and routers and placed in a logically centralized controller. The controller issues flow-table entries and other forwarding rules to the data-plane devices. Those devices, sometimes called forwarding elements, simply apply the rules and do not make independent forwarding decisions. This separation allows administrators to program and automate the network from one place. Choices that keep the control plane distributed, place the data plane in the controller, or centralize both planes on a single server contradict the SDN model and are therefore incorrect.

Configuring dynamic address translation with a pool of external addresses allows multiple internal private IP addresses to be translated to a range of public IP addresses. This meets the requirement of utilizing a specified range of public IPs for multiple hosts. Setting up static address translation would require a one-to-one mapping for each host, which is not efficient for a large internal network. Implementing port address translation (PAT) uses a single public IP address to translate multiple internal addresses by differentiating them using port numbers, which does not meet the requirement of utilizing a range of public IPs. Enabling address translation overload using the router's interface address also uses a single IP address and is not suitable in this scenario.

The correct choice is WPA2 Enterprise because it utilizes 802.1X authentication with a RADIUS server, allowing each user to authenticate with unique credentials. WPA2 Personal uses a pre-shared key suitable for small networks but not ideal for enterprise environments. WEP is an outdated and insecure protocol, and Open provides no authentication or encryption.

Traffic Policing enforces a maximum rate by dropping packets that exceed the configured bandwidth limit. Unlike Traffic Shaping, which buffers excess packets to smooth out traffic bursts, Traffic Policing does not delay packets but instead discards them to prevent network congestion. Queuing and Marking do not involve discarding packets based on bandwidth limits.

In Rapid PVST+, a port that is in the discarding state and serves as a backup path to the root bridge is known as an alternate port. The alternate port provides redundancy by being available if the root port fails, but it remains in the discarding state to prevent switching loops. The learning state is a transitional state where the port prepares to forward traffic, but in this scenario, the port is not indicated to be transitioning. A port with a misconfigured duplex setting may cause connectivity issues but does not define a specific spanning tree role or state. A designated port forwards traffic on its segment and would be in the forwarding state, not discarding.

By using scripts or controller-based workflows to push standardized templates and validate results, automation ensures all devices receive identical, tested settings in seconds. Removing ad-hoc, per-device CLI typing eliminates the typos and omissions that commonly break spanning tree, routing, or access-control policies. Consequently, configuration drift is minimized, mean-time-to-deploy is shortened, and overall network reliability and security improve.