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Quizzes > Computers & Technology > Computers & IT

CCNA 5.4.2 STP Module Quiz - Test Your LAN Knowledge

Ready for the STP protocol quiz? Jump in and level up your LAN skills!

Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
paper art illustration LAN switches in spanning tree topology for CCNA quiz on golden yellow background

Ready to conquer the CCNA LAN Chapter 5 quiz with confidence? Our 5.4.2 module quiz - stp is designed to test your mastery of Spanning Tree Protocol fundamentals, from identifying root ports to mastering loop prevention. Whether you're sharpening your STP protocol quiz performance or drilling down on LAN troubleshooting quiz scenarios, this CCNA STP practice test delivers instant results and insightful feedback to power up your lab study. Hungry for more network challenges? Tackle our VLAN fundamentals challenge or jump into a networking skills drill . Ready to boost your LAN skills and ace your next exam? Dive in now, track your progress, and master STP like a pro!

What is the primary purpose of the root bridge in a spanning tree network?
Forward all data traffic by default
Provide a central reference point for path cost calculations
Store all MAC addresses in the network
Assign IP addresses to switches
The root bridge serves as the logical center of the spanning tree topology and is the reference point for all path cost calculations. All switches calculate their best path to the root bridge based on port costs. Without a single root bridge, loops and inconsistent paths could form. Cisco STP Overview
Which STP port state is the only one that forwards user traffic?
Listening
Learning
Forwarding
Blocking
In STP, ports traverse through Blocking, Listening, Learning, and Forwarding states. Only the Forwarding state allows user traffic to be sent and received. Learning state builds the MAC table but still does not forward user frames. Blocking and Listening states prevent loops by not forwarding frames. STP Port States
What is the default hello time for IEEE 802.1D spanning tree?
1 second
2 seconds
5 seconds
10 seconds
The default hello time in classic STP (IEEE 802.1D) is 2 seconds, meaning a bridge sends a configuration BPDU every 2 seconds. This timer helps maintain topology information across all switches. Adjusting the hello time affects convergence and stability. STP Timers
Which port role is assigned to the port on each non-root bridge with the lowest path cost to the root bridge?
Blocked Port
Alternate Port
Root Port
Designated Port
Each non-root bridge selects one Root Port, which is the port with the lowest path cost to the root bridge. This port is used for sending and receiving frames toward the root. Designated Ports forward traffic for their network segment but are not used to reach the root. Alternate Ports are backups. STP Port Roles
Which STP variant is enabled by default on Cisco Catalyst switches for per-VLAN spanning tree?
Rapid PVST+
Common Spanning Tree (CST)
Multiple Spanning Tree (MST)
PVST+
Cisco Catalyst switches use Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (PVST+) by default to run a separate instance of STP for each VLAN. This enables load balancing by configuring different root bridges per VLAN. Rapid PVST+ is available for faster convergence but not the default. PVST+ Overview
During root bridge election, which component of the Bridge ID is considered first?
Port Path Cost
System MAC Address
Highest Port Number
Bridge Priority Value
The Bridge ID consists of the bridge priority and the switch's MAC address. Lower priority values win root election first, and if priorities tie, the lowest MAC address is used. Port numbers and path costs are used later for port role decisions. Bridge ID Components
What occurs when a switch receives a superior BPDU on one of its ports?
It becomes the root bridge
It sends the BPDU unchanged out all other ports
It immediately disables the port
It updates its root bridge information and recalculates port roles
When a switch receives a BPDU with better (lower) root information, it updates its topology data, selects a new root port if needed, and reconverges its port roles. This allows the network to reconfigure around changes in the spanning tree. It does not become the root bridge itself. BPDU Processing
What is the default STP path cost assigned to a 100 Mbps Ethernet link on Cisco switches using IEEE 802.1D cost metrics?
100
2
19
200
Under IEEE 802.1D cost metrics on Cisco devices, a 100 Mbps Ethernet link receives a path cost of 19 by default. Lower link speeds have higher costs. This cost helps STP determine the best paths to the root bridge. STP Path Costs
How many root bridges exist within a single spanning tree instance?
All switches share the role equally
One per broadcast domain
One
One per VLAN
Each spanning tree instance has exactly one root bridge, which acts as the logical center of that topology. All other switches calculate the best path to this root. In PVST+ there is one root per VLAN instance, but within each instance there is still only one root. STP Instances
Which Cisco STP enhancement provides immediate failover when the active link on a switch's uplink fails?
LoopGuard
PortFast
BackboneFast
UplinkFast
UplinkFast is a Cisco proprietary enhancement that accelerates convergence on direct link failures by immediately transitioning an alternate port to forwarding. It is intended for switches with redundant uplinks. BackboneFast handles indirect failures; PortFast and LoopGuard serve other purposes. UplinkFast Details
What happens to an access port configured with BPDU Guard if it receives a BPDU?
It places the port into errdisable state
It dynamically disables STP on that port
It ignores the BPDU and remains operational
It converts the port to a trunk port
BPDU Guard protects against accidental topology changes by err-disabling an access port that receives any BPDU. This ensures that end-user ports configured with PortFast do not participate in STP. A manual re-enable or auto-recovery is required to bring the port back up. BPDU Guard Feature
What is the default Max Age timer value in classic IEEE 802.1D spanning tree?
30 seconds
10 seconds
20 seconds
15 seconds
The default Max Age timer for IEEE 802.1D is 20 seconds. This timer determines how long a switch retains BPDU information before aging it out. If BPDUs are not received before Max Age expires, the switch assumes the topology has changed. STP Timers Explained
After a topology change is detected, for how many seconds do switches default to aging out dynamic MAC address entries?
6 seconds
15 seconds
20 seconds
10 seconds
Upon a topology change notification, switches shorten the MAC address table aging time to the Forward Delay value of 15 seconds by default. This ensures that outdated entries are flushed quickly to prevent forwarding loops. After the period expires, the normal aging timer resumes. Topology Change Processing
What occurs on a port configured with Root Guard when it receives a superior BPDU?
The switch re-elects itself as root
The port goes into errdisable state
The port transitions to root-inconsistent blocking state
The port forwards the superior BPDU
Root Guard enforces the current root bridge by placing a port into root-inconsistent blocking state if it receives superior BPDUs. This prevents that port from becoming part of the root path. The port remains blocked until superior BPDUs stop. Root Guard does not err-disable the port. Root Guard Behavior
Which STP feature prevents a port from transitioning to forwarding if BPDUs are not received on that port?
Loop Guard
Root Guard
BPDU Guard
UDLD
Loop Guard prevents alternate or root ports from transitioning to forwarding state if BPDUs are not received, which could result from an indirect link failure. This maintains a blocking state and avoids loops. It is complementary to UDLD and BPDU Guard. Loop Guard Details
How does PVST+ benefit traffic forwarding in a multi-VLAN environment?
By enabling per-VLAN topology control for load balancing
By disabling STP on unused VLANs
By forcing all VLANs to share the same root bridge
By reducing BPDU size for all VLANs
PVST+ runs a separate spanning tree instance per VLAN, allowing network engineers to configure different root bridges for different VLANs. This enables load balancing by directing VLAN traffic over distinct network paths. It also localizes topology changes to individual VLANs. PVST+ Benefits
Which parameters must match for switches to be in the same MST region?
Region name and revision level
Region name only
VLAN-to-instance mapping only
Region name, revision level, and VLAN-to-instance mapping
For switches to form an MST region, they must share the same region name, revision level, and VLAN-to-instance mapping table. Any mismatch will prevent MST adjacency and default the switches to run the Common IST only. MST Region Configuration
In RSTP (IEEE 802.1w), which port state replaces the Listening and Disabled states of classic STP?
Listening
Blocking
Learning
Discarding
RSTP simplifies the state machine by combining Blocking, Listening, and Disabled into a single Discarding state. Ports in Discarding do not forward frames but can process BPDUs. Learning and Forwarding remain separate states in RSTP. RSTP Port States
Which STP timers must be consistent across all switches in the same spanning tree domain to prevent instability?
Hello Time only
Max Age and Bridge Priority
Hello Time and Max Age
Hello Time, Max Age, and Forward Delay
For stable STP operation, Hello Time, Max Age, and Forward Delay timers must be uniform across all switches in the domain. Mismatched timers can cause BPDUs to be considered stale or lost, leading to inconsistent topology calculations. STP Timer Configuration
What primary benefit does the BackboneFast feature provide in Cisco STP?
Immediate port failover on direct link failure
Load balancing across VLANs
Automatic root bridge election
Faster convergence on indirect link failures
BackboneFast accelerates convergence when an indirect link failure (hidden root failure) occurs by using BackboneFast's root link query mechanism. It does not affect direct link failures like UplinkFast. It helps avoid the Max Age timer delay. BackboneFast Overview
When implementing load balancing in PVST+, how can you distribute VLAN traffic across multiple root bridges?
Configure different root bridges per VLAN by adjusting bridge priority
Use VTP pruning on each VLAN
Enable PortFast on trunk ports for each VLAN
Use EtherChannel for all VLANs
In PVST+, you can load balance traffic by configuring different switches as the root bridge for different VLANs through the bridge priority setting. This directs VLAN traffic to use different physical paths. EtherChannel and PortFast serve other purposes. PVST+ Load Balancing
What is the purpose of the Extended System ID in the STP Bridge ID field?
It extends the bridge priority range for large networks
It provides additional bits for MAC address extension
It allows the VLAN ID to be included in the Bridge ID for per-VLAN STP
It reserves extra bits for future protocol enhancements
The Extended System ID feature inserts the VLAN ID into the lower bits of the Bridge ID priority field. This enables unique Bridge IDs per VLAN in PVST+, avoiding duplicate Bridge IDs across VLANs. It is fundamental to per-VLAN STP implementations. Extended System ID
In Multiple Spanning Tree (MST), which BPDU type carries both CIST and MSTI information across the network?
Rapid PVST+ BPDU
Topology Change BPDU
Configuration BPDU
MST BPDU
In MST, the MST BPDU (also known as the configuration BPDU for MST) contains information for the Common and Internal Spanning Tree (CIST) as well as mappings for multiple MST instances (MSTIs). This single BPDU type supports multiple instances within the region. MST BPDU Format
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Study Outcomes

  1. Understand STP Fundamentals -

    By tackling the 5.4.2 module quiz - stp, you will grasp the core principles and operations of Spanning Tree Protocol to ensure loop-free LAN designs.

  2. Analyze Root Bridge Election -

    Using scenarios from the CCNA LAN Chapter 5 quiz, you will examine how bridge priorities and MAC addresses determine the root bridge and influence network stability.

  3. Apply Port Roles and States -

    Through the STP protocol quiz, you will differentiate between designated, root, and blocked ports and configure them for optimal traffic forwarding.

  4. Interpret Path Selection Metrics -

    The CCNA STP practice test will help you evaluate path cost calculations and select the best routes for data frames across your switched network.

  5. Troubleshoot STP Topologies -

    In the LAN troubleshooting quiz, you will identify and resolve common STP issues such as topology changes, convergence delays, and misconfigurations.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Bridge Priority and Root Bridge Selection -

    Understanding how the switch with the lowest bridge priority (default 32768) becomes the root bridge is crucial for any 5.4.2 module quiz - stp scenario. You can lower priority in Cisco IOS with the command "spanning-tree vlan X priority 4096" to influence election and maintain optimal traffic paths.

  2. Port Roles and States -

    Each STP port assumes a role (Root, Designated, Alternate, or Disabled) and a state (Blocking, Listening, Learning, or Forwarding), primarily defined by IEEE 802.1D. Remember the mnemonic "Blocking Listens, Learning Forwards" to recall the non-transmitting steps and avoid loops during convergence.

  3. Path Cost Calculation -

    STP path cost is calculated based on link bandwidth (e.g., cost of 19 for a 100 Mbps link using IEEE 802.1D-1998 formulas), so the lowest cumulative cost path to the root bridge is chosen. In your CCNA LAN Chapter 5 quiz, practice summing links (e.g., 4 Gbps on RSTP equals cost 4) to reinforce quick subnet troubleshooting.

  4. BPDU Types and Timers -

    Configure and interpret Configuration and Topology Change BPDUs to track bridge-to-bridge communication; Cisco documentation and IEEE standards highlight how Hello (2 s), Max Age (20 s), and Forward Delay (15 s) timers regulate convergence. For the CCNA STP practice test, tweaking timers can teach how network resilience reacts to link failures.

  5. STP Variants and Enhancements -

    Besides classic PVST+, modern implementations like RSTP (802.1w) and MSTP (802.1s) speed up convergence significantly, reducing Forward Delay by up to 90%. Use the STP protocol quiz labs to compare sample topology outcomes and solidify which variant best matches your LAN troubleshooting quiz requirements. This knowledge is essential for any LAN troubleshooting quiz scenario.

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