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CISCO 

STUDY GUIDE 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building Cisco Multilayer  

Switched Networks (BCMSN) 

640-504

 

Edition 2 

 

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Congratulations!!  

 

You have purchased a Testkiller, Ltd Study Guide. 
 
This study guide is a selection of keypoints you will need to know to pass 
the official CCNP 640-504 Switching exam. Study and memorize the fol-
lowing concepts, keypoints and problems for approximately 15 to 20 hours 
and you will be prepared to take the exams.  We guarantee it! 
 
Remember, average study time is 15 to 20 hours and then you are ready!!! 
 
GOOD LUCK! 

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Table of Contents 

 

Overview of a Campus Network......................................................................................... 1 

A Solution to Broadcast Domain Issues: Localize Traffic ............................................. 1 
Current Campus Networks.............................................................................................. 1 
The 80/20 Rule................................................................................................................ 1 
The New 20/80 Rule ....................................................................................................... 1 
The Emerging Campus Network .................................................................................... 2 
Emerging Campus Structure ........................................................................................... 2 
The Hierarchical Model .................................................................................................. 2 

The Access Layer........................................................................................................ 2 
The Distribution Layer................................................................................................ 3 
The Core Layer ........................................................................................................... 3 

The Building Block Approach........................................................................................ 3 
Connecting the Switch Block.......................................................................................... 3 

Cable Media Types ............................................................................................................. 3 

Ethernet ........................................................................................................................... 4 
Fast Ethernet ................................................................................................................... 4 
Cabling Switch Block Devices ....................................................................................... 4 
Configuring Connectivity within the Switch Block........................................................ 4 

Defining Common Workgroups with LANs....................................................................... 4 

Layer2 Campus Network ................................................................................................ 4 
VLANs............................................................................................................................ 5 

Defining VLAN Boundaries ....................................................................................... 5 
Link Types .................................................................................................................. 5 
VLAN Frame Identification Methods......................................................................... 5 
Configuring a Trunk Link........................................................................................... 6 

VTP Modes of Operation................................................................................................ 6 

Managing Redundant Links................................................................................................ 7 

Contents of BPDU .......................................................................................................... 7 
Spanning-Tree Port States............................................................................................... 7 
Inter-VLAN Routing....................................................................................................... 7 

Improving IP Routing Performance with Multilayer Switching......................................... 8 

MLS Components ........................................................................................................... 8 
Creating a NULL Domain .............................................................................................. 8 

Configuring HSRP for Fault Tolerance Routing ................................................................ 8 

Routing Issues in a Redundant Environment.................................................................. 8 

HSRP Group Members ............................................................................................... 9 
HSRP States ................................................................................................................ 9 
Multicast Overview..................................................................................................... 9 

Controlling Access to the Campus Network....................................................................... 9 

Applying Policies in a Hierarchical Model..................................................................... 9 
Managing Network Devices ......................................................................................... 10 
Port Security.................................................................................................................. 10 

 

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Key Concepts 

Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks 

 

Overview of a Campus Network 

 
A campus is a building or group of buildings connected into one enterprise network that 
consists of many LANs. A campus is further defined as a company or a portion of a com-
pany contained in a fixed geographic area.  The major problem with traditional networks 
is availability and performance. These two problems are impacted by the amount of 
bandwidth in the network. 
 
A Solution to Broadcast Domain Issues: Localize Traffic 
There are two main options for addressing the broadcast containment issue for large 
switched LAN sites.  The first option is to use routers to create many subnets, logically 
segmenting the traffic. LAN broadcasts do not pass through routers.  The second option is 
to implement virtual LANs (VLANs) within the switched network. 
 
Current Campus Networks 
Most campus networks now consists of two components: 
 

1. LAN switches 
2. Routers 

 
The 80/20 Rule 
Ideally the end users with common interests or work patterns are placed in the same logi-
cal network as the servers they access most often. The 80/20 rule states that in a properly 
designed network environment 80% of the traffic on a given network segment is local. 
Not more than 20% of the network traffic should move across the backbone. Backbone 
congestion indicates that the traffic patterns are not meeting the 80/20 rule. 
 
The New 20/80 Rule 
Traffic patterns are moving toward what is now referred to as the 20/80 model. In the 
20/80 model only 20% of traffic is local to the workgroup LAN and 80% of the traffic is 
required to go off the local network. 

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The Emerging Campus Network 
The key requirements placing pressure on the emerging campus designs are as follows: 
 

•  Fast convergence 
•  Deterministic paths 
•  Deterministic failover 
•  Scalable size and throughput 
•  Centralized applications 
•  The new 20/80 Rule 
•  Multiprotocol support 
•  Multicasting 

 
Emerging Campus Structure 
Services can be separated into three separate categories: 
 

1. Local services 
2. Remote services 
3. Enterprise services 

 
The Hierarchical Model 
The layers within the hierarchical model are defined as follows: 
 

1. Access layer 
2. Distribution layer 
3. Core layer 

 
The Access Layer 
Some of the functions represented by Access layer are Shared bandwidth, Switched 
bandwidth, and Layer 2 services. 
 

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The Distribution Layer 
The multitude functions of the Distribution layer are as follows: 
 

•  VLAN aggregation 
•  Department of workgroup access 
•  Broadcast or multicast domain functions 
•  Inter-VLAN routing 
•  Media translation 
•  Security 

 
The Core Layer 
The core layer is responsible for providing connectivity between switched blocks, provid-
ing access to other blocks, such as the WAN block, and switching frames or packets as 
quickly as possible. 
 
The Building Block Approach 
The two major elements for a campus network are Switch block and Core block.  These 
include three contributing variables: 
 

•  Server block 
•  WAN block 
•  Mainframe block 

 
Connecting the Switch Block 
Campus networks carry a variety of traffic types. As more applications and users are con-
figured into the campus network, the need for available bandwidth increases.  
 
 

Cable Media Types 

 
A variety of cable media types have been deployed for local-area networks, including 
Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI. In order to increase the overall performance to the us-

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ers, you must either increase the overall bandwidth of the network, or decrease the num-
ber of devices on the same shared media cable segment. 
 
Ethernet 
One solution to the bandwidth crunch is Ethernet Switching, which dynamically allocates 
dedicated 10 Mbps connections to each user on the network.  
 
Fast Ethernet  
For campuses with existing Ethernet installations, increasing the network speed from 10 
Mbps to 100 Mbps is preferable to investing in a completely new LAN technology. 
 
Cabling Switch Block Devices 
There are two basic types of cable connections: 
 

1.  through the console port 
2.  through the Ethernet port 

 
Configuring Connectivity within the Switch Block 
After the switches have been physically cabled, some basic system settings that should be 
assigned are: 
 

•  Limiting access to the switch 
•  Setting the host or prompt name to the switch 
•  Defining the switch’s IP address and subnet mask 
•  Identifying a port or an interface with a unique description 
•  Setting the port speed 
•  Defining the full duplex port 
•  Verifying connectivity 

 

Defining Common Workgroups with LANs 

 
Layer2 Campus Network  

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With Layer2 campus networks you encounter problems of flat network structures, secu-
rity management, and managing multiple paths to a destination. 
 
VLANs 
VLANs solve many of the issues of the Layer2 Network by allowing efficient bandwidth 
utilization, security management, load-balancing multiple paths, and the isolation of 
problem components. 
 
Defining VLAN Boundaries 
The number of VLANs in the switch block will vary widely depending on several factors.  
These factors include traffic patterns, types of applications, network management needs 
and group commonality. 
 
When scaling VLANs in the switch block, there are two basic methods of defining the 
VLAN boundaries: 
 

1. End-to-end VLANs 
2. Local VLANs 

 
Link Types 
There are three basic VLAN link types: 
 

1. Access Links 
2. Trunk Links 
3. Hybrid Links 

 
VLAN Frame Identification Methods 
There are four basic Frame ID methods: 
 

1. Inter-switch link (ISL) 
2. IEEE 802.1Q 
3.  LAN Emulation (LANE) 
4. 802.10 

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Fields in an ISL encapsulation: 
 

•  Destination Address (DA) 
•  Frame Type (TYPE) 
•  User-defined Bits (USER) 
•  Source address (SA) 
•  Length (LEN) 
•  SNAP/LLC 
•  High bits of the source address (HSA) 
•  VLAN ID 
•  BPDU/CDP indicator 
•  Index (INDX) 
•  Reserved for FDDI and Token Ring 
•  Encapsulated Frame 
•  Frame Check Sequence 

 
Configuring a Trunk Link 
Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet trunking can be set up in any of the following modes: 
 

•  On 
•  Off 
•  Desirable  
•  Auto 
•  Nonegotiate 

 
VTP Modes of Operation 
There are three VTP modes of operation: 
 

1. Server 

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2. Client 
3. Transparent 

 

Managing Redundant Links 

 
The basic functionality of a switch is identical to that of a transparent bridge. By defini-
tion a bridge must not modify the frames that it forwards.  A bridge learns addresses by 
listening on a port for a device’s source MAC address.   The bridge then forwards the 
broadcast it receives out all ports except for the port that initially received the broadcast.  
If a destination MAC address is unknown, sometimes called an unknown unicast, the 
bridge forwards the frame out all ports except for the port that initially received the 
frame.  When a bridge receives a frame, it either filters it if the frame’s destination is out 
the receiving port, or forwards the frame if the destination is on a different port.  
 
Contents of BPDU 
The BPDU contains the following information: 
 

•  Root information 
•  Path cost 
•  Bridge information 
•  Port information 
•  Timers 

 

Spanning-Tree Port States 
There are five types of Spanning Tree Port states: 
 

1. Blocked  
2. Listen 
3. Learn  
4. Forward  
5. Disabled 

 
Inter-VLAN Routing 

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In Isolated Broadcast Domains you need to consider sharing resources between VLANs, 
load-balancing, redundant Links, addressing, and segmenting networks with VLANs. 
 

Improving IP Routing Performance with Multilayer Switching 

 
MLS Components 
Multilayer switching includes the following three components: 
 

1.  Multilayer Switching Switch Engine (MLS-SE) 
2.  Multilayer Switching Route Processor (MLS-RP) 
3.  Multilayer Switching Protocol (MLSP)  

 
Creating a NULL Domain 
There are several ways in which a route processor and a switch can end up in different 
VTP domains.  You can purposely place both devices in separate domains, you can mis-
name or mistype the VTP domain when configuring either the switch or the route proces-
sor, or you can enter the MLS interface command prior to putting the interface in a VTP 
domain. 
 

Configuring HSRP for Fault Tolerance Routing 

 
The Hot Standby Routing Protocol provides fault tolerance and enhanced routing per-
formance for IP networks. HSRP allows Cisco IOS routers to monitor each other’s opera-
tional status and very quickly assume packet forwarding responsibility in the event that 
the current forwarding device in the HSRP group fails or is taken down for maintenance. 
 
Routing Issues in a Redundant Environment 
Hosts learn which router they should use by the following methods: 
 

•  Default gateway 
•  Proxy ARP 
•  Routing protocol 

 

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HSRP Group Members 
The stand by group is comprised in the following entities: 
 

•  One active router 
•  One stand by router 
•  One virtual router 
•  Other routers 

 
HSRP States 
The HSRP states include: 
 

•  Initial state 
•  Learn state 
•  Listen state 
•  Speak state 
•  Standby state 
•  Active state 

 

Multicast Overview 
Multimedia traffic can work its way through the network using one of the following 
methods: 
 

•  Unicast 
•  Broadcast 
•  Multicast 

 

Controlling Access to the Campus Network  

 
Access control cannot be implemented until a standard access policy has been created. 
 
Applying Policies in a Hierarchical Model 

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10 

Policies can be applied at any of the three basic layers: 
 

1. Access layer 
2. Distribution layer 
3. Core layer 

 
Managing Network Devices 
When managing network devices you must take into account the following factors: 
physical security, passwords, privilege levels to allow limited access to a network device, 
and limiting virtual terminal or telnet access. 
 
Port Security 
A MAC address can be allowed by either static or dynamic assignment of the MAC ad-
dress. 

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11 

 
 

 

 

 

WARNING: It is important that you read and study the 

“CCNP Keypoints” portion of this study guide.  We have 

identified important concepts in this section that are re-

quired knowledge to pass the exam.  Please ensure that 

you absolutely know and understand these keypoints prior 

to sitting for the exam. 

 

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12 

Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks Keypoints 

 
 

1.  Know that the Switch(config) ip default-gateway <ip address> command accu-

rately depicts the mode and command used to configure a default gateway on an 
IOS command-based switch. 

 

2.  Know that 256 is the maximum number of VLANs that can be supported on a 

single RSM. 

 

3.  Know that static VLAN membership is managed through port-based assignments. 

 

4.  Know that a Route Processor is used to connect several separate VLANs. 

 

5.  Know that there is not an issue with VLAN membership, nor is it media depend-

ent in order to connect a host that is attached to the network using IEEE 802.5 and 
another host that is attached to the network using IEEE 802.3.  However, there is 
an issue at Layer 2, which requires the use of translational bridging. 

 

6.  Know that the VLAN trunking protocol (VTP) is used to propagate global VLAN 

information. 

 

7.  Know that VTP version 2 is preferable to VTP version 1 because it supports To-

ken Ring VLANs. 

 

8.  Know that the Auto and Desirable trunking modes make a port able to convert a 

link to a trunk link when you are configuring a VLAN on fast Ethernet. 

 

9.  Know that you enter the set ip route command to configure a default route on a 

set-based command switch.  

 

10. Know that a switch must be in client mode and the clear config all command 

must be executed on the switch and be rebooted in order to enter a switch into an 
existing VTP domain without altering the configuration of the systems currently 
on the domain.  

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13 

 

11. Know that existing flow masks are purged when an access list is applied or when 

the aging time expires. 

 

12. Know that the set mls enable command enables multilayer switching on a distri-

bution layer switching engine. 

 

13. Know that you will need to issue the mls rp ip and mls rp vtp-domain com-

mands if you are using multilayer switching and you need to configure your dis-
tribution layer route processor to participate in the multiplayer switching. 

 

14. Know that you will need to enable CGMP on the distribution switch, and enable 

CGMP on your distribution router to enable CGMP on a distribution layer device.  

 

15. Know that the router creates a CGMP frame and forwards it to a well-known ad-

dress to which all CGMP switches listen. 

 

16. Know that when the LEDs flash during the Catalyst 5000 power up sequence that 

the power-up sequence is underway, but not yet completed. 

 

17. Know that you would look for the port‘s link LED on the Switching Module as an 

indicator of an active link state on a Catalyst port. 

 

18. Know that you will use the ip cgmp command to enable CGMP on a router inter-

face. 

 

19. Know that in order for the CGMP to operate correctly on a switch, the switch 

must have a network connection to a router running CGMP. 

 

20. Know that you would use the set cgmp disable command to disable CGMP on a 

set command based switch. 

 

21. Know that you can have no more than 90 meters from the punch down block to 

the switch when you are preparing to install a UTP cable connection. 

 

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14 

22. Know that you need to set the port speed on your access switch on your primary 

distribution switch in order to configure the Fast Ethernet connection between 
your access switch and primary distribution switch. 

 

23. Know that auto [sense] is the default for the 100Base-TX port, which negotiates 

full duplex connectivity if the connecting device supports it. 

 

24. Know that when you have correctly connected a cable between a catalyst 1900 

and 5000 series switch that the port status LED light located on both switches 
should light up and remain on. 

 

25. In contrast to shared Ethernet, switched Ethernet on a catalyst switch provides 

greater access to bandwidth and connects directly to end users or other switches. 

 

26. Know that you use a straight-through cable when connecting the 10BaseT switch 

ports to servers, workstations, and routers.  

 

27. Know that you use a straight-through cable to connect the switched 10BaseT ports 

to a 10BaseT compatible workstation. 

 

28. Know that shared bandwidth and switched bandwidth are functions represented 

by the Access layer in the campus network hierarchical model. 

 

29. Know that port security limits the number of MAC addresses that are allowed to 

use the switch in order to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to the 
network.  

 

30. Know that IEEE 802-3Z is the IEEE specification for Gigabit Ethernet. 

 

31. Know that ISL and 802.1Q are two good solutions for carrying VLANs over a 

single link.  

 

32. Know that VTP configuration does not affect how you assign ports to VLAN 1 on 

a switch. 

 

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15 

33. Know that before you can modify one of the VLAN names on a switch, the VTP 

domain name must be configured and the mode on this switch is server.   

 

34. Know that in client mode you cannot create, change, or delete VLANs on a 

switch.   

 

35. Know that the ip access-group command is used to apply an extended access list 

to an interface.  

 

36. Know that the Auto trunking mode makes the port willing to convert a link to a 

trunk link when configuring a VLAN trunk for fast Ethernet. 

 

37. Know that the mls rp ip command enables global multilayer on the distribution 

layer route processor. 

 

38. Know that the show mls entry command displays the MLS cache. 

 

39. Know that applying an outgoing access list to an interface purges any existing 

flow mask entries and then begins caching new IP-flow mask entries. 

 

40. Know  that  the  mls rp ip command enables an RSM interface for multilayer 

switching. 

 

41. Know that you should use PortFast when you are connecting a single end station 

to a switch port. 

 

42. Know that with a catalyst 6000 and 6500 series switch that the multilayer switch 

module is viewed as an external router connected to four full-duplex Gigabit 
Ethernet interfaces.  

 

43. Know that you would use the set spantree portfast [module/port] command to 

enable fast EtherChannel.  

 

44. Know that the set spantree portfast enable command ensures timely host access 

to the network in a spanning-tree environment. 

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16 

 

45. Know that the multicast IP address 224.64.255.45 translates to a MAC address of 

01-00-5E-40-FF-2D. 

 

46. Know that in the multicast transmission method frames are replicated as needed. 

 

47. Know that IGMP query messages are addressed to all-host groups with the TTL 

set to (1) because IGMP query messages will remain on the directly attached sub-
network. 

 

48. Know that with multicast transmission, one copy of each packet is sent using a 

special address that allows each client to choose if they receive the packet.  

 

49. Know that loops in one spanning tree do not have any impact on the other span-

ning tree environments you have on multi spanning tree trunk.  

 

50. Know that you must define the ISL encapsulation type and number on each inter-

face to ensure that a route processor can forward traffic from multiple VLANs. 

 

51. Know that if a host interface is constantly sending frame fragments or frames with 

CRC errors, any broadcast traffic created would be contained within the VLAN. 

 

52. Know that the RSM has only 1 global MAC address that applies to interfaces on a 

device. 

 

53. Know that you use the ip default-gateway command on an ISL-based command 

switch to define a gateway.  

 

54. Know that with VLAN routing, a switched VLAN corresponds to an ISI trunk in-

terface. 

 

55. Know that to determine the best loop-free path to the root, the spanning tree pro-

tocol places the port with the lowest port ID in forwarding mode. 

 

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17 

56. Know that multilayer switching is based on the route once, switch many model.  

 

57. Know that you would use the show spantree command if you want to observe the 

spanning-tree port state on a set command-based switch. 

 

58. Know that once the failure of the forwarding link is detected, uplinkfast allows 

the blocked port of a switch to quickly begin forwarding. 

 

59. Know that if you properly place the root bridge to ensure an optimal STP topol-

ogy, it will cause the spanning-tree protocol to improve operations as the network 
grows. 

 

60. Know that if you set forward delay and max-age timers to maximum values that 

you can you reduce spanning-tree protocol BPDU traffic during extended periods 
of instability for VLANs. 

 

61. Know that uplinkfast can be enabled on a spanning tree network with many point-

to-point connections to significantly decrease the time of the listening and learn-
ing states.   

 

62. Know that the default transaction time in spanning-tree protocol for a switch to 

move from blocking to forwarding state is 50 seconds. 

 

63. Know that a combination of the priority number and the MAC address are the fac-

tors that determine who will become the root bridge in a spanning tree network. 

 

64. Know that to take advantage of Fast EtherChannel ports you will need to config-

ure all ports in a channel to operate at the same speed and in duplex mode, and as-
sign all ports in a channel to the same VLAN or configure them as trunk ports.  
This will help avoid configuration problems that may cause the ports to be auto-
matically disabled. 

 

65. Know that the top slot of the chassis in a Catalyst 5000 switch contains the con-

sole and network ports in the supervisory engine module. 

 

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18 

66. Know that when using the catalyst 5000 series switch SPAN (Switch Port Ana-

lyzer) feature, the function of the destination module/port identifier is to identify 
the port that mirrors traffic to a protocol analyzer. 

 

67. Know that the high-end tools for troubleshooting and managing catalyst switches 

are from the graphic user interface applications in CWIS. 

 

68. Know that the show spantree switch set-based command is comparable to the 

Cisco IOS-based router command show span.   

 

69. Know that show span doesn’t have the same meaning on the set-based switch and 

command-based switch.  On the set-based switch, show span shows the switch 
port analyzer, whereas on the command-based switch, show span is a shortcut for 
show spantree, which shows the spanning tree configuration.  To see the span-
ning tree configuration on the set-based switch, enter show spanning

 

70. Know that the show trunk <module/port> command would be used to check a 

module/port and display the trunking status, VLAN active status, and VLAN that 
can use a link. 

 

71. Know that you would use the duplex full command to configure a backup link on 

an IOS-based command switch for full duplex. 

 

72. Know that Ethernet LAN switching uses IEEE 802.1D and Spanning-Tree Proto-

col. 

 

73. Know that you would use the full duplex mode for the link between the distribu-

tion and core switches that is configured for autonegotiation to ensure the most ef-
ficient connection. 

 

74. Know that you would use the set interface sc0 command do you enter to assign 

an IP address to an interface on a set based switch. 

 

75. Know that if you want to use hardware-based bridging to switch between Ethernet 

and Fast Ethernet you need to increase the network bandwidth. Do not use the 
data link ISO layer to deal with these functions. 

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19 

 

76. Know that if you want to use hardware-based switching to switch any flavor of 

Ethernet while increasing effective bandwidth and minimizing on complexity, 
implementing VLANs (Layer-2/data link) is the best solution. 

 

77. Know that no switch command is required to configure a functional Ethernet con-

nection between an end-user station and the access layer switch for default auto-
sensing functionality. 

 

78. Know that if you configure a switch as a VTP server off line and then connect it 

to the network, the switch may cause a loss of VLAN information by advertising 
an inaccurate revision of the domain.  

 

79. Know that management domain and configuration revision number is the VTP in-

formation that a catalyst switch advertises on its trunk ports. 

 

80. Know that “disabled” is the default setting of CGMP on a Cisco switch. 

 

81. Know that by default, on a catalyst switch, the show logging command will allow 

you to check for error messages if they are redirected to another destination other 
than the console. 

 

82. Know that a trunk link does not belong to a specific VLAN and that all VLANs 

can be transported on a single trunk link. 

 

83. Know that if you are troubleshooting problems on the catalyst 5000 trunk and you 

notice that there is a disagreement about the VLAN configured to use this trunk, 
you can set or clear VLANs on both sides of the link so values do match. 

 

84. Know that Cisco engineers typically recommend that VLAN ID 1 be used for 

management and troubleshooting only. 

 

85. Know that in a VTP domain, a catalyst switch advertises the management domain 

name, the switch configuration revision number, the known VLANs, and their 
specific parameters. 

 

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86. Know that the native VLAN of the trunk link is the VLAN that the trunk uses if 

that link fails for any reason. 

 

87. Know that each VTP advertisement contains only one domain name; separate 

VTP advertisements are required for each domain. 

 

88. Know that the 01-00-5E-12-2C-11 MAC address is a multicast address. 

 

89. Know that multicast ranges 224.0.0.0 through 224.0.0.255 are reserved for local 

purposes and are not forwarded by multicast routers. 

 

90. Know that the definition of a broadcast transmission is “only one copy of each 

frame is sent, using an address that reaches all the clients”. 

 

91. Know that before you can enable multicast, hosts must have an IP protocol that 

supports multicast and servers/clients must have applications that support IP mul-
ticast. 

 

92. Know that the catalyst 2820 series are used with small to medium campus net-

works, and connect desktops and 10BaseT hubs to distribution switches with 
high-speed connections. 

 

93. Know that the router switch feature card is a full-function IOS router installed as 

an integrated daughter card for the Catalyst 5000 series supervisor IIG and super-
visor IIIG cards. 

 

94. Know that the Catalyst 5000 and 6000 series switches are the most effective for 

distribution layer switching. 

 

95. Know that a trunk link using IEEE 802.1Q trunk protocol or IEEE802.1Q trunk 

protocol, providing the SAID parameter is correctly set, can be configured be-
tween two Cisco switches each having identical modules, software revisions and 
VLAN configuration information.  

 

 

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21 

Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks 

Practice Questions 

 
1.  You have several VLAN trunks in your Auto and Off modes. You are entering a 

new port. Which mode do you need the port to be set to in permanent trunking 
mode? 

 

A: on 

nonegotiate 

 
2.  The engineering department wants to interconnect users on multiple floors in 

the same building. Currently the department has only ten users, but plans to 
double that number within a matter of months. The engineers need to access 
CAD/CAM documents on the workgroup servers. What is the most appropriate 
access layer device? 

 

A:  Catalyst 1900 series switch with 100BaseTX ports 

 
3.  Given the VTP mode table, place the VTP mode in the correct location at the top 

of the table. 

 

A: 
 

VTP modes of Operation 

 

VTP mode 

Transparent 

VTP mode 

Server 

VTP mode 

Client 

Can they update other VTP capable 
devices on request or by default? 

NO YES 

YES 

Do they care about VTP advertise-
ments? 

NO YES 

YES 

Can you preserve the global VLANs 
on reboot? 

SOMETIMES YES 

NO 

 
4.  A company has experienced 300 percent growth over the last year and has re-

cently installed a new multimedia center for distributing company information 

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throughout the campus. The company has requirements for gigabit-speed data 
transfer, high-availability, and interVLAN routing between the end user and the 
enterprise server farms. What is the most appropriate device for the distribution 
layer? 

 

A:  Catalyst 6000 series switch with 16-port gigabit Ethernet module 

 
5.  A company has a small network with about 25 users. They need to connect indi-

vidual desktops and 10BaseT hubs to high-speed distribution switches that can 
work in conjunction with a 7x00 series external router. Which combination of 
hardware meets the minimum requirements of the network at this company? 

 

A:  A catalyst 1900 series switch and a 2926G switch 

 
6.  You are using PC12. Using the network diagram and table below, provide the 

Access switch name and IP address, the VTP domain name and the first and 
second VLAN numbers for PC12. 

 
 

Primary Distribution

Switch Name

  Mod/Port

                  Trunks
               Mod/Ports

                 Mod/Port

   Trunks
 Mod/Ports

 Mod/Port          Mod/Port

VTP Domain Name

First VLAN number

Access Switch Name

Access Switch

IP Address

Primary Fast

Ethernet Link

Secondary

Distribution Switch

Name

Secondary Fast

Ethernet Link

Secondary VLAN number

 

 

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PC 

Access 

Switch 

Access Switch 

IP Address 

First 

VLAN 

Number 

Second 

VLAN 

Number 

VTP Domain 

Name  

PC1 AS1  172.16.4.1 

bik1 

PC2 AS2  172.16.4.2 

bik1 

PC3 AS3  172.16.4.3 

bik1 

PC4 AS4  172.16.4.4 

bik1 

PC11 AS11  172.16.4.11 

11 

15 

bik2 

 

A: 

 

PC12 AS12  172.16.4.12 

12 

16 

bik2 

 
7.  You are using PC2. Using the network diagram and table below, provide the Ac-

cess switch name and IP address, the VTP domain name and the first and second 
VLAN numbers for PC2.  

 
 

Primary Distribution

Switch Name

  Mod/Port

                  Trunks
               Mod/Ports

                 Mod/Port

   Trunks
 Mod/Ports

 Mod/Port          Mod/Port

VTP Domain Name

First VLAN number

Access Switch Name

Access Switch

IP Address

Primary Fast

Ethernet Link

Secondary

Distribution Switch

Name

Secondary Fast

Ethernet Link

Secondary VLAN number

 

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24 

 

PC 

Access 

Switch 

Access Switch 

IP Address 

First 

VLAN 

Number 

Second 

VLAN 

Number 

VTP Domain 

Name  

PC1 AS1  172.16.4.1 

bik1 

PC3 AS3  172.16.4.3 

bik1 

PC4 AS4  172.16.4.4 

bik1 

PC11 AS11  172.16.4.11 

11 

15 

bik2 

PC12   AS12 

172.16.4.12 

12 

16 

bik2 

 

A: 
 

PC2 AS2 172.16.4.2  2 

bik1 

 
8.  A company needs to interconnect its four separate campus buildings with a high-

speed, high-bandwidth backbone. Each building supports a separate department 
and each department supports IP, IPX, and AppleTalk.  The network designer 
has already recommended a catalyst 6000 series switch at the distribution layer. 
What is the most appropriate device for the core? 

 

A:  Catalyst 8500 series switch 

 
9.  A company has a single large campus network including six buildings intercon-

nected with a high-speed, bandwidth backbone. A dual core configuration is 
necessary as redundant connections are required. They will be using a catalyst 
6000 series switch at the distribution layer.   Which device best meets their 
needs at the core layer? 

 

A:  Catalyst 8500 series switch 

 
10. Know these transmission method definitions.  
 

 

 

Transmission 

Method 

Definition 

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Unicast 

Sends one copy of each packet to every client address. 

Multicast 

A single data stream is sent to many clients, and the client de-
cides whether or not to listen to the address. 

Broadcast 

One copy of each packet is sent, using a special address that al-
lows it to reach all clients. 

 
11. A company has redesigned its campus network to support three switch blocks 

that broadcast domains to each individual switch block, while still allowing in-
terVLAN routing within and between switch blocks. What is the most appropri-
ate device at the distribution layer? 

 

A:  Catalyst 5000 series switch with an internal RSM 

 
12. An Ethernet media trunk link is to be configured to operate in ISL mode be-

tween two Cisco switches each having identical modules, software revisions and 
VLAN configuration information. Which condition would prevent the trunk link 
from operating in ISL trunking mode?   

 

A:  The trunk encapsulation is different at each end of the link. 

 

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Index 

 

10BaseT ............................ 11, 12, 16, 18 
20/80 model .......................................... 1 
80/20 rule .............................................. 1 
802.10.................................................... 5 
Access layer ................................ 2, 8, 12 
Access Links ......................................... 4 
active router .......................................... 7 
bandwidth.... 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 15, 20, 21 
BPDU.......................................... 5, 6, 14 
bridge .............................................. 5, 14 
broadcast ............................... 1, 5, 16, 21 
Broadcast............................. 1, 2, 6, 8, 21 
campus ............ 1, 3, 4, 12, 16, 18, 20, 21 
Campus ................................. 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 
Catalyst ........... 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21 
CGMP ........................................... 11, 15 
Client............................................... 5, 18 
console port........................................... 3 
convergence .......................................... 1 
Core block............................................. 3 
core layer......................................... 2, 21 
Core layer.......................................... 2, 8 
default gateway ................................... 10 
Default gateway .................................... 7 
Desirable ......................................... 5, 10 
Distribution layer .............................. 2, 8 
dynamic................................................. 8 
encapsulation............................. 5, 13, 21 

Ethernet ... 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 21 
Ethernet port.......................................... 3 
failover .................................................. 2 
fault tolerance........................................ 7 
FDDI ................................................. 3, 5 
Frame Identification.............................. 4 
frames.......................................... 2, 5, 13 
full duplex ....................................... 4, 15 
hierarchical model........................... 2, 12 
Hierarchical Model ........................... 2, 8 
Hot Stand By Routing Protocol ............ 7 
HSRP..................................................... 7 
Hybrid Links ......................................... 4 
IEEE 802.1Q ................................... 5, 17 
IEEE 802-3Z ....................................... 12 
Inter-switch link.................................... 4 
Inter-VLAN....................................... 2, 6 
IP address...................... 4, 13, 15, 19, 20 
ISL................................... 4, 5, 12, 13, 21 
LAN ........................................ 1, 3, 5, 15 
LANE.................................................... 5 
Layer2 ............................................... 2, 4 
LEDs ................................................... 11 
load-balancing................................... 4, 6 
MAC address .................. 5, 8, 13, 14, 16 
Mainframe block................................... 3 
media types ........................................... 3 
MLS ............................................ 6, 7, 12 

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Multicast ..................................... 7, 8, 21 
Multicasting .......................................... 2 
Multilayer switching ............................. 6 
Nonegotiate ........................................... 5 
packets................................................... 2 
port .......... 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18 
ports......................... 5, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18 
Proxy ARP ............................................ 7 
redundant......................................... 6, 21 
route processor .................... 6, 11, 12, 13 
routers ................................... 1, 7, 11, 16 
Routers .................................................. 1 
Routing protocol ................................... 7 
security........................................ 4, 8, 12 
Security ............................................. 2, 8 
segmenting ........................................ 1, 6 
Server .......................................... 3, 5, 18 
Server block .......................................... 3 
Spanning Tree ....................................... 6 
stand by router....................................... 7 
static ................................................ 8, 10 
subnet mask........................................... 4 
switch block .................................... 4, 21 

Switch block.......................................... 3 
switched blocks..................................... 2 
switched network .................................. 1 
switches... 1, 3, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21 
telnet...................................................... 8 
throughput............................................. 2 
Timers ................................................... 6 
Token Ring.................................. 3, 5, 10 
Transparent ..................................... 5, 18 
transparent bridge.................................. 5 
Trunk Link ............................................ 5 
Trunk Links........................................... 4 
unicast................................................... 6 
Unicast ............................................ 7, 21 
UTP ..................................................... 11 
virtual LANs ......................................... 1 
virtual router.......................................... 7 
virtual terminal...................................... 8 
VLAN boundaries................................. 4 
VLANs...... 1, 4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 
VTP ......... 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 
VTP domain.......................................... 6 
WAN block ....................................... 2, 3