Cisco CCNA Network Components and Topology Architectures

Question 1

In a spine-leaf data center architecture, how are the switches connected?

Accepted Answer

Every leaf connects to every spine, and leaves do not connect directly to each other

Answer

In spine-leaf, each leaf (access) switch uplinks to every spine switch. Leaves do not connect to other leaves, and spines do not connect to other spines. Any two servers are therefore the same number of hops apart, which gives predictable east-west latency.

Question 2

What is a 'collapsed core' (two-tier) campus design?

Accepted Answer

A design that combines the core and distribution layers into one layer

Answer

A two-tier, or collapsed core, design merges the core and distribution layers into a single layer above the access layer. This lowers cost for smaller campuses that do not need a separate core.

Question 3

Which device sits inline, inspects traffic against signatures, and actively drops malicious packets?

Accepted Answer

IPS

Answer

An IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) is placed inline and can block malicious traffic in real time. An IDS usually watches a copy of the traffic and can only alert.

Question 4

What lets a switch supply electrical power to IP phones and wireless access points over the same Ethernet cable?

Accepted Answer

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

Answer

PoE (IEEE 802.3af/at/bt) sends DC power over twisted-pair Ethernet cabling, so powered devices like APs and IP phones do not need a separate power supply.

Question 5

What is the main role of a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)?

Accepted Answer

It centrally manages and configures lightweight access points

Answer

A WLC centrally handles configuration, RF management, security policy, and roaming for lightweight APs, which tunnel to it using CAPWAP. Autonomous APs are managed one by one and do not need a WLC.

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Cisco CCNA Network Components and Topology Architectures