These questions present the output of IOS show commands — show ip route, show interfaces, show ip ospf neighbor, show vlan brief — and ask you to interpret what they reveal about the network state. Reading IOS output accurately is one of the highest-value skills on the CCNA.
Start Scenario PracticeA network engineer notices that internal hosts (192.168.1.0/24) can reach external servers on the internet, but replies from external servers never reach the internal hosts. The router R1 is configured with dynamic NAT to translate the internal subnet to a pool of public IPs (203.0.113.10-203.0.113.20). The engineer runs 'show ip nat translations' and sees only a few stale translations. What is the most likely cause of the issue?
Explanation: The 'ip nat outside' command must be applied to the interface facing the external network (GigabitEthernet0/0) for the router to translate return traffic. Without it, the router does not perform NAT on packets arriving on that interface, so replies from external servers are forwarded without translation back to the inside local IPs, which are not routable on the internet. The stale translations indicate that outbound translations were created but never used for return traffic, confirming the missing outside interface command.
A network administrator is troubleshooting an IPv6 connectivity issue on a newly deployed router. The router's G0/0/0 interface is configured with an IPv6 address using EUI-64, but hosts on that subnet cannot reach the router's link-local address. The administrator runs 'show ipv6 interface g0/0/0' and sees that the interface is up/up but the IPv6 address is not in the expected format. What is the most likely cause of the problem?
Explanation: The router's G0/0/0 interface is up/up, but the IPv6 address is not in the expected EUI-64 format. This indicates that the 'ipv6 address' command was likely omitted entirely, because if it were simply misconfigured (e.g., without the `eui-64` keyword), the router would still automatically generate a link-local address, and hosts would be able to reach it. Since hosts cannot reach the link-local address, IPv6 is not enabled on the interface at all. The correct configuration requires the `ipv6 address` command with the appropriate prefix and the `eui-64` keyword.
A user reports that their computer cannot access the network. The technician checks the computer's IP configuration and finds an APIPA address (169.254.x.x). The computer is connected to a switch port on VLAN 20. The DHCP server is located on VLAN 1. The technician then examines the router's interfaces using 'show ip interface brief' and sees that all interfaces shown are up/up. What should the technician do next?
Explanation: The APIPA address (169.254.x.x) indicates the host failed to obtain a DHCP lease. Since the DHCP server is on VLAN 1 and the host is on VLAN 20, a DHCP relay (ip helper-address) must be configured on the router's VLAN 20 interface to forward DHCP broadcast messages to the server. The 'show ip interface brief' shows all interfaces are up/up, so the next logical step is to verify the relay configuration.
You are connected to a Multilayer Switch MLS1. Configure the switch so that interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1 is an access port for VLAN 10, with voice VLAN 110 for an IP phone, and enable PoE. Additionally, interface GigabitEthernet1/0/2 must be an access port for VLAN 20 to connect an AP. Verify the configuration using 'show interfaces switchport' and 'show power inline'.
Explanation: It configures Gi1/0/1 as an access port in VLAN 10 with voice VLAN 110 and PoE enabled, and Gi1/0/2 as an access port in VLAN 20. Option B is wrong because it uses 'switchport mode trunk' instead of 'switchport mode access'. For a voice VLAN, the port should be an access port, not a trunk. Option C is wrong because it disables PoE with 'power inline never', but the IP phone requires power. Option D is wrong because it assigns the access VLAN as 110 and voice VLAN as 10, reversing the intended roles. Verify with 'show interfaces switchport' and 'show power inline'.
A network technician is troubleshooting a router that cannot be accessed via SSH. The router responds to Telnet but SSH attempts return 'connection refused'. The technician confirmed that 'ip ssh version 2' is configured and 'show ip ssh' indicates SSH is enabled. The output of 'show line vty 0 4' shows 'transport input telnet'. What should the technician do next?
Explanation: The VTY lines are configured with 'transport input telnet', which explicitly allows only Telnet sessions. SSH is enabled globally, but because it is not listed in the VTY transport input, the router rejects SSH connection attempts. Adding 'transport input ssh' (or 'transport input all') under the VTY lines permits SSH connections without disrupting Telnet, solving the mismatch at the application layer.
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Practice all Show Command Output QuestionsThese questions present the output of IOS show commands — show ip route, show interfaces, show ip ospf neighbor, show vlan brief — and ask you to interpret what they reveal about the network state. Reading IOS output accurately is one of the highest-value skills on the CCNA. These appear throughout the 200-301 and require you to apply your knowledge, not just recall facts.
Cisco doesn't publish an exact breakdown, but scenario-based questions (especially exhibit and command-output formats) make up a significant portion of the 200-301. Practicing each scenario type ensures you're ready for any format.
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