Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A multilayer switch has working SVIs for VLAN 10 and VLAN 20, but traffic between the VLANs fails. Hosts can ping their own gateway interfaces. Which misconfiguration is most strongly suggested if the SVIs themselves are correct?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
IP routing is not enabled on the multilayer switch.
This is correct because the switch needs Layer 3 forwarding enabled to route between VLAN interfaces.
B
Distractor review
Both VLANs need to use the same IP subnet.
This is wrong because different VLANs normally use different subnets for routed inter-VLAN communication.
C
Distractor review
All access ports must be converted into trunks.
This is wrong because host-facing ports do not all need to be trunks for inter-VLAN routing.
D
Distractor review
The wireless controller must provide the default gateway.
This is wrong because the question is about SVIs on the multilayer switch.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A frequent exam trap is to believe that creating SVIs alone enables inter-VLAN routing. Many candidates see that hosts can ping their own gateway interfaces and assume routing is working. However, without enabling IP routing on the multilayer switch, the device cannot forward packets between VLANs. This leads to a scenario where intra-VLAN communication works, but inter-VLAN traffic fails silently. Misinterpreting this symptom often causes candidates to incorrectly troubleshoot VLAN membership or subnetting instead of verifying the routing configuration.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
A multilayer switch combines Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing capabilities, allowing it to route traffic between VLANs using Switch Virtual Interfaces (SVIs). Each SVI acts as a logical Layer 3 interface for its VLAN, providing the default gateway for hosts within that VLAN. However, for inter-VLAN communication to succeed, the multilayer switch must have IP routing enabled to forward packets between these SVIs. Without IP routing, the switch can respond to pings on each SVI because the interfaces exist locally, but it cannot route traffic across VLAN boundaries. The decision to enable IP routing on a multilayer switch is critical for inter-VLAN routing. By default, many multilayer switches have IP routing disabled, meaning SVIs only function as Layer 3 interfaces for their own VLANs without forwarding between them. Enabling IP routing activates the Layer 3 routing engine, allowing the switch to examine destination IP addresses and forward traffic between VLANs accordingly. This is a fundamental step in configuring inter-VLAN routing on Cisco multilayer switches. A common exam trap is assuming that simply configuring SVIs is sufficient for inter-VLAN routing. Candidates may overlook the need to explicitly enable IP routing, leading to confusion when hosts can ping their gateways but cannot communicate across VLANs. Practically, this means the switch is not performing Layer 3 forwarding, and traffic remains isolated within each VLAN. Understanding this distinction helps avoid misdiagnosing the problem as a VLAN or subnetting issue.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- A multilayer switch uses SVIs as Layer 3 interfaces to provide default gateways for hosts in each VLAN.
- IP routing must be explicitly enabled on a multilayer switch to allow traffic forwarding between VLANs.
- Without IP routing enabled, SVIs respond locally but do not route traffic across VLAN boundaries.
- Different VLANs require separate IP subnets to enable proper inter-VLAN routing and segmentation.
- Access ports connected to hosts should remain in access mode; they do not need to be trunks for inter-VLAN routing.
- The wireless controller does not provide default gateways for VLANs configured on a multilayer switch.
- Enabling IP routing activates the switch’s Layer 3 forwarding engine, allowing inter-VLAN packet routing.
- Hosts can ping their own gateway SVI even if IP routing is disabled, which can mislead troubleshooting efforts.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A router learns the same prefix from both OSPF and EIGRP. Which route is installed by default?
Question 2
A router shows this output: R1#show ip ospf neighbor Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface 10.1.1.2 1 FULL/DR 00:00:34 192.168.12.2 GigabitEthernet0/0 10.1.1.3 1 2WAY/DROTHER 00:00:39 192.168.12.3 GigabitEthernet0/0 Which statement is correct?
Question 3
What is the OSPF metric called?
Question 4
A non-root switch has two uplinks toward the root bridge. One path has a lower total STP cost than the other. What role will the lower-cost uplink have?
Question 5
A router interface applies this ACL inbound: 10 deny tcp any any eq 80 20 permit ip any any A user reports that web browsing to a server by IP address fails, but ping works. Which statement best explains the behavior?
Question 6
A router learns route 198.51.100.0/24 from OSPF with AD 110 and also has a static route to the same prefix configured with AD 150. Which route is installed?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 200-301 question test?
A multilayer switch uses SVIs as Layer 3 interfaces to provide default gateways for hosts in each VLAN.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: IP routing is not enabled on the multilayer switch. — The strongest suggestion is that IP routing is not enabled on the multilayer switch. In practical terms, the switch can still answer pings to each SVI because those gateway interfaces exist locally, but without Layer 3 routing enabled, it will not actually forward traffic between those VLAN networks. This is a classic inter-VLAN routing troubleshooting question on multilayer switches. The SVIs alone are not enough if the routing function itself is not enabled.
What should I do if I get this 200-301 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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