CCNA Switching and Network Access Practice Question
Exhibit
SW1# show vlan brief VLAN Name Status Ports ---- -------------------------------- --------- ------------------------------- 1 default active Gi0/1, Gi0/2, Gi0/4, Gi0/5, Gi0/6 10 Management active Gi0/7, Gi0/8 20 Sales active Gi0/9, Gi0/10 30 Engineering act/lshut Gi0/3 1002 fddi-default act/unsup 1003 token-ring-default act/unsup 1004 fddinet-default act/unsup 1005 trnet-default act/unsup
Refer to the exhibit. A network administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue on switch SW1. Users connected to port Gi0/3 are unable to reach resources in VLAN 30. The administrator issues the show vlan brief command and receives the output shown. What is the most likely cause of the problem?
⚠ Common exam trap
Common mistake: Candidates think that a shutdown VLAN disappears from 'show vlan brief'. In fact, it remains listed with a status such as 'act/lshut'. A VLAN that is missing entirely means it has been deleted, not merely shutdown.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
VLAN 30 is administratively shut down.
The 'show vlan brief' output shows VLAN 30 with a status of 'act/lshut' (administratively shutdown) or 'shutdown', indicating that the VLAN has been disabled via the 'shutdown' command in VLAN configuration mode. A shutdown VLAN does not forward traffic, and all access ports assigned to it become operationally inactive for that VLAN, even though the ports themselves may still be listed in the output. The SVI for VLAN 30 would also be down. Therefore, the most likely cause is that VLAN 30 has been administratively shut down.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The Gi0/3 port is in an error-disabled state due to port security violations.
Why it's wrong here
The 'show vlan brief' output reports the VLAN database and per-VLAN administrative state; it does not display interface error states such as errdisable. A port security violation would place Gi0/3 into an err-disable state, which is verified with 'show interfaces status' or 'show port-security', not with VLAN status output. The 'act/lshut' flag indicates a VLAN-level shutdown, so the root cause is the VLAN being administratively disabled, not a security violation on the port.
- ✗
The VLAN 30 SVI is administratively down.
Why it's wrong here
The show vlan brief command displays Layer 2 VLAN information, not the state of the switched virtual interface (SVI). The 'act/lshut' status refers to the VLAN itself being shut down, not to Interface VLAN 30.
- ✓
VLAN 30 is administratively shut down.
Why this is correct
The Status column for VLAN 30 reads 'act/lshut', which is Cisco's shorthand for 'active but locally shut down'—meaning the VLAN has been administratively disabled via the 'shutdown' command in VLAN configuration mode. An administratively shut down VLAN will not pass traffic for any access port assigned to it, regardless of the physical or operational state of those ports. This is a VLAN database condition, distinct from an SVI being down or an interface errdisable, and it applies to the entire broadcast domain.
- ✗
Spanning Tree Protocol has placed Gi0/3 into a blocking state for VLAN 30.
Why it's wrong here
The show vlan brief output does not contain Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) port state information. STP states are viewed with 'show spanning-tree' commands. The exhibited 'act/lshut' is a VLAN-level administrative status, not an STP state.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The 200-301 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓VLAN 30 is administratively shut down.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
The Status column for VLAN 30 reads 'act/lshut', which is Cisco's shorthand for 'active but locally shut down'—meaning the VLAN has been administratively disabled via the 'shutdown' command in VLAN configuration mode. An administratively shut down VLAN will not pass traffic for any access port assigned to it, regardless of the physical or operational state of those ports. This is a VLAN database condition, distinct from an SVI being down or an interface errdisable, and it applies to the entire broadcast domain.
✗The Gi0/3 port is in an error-disabled state due to port security violations.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Candidates often confuse port-level issues with VLAN-level states. Port security violations would result in an err-disable status, which is not reflected in the VLAN status column; the VLAN would still show 'active' if it were enabled.
✗The VLAN 30 SVI is administratively down.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Candidates may mistake the VLAN shutdown for an SVI shutdown because both involve the 'shutdown' keyword. However, the SVI state would appear in 'show ip interface brief' or 'show interface vlan 30', not here.
✗Spanning Tree Protocol has placed Gi0/3 into a blocking state for VLAN 30.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Candidates often attribute connectivity loss to STP blocking, which is a common cause of forwarding issues. However, this exhibit’s specific clue is the 'act/lshut' flag, directing attention to the VLAN administrative state.
Analysis generated from the official 200-301blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Visual reference
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
VLAN Hopping Attacks and Prevention
Key term
Switch
A switch is a networking device that connects devices on a local area network and uses MAC addresses to forward data only to the intended recipient.
Key term
SVI
A Switch Virtual Interface (SVI) is a logical, software-based interface on a multilayer switch that provides Layer 3 routing capabilities for a VLAN, allowing devices in different VLANs to communicate without an external router.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-301 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-301 exam.