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CCNA Switching and Network Access Practice Question
Drag and drop the following steps into the correct order to configure Root Guard on designated ports, Loop Guard on non-designated ports, and BPDU Guard on PortFast ports, and to recover a port that enters err-disabled due to a BPDU guard violation.
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the port roles for Root Guard and Loop Guard, or think that disabling the protection feature will recover an err-disabled port. Remember: Root Guard is for designated ports, Loop Guard for non-designated, and BPDU Guard for PortFast. Err-disabled recovery requires manual reset or global errdisable recovery configuration.
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
✓
1. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 2. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 3. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, manually shut and no shut the interface.
Root Guard on designated, Loop Guard on non-designated, then BPDU Guard on PortFast; recovery requires interface reset after violation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
1. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 2. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 3. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, manually shut and no shut the interface.
Why this is correct
This order follows the correct sequence: Root Guard is applied to designated ports to prevent them from becoming root ports, Loop Guard is applied to non-designated ports to prevent alternate/backup ports from becoming designated due to unidirectional links, and BPDU Guard is applied to PortFast ports to protect against rogue BPDUs. Recovery from err-disabled state requires manual interface reset (shutdown/no shutdown) because err-disabled ports do not automatically recover unless errdisable recovery is configured.
- ✗
1. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 2. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 3. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, re-enable BPDU Guard on the port.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because BPDU Guard should be applied after PortFast is enabled, but the order of applying protections is not arbitrary; Root Guard and Loop Guard have specific port roles. Also, re-enabling BPDU Guard does not recover an err-disabled port; the port must be manually reset or errdisable recovery must be configured.
- ✗
1. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 2. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 3. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, configure errdisable recovery cause bpduguard.
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because while errdisable recovery can automatically recover the port, the question asks for the steps to recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation. The standard recovery method is manual reset, not automatic recovery. Additionally, the order of Root Guard and Loop Guard is swapped; Root Guard should be configured before Loop Guard? Actually, the order of these two does not matter as long as they are applied to correct port roles. However, the recovery method is not the most direct answer.
- ✗
1. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 2. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 3. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, remove BPDU Guard from the port.
Why it's wrong here
This sequence correctly places Root Guard on designated ports and Loop Guard on non-designated ports, but the recovery step is fundamentally flawed. Removing BPDU Guard from the interface does NOT clear the err-disabled state; the port remains administratively down until you issue a manual shutdown followed by no shutdown, or until global errdisable recovery (if configured) automatically re-enables it. Additionally, merely deleting the BPDU Guard configuration does not alter the fact that the port was error-disabled by the STP watchdog, and the port will not pass traffic until that state is manually cleared.
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.
✓1. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 2. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 3. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, manually shut and no shut the interface.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
This order follows the correct sequence: Root Guard is applied to designated ports to prevent them from becoming root ports, Loop Guard is applied to non-designated ports to prevent alternate/backup ports from becoming designated due to unidirectional links, and BPDU Guard is applied to PortFast ports to protect against rogue BPDUs. Recovery from err-disabled state requires manual interface reset (shutdown/no shutdown) because err-disabled ports do not automatically recover unless errdisable recovery is configured.
✗1. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 2. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 3. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, re-enable BPDU Guard on the port.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The specific factual error: Re-enabling BPDU Guard does not clear the err-disabled state; the interface must be shut and no shut. Also, the order of applying protections is not flexible; Root Guard must be on designated ports, Loop Guard on non-designated, and BPDU Guard on PortFast ports.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates might think that re-enabling the feature that caused the violation would recover the port, or they may confuse the order of configuration steps.
✗1. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 2. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 3. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, configure errdisable recovery cause bpduguard.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The specific factual error: The question implies a manual recovery step, not automatic recovery. Also, configuring errdisable recovery is an optional global command, not a step to recover a specific port after violation.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates might know that errdisable recovery can automatically recover ports, and they might think that is the intended recovery step, but the question expects a manual reset.
✗1. Configure Root Guard on designated ports. 2. Configure BPDU Guard on PortFast ports. 3. Configure Loop Guard on non-designated ports. 4. To recover a port that enters err-disabled due to BPDU Guard violation, remove BPDU Guard from the port.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The specific factual error: Removing BPDU Guard does not clear the err-disabled state; the interface must be shut and no shut. Additionally, the order of applying protections is incorrect; Loop Guard should be on non-designated ports, but the order relative to BPDU Guard is not critical, but the recovery step is wrong.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates might think that disabling the feature that caused the violation would allow the port to come back up, but err-disabled requires manual intervention.
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
Configuring Switch Ports for Desktops, VoIP Phones, APs, IoT, and Virtualized Hosts
Key term
BPDU Guard
BPDU Guard is a Cisco switch feature that protects the network from unauthorized devices by disabling a port if it receives a Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU).
Key term
BPDU
A Bridge Protocol Data Unit is a layer 2 frame that switches use to exchange information about the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to prevent network loops.
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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.