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200-301 · topic practice

STP practice questions

Practise 200-301 STP questions covering root bridge election, bridge IDs, port roles (root, designated, blocking), path cost, PortFast, BPDU Guard, and how spanning tree prevents Layer 2 loops.

Courseiva uses original exam-style practice questions designed for learning and revision. The goal is to understand the concepts, recognise exam patterns, and improve through explanations — not memorise copied exam dumps.

Reviewed byJohnson Ajibi· MSc IT Security
20 questionsDomain: STP
Practice 10 questionsBrowse domain →

What the exam tests

What to know about STP

STP questions usually test root bridge election, port roles, path cost and how spanning tree prevents Layer 2 loops.

Root bridge election and bridge ID comparison.

Root ports, designated ports and blocked/alternate ports.

Path cost and how switches choose the best path to the root bridge.

PortFast, BPDU Guard and common Layer 2 loop-prevention behaviour.

Why learners struggle

Why STP questions are commonly missed

STP questions are missed when learners confuse bridge ID comparison direction, forget how ties are broken, or misidentify which port role a given switch port takes. The lowest bridge ID wins, but cost, port ID, and tiebreakers all play a role.

  • ·Lowest bridge ID wins root election — lower priority wins, then lower MAC breaks ties
  • ·Root port vs designated port — each non-root switch has exactly one root port
  • ·Blocking ports are on non-designated segments — they receive BPDUs but do not forward
  • ·PortFast bypasses STP states — only safe on access ports connected to end devices
  • ·BPDU Guard shuts down PortFast ports that receive BPDUs — protecting against loops
  • ·STP path cost uses link bandwidth — faster links have lower cost and are preferred

Watch out for

Common STP exam traps

  • ▸The lowest bridge ID wins root bridge election.
  • ▸A non-root switch has one root port: its best path toward the root bridge.
  • ▸PortFast should be used carefully on access ports, not normal switch-to-switch links.
  • ▸Lower STP cost is preferred, but bridge ID and port ID can break ties.

Practice set

STP questions

20 questions · select your answer, then reveal the explanation

Question 1mediummulti select
Open the full STP breakdown →

Which TWO switch port configurations are required when connecting a Cisco IP phone and a desktop PC to a single access port?

Question 2mediummulti select
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

Which three of the following statements about VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) are correct? (Choose three.)

Question 3mediummulti select
Open the full STP breakdown →

Which three of the following are valid considerations when configuring EtherChannel? (Choose three.)

Question 4hardmultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

A network administrator notices that a switchport in access mode with PortFast enabled has transitioned to an err-disabled state. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

interface GigabitEthernet1/0/9
 switchport mode access
 spanning-tree portfast
 spanning-tree bpduguard enable

Event:
%SPANTREE-2-BLOCK_BPDUGUARD: Received BPDU on PortFast enabled port. Disabling interface.
Question 5hardmultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

A switch is configured with DHCP snooping and Dynamic ARP Inspection. Hosts suddenly lose connectivity after changing IP settings manually. Which explanation is strongest?

Question 6hardmultiple choice
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

In a network running STP, SW2 became the root bridge for VLAN 10. Both SW1 and SW2 have the same bridge priority. Why did SW2 become the root?

Exhibit

SW1# show spanning-tree vlan 10
VLAN0010
  Root ID    Priority    32778
             Address     0011.2233.4456
  Bridge ID  Priority    32778
             Address     0011.2233.4456

SW2# show spanning-tree vlan 10
VLAN0010
  Root ID    Priority    32778
             Address     0011.2233.4455
  Bridge ID  Priority    32778
             Address     0011.2233.4455
Question 7mediummultiple choice
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

A switch stack is running PVST+. Users on VLAN 40 lose connectivity for roughly 30 seconds every time the uplink on SW2 flaps. Based on the exhibit, which change would most directly improve convergence for this VLAN?

Exhibit

show spanning-tree summary
Switch is in pvst mode
Root bridge for: VLAN0001 VLAN0010 VLAN0020
Extended system ID is enabled
Portfast Default is disabled

show spanning-tree vlan 40
Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee
Root ID    Priority    327...
Question 8hardmultiple choice
Review the full OSPF breakdown →

You are verifying OSPF operation on router R1. After confirming that OSPF is configured on the correct interfaces, which command should you use next to directly check whether R1 has established a neighbor adjacency with another OSPF router?

Exhibit

R1#
router ospf 1
 network 10.1.12.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
 ip address 10.1.12.1 255.255.255.0
Question 9mediummulti select
Open the full STP breakdown →

Which TWO of the following statements accurately describe the configuration and behavior of Root Guard, Loop Guard, and BPDU Guard in Rapid PVST+ environments?

Question 10easymultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

What problem does Spanning Tree Protocol solve in a switched network?

Question 11mediummultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

An administrator wants a switchport connected to an end device to move to forwarding quickly but does not want that setting used on inter-switch links. Which feature is intended for that edge-port behavior?

Question 12hardmultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

A port connected to an end host is configured with PortFast and BPDU Guard. What is the most likely result if a small unmanaged switch is connected and starts sending BPDUs?

Question 13mediummultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

An administrator configures an EtherChannel between SW1 and SW2. The port-channel interfaces are physically up, but the EtherChannel bundle fails to come up. On SW1, the channel-group is set to mode active; on SW2, it is set to mode on. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

SW1# show etherchannel summary
Group  Port-channel  Protocol    Ports
1      Po1(SD)         LACP      Gi1/0/1(I) Gi1/0/2(I)

SW1 interface range gi1/0/1-2
 channel-group 1 mode active

SW2 interface range gi1/0/1-2
 channel-group 1 mode on
Question 14hardmultiple choice
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

Exhibit: Users on SW2 in VLAN 30 can reach local devices but not hosts in VLAN 30 on SW1. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

SW1 Gi0/1 trunk allowed vlan 10,20
SW2 Gi0/1 trunk allowed vlan 10,20
Both switches have VLAN 30 configured and access ports assigned correctly.
Question 15mediummultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

Why is BPDU Guard commonly enabled on PortFast-enabled access ports?

Question 16hardmultiple choice
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

Two switches are connected via an IEEE 802.1Q trunk. Hosts in VLAN 30 on opposite sides cannot communicate, yet hosts in VLAN 10 communicate normally. Both switches have VLAN 30 in their VLAN database, and the trunk link is operational. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

SW1 show interfaces trunk
Port Vlans allowed on trunk: 10,30

SW2 show interfaces trunk
Port Vlans allowed on trunk: 10
Question 17mediummulti select
Open the full STP breakdown →

An engineer wants rapid transition to forwarding on end-user switchports while still protecting the topology from accidental switch connections. Which two STP-related features fit that design?

Question 18hardmulti select
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

A trunk link between two switches is up, but hosts in VLAN 30 on opposite switches cannot communicate. VLAN 10 works across the same trunk. Which two causes are the most likely?

Exhibit

Switch A trunk allowed VLANs: 10,20,30
Switch B trunk allowed VLANs: 10,20
Question 19hardmultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

A network administrator has configured a switch port to support a VoIP phone and a desktop PC. Users report that the desktop PC cannot obtain an IP address via DHCP, while the VoIP phone registers successfully. The switch port is up/up, and the desktop is connected to the phone's PC port. What is the most likely cause of the issue?

Exhibit

interface GigabitEthernet1/0/24
 description VoIP and Desktop
 switchport mode access
 switchport access vlan 10
 switchport voice vlan 20
 spanning-tree portfast
!
Question 20mediummultiple choice
Open the full STP breakdown →

When spanning tree elects a root bridge, which value is considered first?

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Frequently asked questions

What does the 200-301 exam test about STP?
STP questions usually test root bridge election, port roles, path cost and how spanning tree prevents Layer 2 loops.
How should I use these practice questions?
Select your answer before revealing the explanation. Then read why each option is right or wrong — this active recall approach builds retention far faster than re-reading notes.
Can I practise just STP questions in a focused session?
Yes — the session launcher on this page draws every question from the STP domain. Use a 10-question session first to gauge your baseline, then move to 20 or 30 once the weak spots are clear.
Where can I practise other 200-301 topics?
Use the topic links above to move to related areas, or go back to the 200-301 question bank to see all topics.
Are these real exam questions or dumps?
These are original practice questions written to test the same concepts the 200-301 exam covers. They are not copied from any real exam or dump site.