350-601 Network Practice Question
A Nexus 9000 switch is configured with VPC. The VPC keepalive link fails. What is the effect on the VPC domain?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that a keepalive link failure causes both switches to stop forwarding or that the primary becomes orphan, but the correct behavior is that only the secondary suspends its VPC member ports to maintain a single active forwarding path.
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
✓
The secondary switch suspends its VPC member ports.
In a VPC domain, the keepalive link is used to monitor the liveness of the peer switch, but it does not carry data traffic. When the keepalive link fails, the secondary switch cannot confirm the primary is alive, so it suspends its VPC member ports to prevent a dual-active scenario. The primary switch remains active and continues forwarding traffic normally because it assumes the secondary has failed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Both switches suspend the VPC VLANs.
Why it's wrong here
Only the secondary suspends its VPC member ports; the primary continues forwarding.
- ✗
Both switches continue to forward traffic normally.
Why it's wrong here
Without keepalive, the secondary will suspend its VPC ports to prevent dual-active.
- ✓
The secondary switch suspends its VPC member ports.
Why this is correct
To avoid split-brain, the secondary switch suspends its VPC member ports while keepalive is down.
- ✗
The primary switch becomes orphan.
Why it's wrong here
The primary does not become orphan; it continues to operate normally.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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