350-601 Network Practice Question
In a vPC domain, a consistency check failure is observed for the vPC keepalive link. What is the impact on the vPC domain operation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between the keepalive link and the peer link; the trap here is that candidates assume any consistency check failure will suspend the vPC domain, but only failures on the peer link or critical parameters (like vPC VLAN consistency) cause suspension, while keepalive failures merely degrade redundancy.
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 vPC domain will continue to operate but with reduced reliability.
The vPC keepalive link is used as a secondary heartbeat to detect dual-active scenarios when the peer link fails. A consistency check failure on the keepalive link does not directly affect data forwarding; the vPC domain continues to operate, but the loss of this redundancy mechanism reduces reliability because the switches can no longer reliably detect a split-brain condition without the peer link.
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 vPC peer link will be suspended.
Why it's wrong here
Peer link suspension occurs only if the peer link itself fails or if the keepalive fails and the peer link also fails.
- ✗
The secondary switch will shutdown its vPC member ports.
Why it's wrong here
This occurs if the keepalive fails AND the peer link fails, but not automatically.
- ✓
The vPC domain will continue to operate but with reduced reliability.
Why this is correct
The keepalive is a secondary monitoring mechanism; its loss increases risk of split-brain if the peer link fails.
- ✗
Both switches will independently forward traffic via the vPC peer link.
Why it's wrong here
Without keepalive, the secondary may think primary is down and take over, causing split-brain.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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