- A
Predictable and low latency
Each flow goes leaf-spine-leaf, constant hops.
- B
Scalability: adding more leaf switches does not require reconfiguration of existing ones
Leaves connect to all spines, scaling easily.
- C
Eliminates need for VLANs
Why wrong: VLANs are still used in overlay.
- D
Simplified spanning-tree design
Why wrong: Spine-leaf often uses routing, not STP.
- E
Reduced number of switch ports required
Why wrong: Spine-leaf typically requires more ports.
Question 51 of 1,000
350-601 Network Practice Question
This 350-601 practice question tests your understanding of network. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which TWO are benefits of using a spine-leaf architecture? (Choose two.)
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
✓
Predictable and low latency
In a spine-leaf architecture, every leaf switch connects to every spine switch, creating a full-mesh topology. This ensures that traffic between any two leaf switches traverses exactly one spine switch, resulting in predictable, low-latency forwarding because the number of hops is fixed and deterministic.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Predictable and low latency
Why this is correct
Each flow goes leaf-spine-leaf, constant hops.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Scalability: adding more leaf switches does not require reconfiguration of existing ones
Why this is correct
Leaves connect to all spines, scaling easily.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Eliminates need for VLANs
Why it's wrong here
VLANs are still used in overlay.
- ✗
Simplified spanning-tree design
Why it's wrong here
Spine-leaf often uses routing, not STP.
- ✗
Reduced number of switch ports required
Why it's wrong here
Spine-leaf typically requires more ports.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that spine-leaf eliminates VLANs or simplifies spanning-tree, but the key trap is that candidates confuse 'no STP needed' with 'simplified STP design'—in reality, spine-leaf eliminates STP entirely by using Layer 3 routing between leaf and spine switches.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, spine-leaf uses Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing to load-balance traffic across all available spine links, typically with up to 16 or 32 equal-cost paths in Cisco NX-OS. In a real-world data center, this design allows for seamless horizontal scaling: adding a new leaf switch only requires connecting it to every spine switch, with no reconfiguration of existing leaf or spine switches, as BGP or OSPF dynamically learns the new routes.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A help-desk technician troubleshoots why a newly connected PC cannot reach shared printers on the same floor. The cable is good, the switch port is active, but the PC is in VLAN 20 and the printers are in VLAN 10. The uplink trunk only allows VLAN 10. A trunk being up does not mean every VLAN crosses it.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 350-601 question test?
Network — This question tests Network — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Predictable and low latency — In a spine-leaf architecture, every leaf switch connects to every spine switch, creating a full-mesh topology. This ensures that traffic between any two leaf switches traverses exactly one spine switch, resulting in predictable, low-latency forwarding because the number of hops is fixed and deterministic.
What should I do if I get this 350-601 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This 350-601 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 350-601 exam.
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