easyMultiple Choice
200-901 Practice Question: Is troubleshooting a connectivity issue between…
A network engineer is troubleshooting a connectivity issue between two hosts in different VLANs on the same switch. The hosts are in VLAN 10 and VLAN 20, respectively. The switch has an SVI for each VLAN and IP routing is enabled. Which command should be used to verify that the switch is forwarding traffic between the VLANs?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that 'show vlan' or 'show interfaces trunk' can verify inter-VLAN routing, when in fact those commands only confirm Layer 2 connectivity and VLAN membership, not the Layer 3 routing table.
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
✓
show ip route
'show ip route' displays the switch's routing table, which contains the directly connected subnets for VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 (via their SVIs) and any learned routes. Since IP routing is enabled, the switch uses this table to make forwarding decisions between VLANs. Verifying that both VLAN subnets appear in the routing table confirms that the switch can route traffic between them.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
show interfaces trunk
Why it's wrong here
show interfaces trunk reports trunk encapsulation, allowed and active VLANs and pruning, which concerns Layer 2 links carrying multiple VLANs, not inter-VLAN forwarding. It is tempting because trunk misconfiguration commonly breaks VLAN connectivity, but it would be correct when verifying that a trunk carries VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 between switches.
- ✗
show vlan
Why it's wrong here
show vlan lists VLAN membership and port assignments, confirming VLAN existence and access-port placement rather than inter-VLAN routing. It is tempting because it quickly verifies VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 are configured, but it would be correct when checking that access ports are assigned to the intended VLANs.
- ✓
show ip route
Why this is correct
Inter-VLAN routing depends on the switch's routing table holding connected routes for both VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 via their SVIs. 'show ip route' confirms those routes exist and are installed, verifying the switch can forward traffic between the two subnets.
- ✗
show mac address-table
Why it's wrong here
show mac address-table lists MAC-to-port-to-VLAN mappings, confirming Layer 2 learning only; it cannot show whether the switch routes between VLAN 10 and VLAN 20. It is tempting because it verifies host reachability at Layer 2, but it would be correct when locating which port a specific MAC address was learned on.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-901 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 200-901 exam.