easyMultiple Choice
300-410 Practice Question: The default CoPP policer action for packets that…
What is the default CoPP policer action for packets that exceed the committed information rate (CIR)?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that CoPP defaults to 'transmit' or 'remark' for excess traffic, but the default exceed action is always 'drop' unless explicitly changed in the policy-map.
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
✓
Drop
The default action for a Control Plane Policing (CoPP) policy-map class when traffic exceeds the committed information rate (CIR) is to drop the excess packets. This is because CoPP uses a single-rate, two-color policer by default, where packets conforming to the CIR are marked as 'conform' and transmitted, while packets exceeding the CIR are marked as 'exceed' and dropped. No default 'violate' action exists unless explicitly configured.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Transmit with best-effort
Why it's wrong here
CoPP drops packets exceeding the CIR rather than forwarding them best-effort; best-effort transmission describes default IP forwarding behaviour absent any policer. This action would suit scenarios where traffic must still traverse the device despite exceeding a rate limit.
- ✓
Drop
Why this is correct
CoPP policers are configured with a committed information rate and an associated exceed action; the default exceed action is drop, so traffic above the CIR is discarded rather than marked or transmitted. This satisfies the stem's requirement for the default behaviour.
- ✗
Set DSCP to 0
Why it's wrong here
Marking excess traffic with DSCP 0 is a re-marking action, not the default policer response; CoPP drops out-of-profile packets by default. Re-marking belongs to QoS policers where downstream devices should treat traffic differently rather than discard it.
- ✗
Queue for later transmission
Why it's wrong here
CoPP policers drop or mark exceeding traffic; they cannot buffer packets for later transmission, so no queueing mechanism exists. Queueing is tempting because QoS congestion management uses queues to defer traffic, which would apply to shaping excess bursts rather than policing them.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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