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300-410 Practice Question: In IPsec site-to-site VPN, what is the purpose of…

In IPsec site-to-site VPN, what is the purpose of the 'match address' command under a crypto map?

⚠ Common exam trap

Cisco often tests the distinction between 'match address' (traffic selection) and 'set peer' (tunnel endpoint), leading candidates to confuse the purpose of these two commands under a crypto 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

It identifies the traffic that will be encrypted and sent through the tunnel.

The 'match address' command under a crypto map references an access list (ACL) that defines which traffic should be protected by IPsec. When a packet matches a permit entry in that ACL, it triggers the IPsec process to encrypt and tunnel the traffic to the remote peer. This is the fundamental mechanism for selecting interesting traffic in a site-to-site VPN.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • It specifies the peer IP address for the tunnel.

    Why it's wrong here

    The peer is specified with the 'set peer' command, not 'match address'.

  • It defines the encryption and authentication algorithms.

    Why it's wrong here

    Those are defined in the transform set.

  • It identifies the traffic that will be encrypted and sent through the tunnel.

    Why this is correct

    The ACL defines interesting traffic; only that traffic is protected.

  • It sets the lifetime for the IPsec SA.

    Why it's wrong here

    Lifetime is set with 'set security-association lifetime' or globally.

Visual reference

Source Router + ACL permit 10.0.0.0/8 deny any Server 10.0.0.5 ✓ 192.168.1.1 ✗ dropped ACLs evaluate top-down; first match wins — implicit deny all at end

Quick reference

VPN Protocol Comparison

ProtocolPortEncryptionAuthenticationUse Case
IKEv2 / IPsecUDP 500 / 4500AES-256Certificates / PSKSite-to-site & remote access
SSL / TLS VPNTCP 443TLS 1.3Certificates / MFAClientless remote access
L2TP / IPsecUDP 1701AES (IPsec)PSK / CertificatesLegacy remote access
WireGuardUDP 51820ChaCha20Public keysModern high-performance VPN
PPTPTCP 1723MPPE (weak)MS-CHAPv2Legacy — avoid in production

PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.

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JA

Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

This 300-410 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 300-410 exam.