The answer is a routing or ACL misconfiguration preventing return traffic from reaching the NAT translations. The output shows two dynamic translations exist but zero hits and ten misses, meaning packets are arriving that don’t match existing translations, forcing new ones to be created without any successful data flow. In the Cisco CCNP ENARSI 300-410 exam, this scenario tests your ability to differentiate between translation creation and actual packet forwarding—a common trap is assuming translations equal success. The misses indicate packets are hitting the router but failing to match the translation table, often due to an ACL blocking return traffic or asymmetric routing where replies take a different path. Remember the key indicator: hits count translated packets, misses count packets that require new translations; zero hits with rising misses means traffic is arriving but not being translated correctly. A useful memory tip is “Hits are happy, misses are misery”—if hits stay at zero while misses climb, check your routing and ACLs first.
300-410 NAT and PAT Practice Question
This 300-410 practice question tests your understanding of nat and pat. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. 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.
A network engineer runs the following command on Router R1:
R1# show ip nat translations
Pro Inside global Inside local Outside local Outside global
--- 192.0.2.10 10.0.0.10 --- ---
--- 192.0.2.11 10.0.0.11 --- ---
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
NAT translations exist but no packets are being translated (0 hits), indicating a possible routing or ACL issue.
The output shows 2 dynamic translations but 0 hits and 10 misses. This indicates that NAT translations are being created (perhaps due to control plane traffic or initial packets), but no data packets are being translated successfully. The misses suggest that packets are arriving that do not match existing translations, and new translations are being created, but hits are zero, meaning no return traffic or successful data flow. This could be due to routing issues, ACL misconfiguration, or asymmetric routing.
Key principle: Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
NAT translations exist but no packets are being translated (0 hits), indicating a possible routing or ACL issue.
Why this is correct
The 0 hits with 10 misses suggest that translations are created but no successful data flow; packets are missing or not returning.
The mapping does not include 'overload', so PAT is not configured.
✗
The inside and outside interfaces are reversed.
Why it's wrong here
The statistics show correct interface assignment.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The statistics show correct interface assignment.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
→Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
→Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
→Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
Key takeaway
Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this 300-410 question in full detail.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related 300-410 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
NAT and PAT — This question tests NAT and PAT — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: NAT translations exist but no packets are being translated (0 hits), indicating a possible routing or ACL issue. — The output shows 2 dynamic translations but 0 hits and 10 misses. This indicates that NAT translations are being created (perhaps due to control plane traffic or initial packets), but no data packets are being translated successfully. The misses suggest that packets are arriving that do not match existing translations, and new translations are being created, but hits are zero, meaning no return traffic or successful data flow. This could be due to routing issues, ACL misconfiguration, or asymmetric routing.
What should I do if I get this 300-410 question wrong?
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related 300-410 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A network engineer runs the following command on Router R1:
R1# show ip nat translations
Pro Inside global Inside local Outside local Outside global
--- 192.0.2.10 10.0.0.10 --- ---
R1# show ip nat statistics
Total active translations: 1 (0 static, 1 dynamic; 0 extended)
Outside interfaces: GigabitEthernet0/1
Inside interfaces: GigabitEthernet0/0
Hits: 0 Misses: 0
CEF Translated packets: 0, CEF Punted packets: 0
Expired translations: 0
Dynamic mappings:
-- Inside Source
[Id] ip nat pool POOL1 192.0.2.10 192.0.2.20 netmask 255.255.255.240
refcount 1
map-id 1
[Id] ip nat inside source list ACL1 pool POOL1
refcount 1
Based on this output, what is the problem?
medium
✓ A.The NAT translation exists but no traffic is being translated (0 hits, 0 misses), indicating a possible idle translation or no matching traffic.
B.The NAT pool is exhausted.
C.PAT is misconfigured.
D.The inside and outside interfaces are reversed.
Why A: The output shows 1 dynamic translation but 0 hits and 0 misses. This indicates that a translation entry exists (perhaps from a previous session or manual creation), but no packets have been translated. The 0 hits and 0 misses suggest that no traffic is flowing through the NAT. This could be due to the translation being stale or no traffic matching the ACL.
Last reviewed: Jun 19, 2026
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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.
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