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300-410 Practice Question: Which TWO commands verify the operational status…
Which TWO commands verify the operational status of a local SPAN session on a Cisco IOS-XE switch? (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
✓
show monitor session 1
Option A, `show monitor session 1`, is correct because on Cisco IOS-XE switches this command displays the details of a specific local SPAN session, including its source ports/VLANs, destination port, direction, and whether the session is operational. Option B, `show monitor`, is also correct because it lists all configured SPAN sessions and their status, allowing verification of the local SPAN session without specifying a session number. Option C, `show spanning-tree`, is incorrect because it displays Spanning Tree Protocol topology and port states, not SPAN session status. Option D, `show interfaces`, is incorrect because it shows interface statistics and line/protocol status, not SPAN configuration or operational state. Option E, `show vlan`, is incorrect because it displays VLAN membership and assignment information, not SPAN session details.
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 monitor session 1
Why this is correct
"show monitor session 1" displays the operational details of that specific session, including type, source ports, destination port, encapsulation and ingress state. It directly confirms whether the local SPAN session is active and correctly bound.
- ✓
show monitor
Why this is correct
`show monitor` displays the local SPAN session's operational state, source interfaces and destination port, confirming whether traffic mirroring is active. It satisfies the stem's requirement to verify a local SPAN session's status, unlike commands covering remote sessions or unrelated features.
- ✗
show spanning-tree
Why it's wrong here
show spanning-tree reports Layer 2 topology and root bridge elections, not SPAN session state. It is tempting because it confirms switch forwarding behaviour, but verifying a local SPAN session requires show monitor session, which displays source ports, destination ports and operational status.
- ✗
show interfaces
Why it's wrong here
show interfaces reports link status, counters and errors per port, but no SPAN session configuration or destination-port state. It is tempting because SPAN depends on physical interfaces being up, yet the command that confirms session sources, destinations and filtering is show monitor session.
- ✗
show vlan
Why it's wrong here
show vlan lists VLAN membership and port assignments, which is unrelated to SPAN session operational state. It is tempting because SPAN sources are often VLANs, but membership alone does not confirm a session is active; show monitor session reports the session's sources, destinations and status.
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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.