mediumMultiple Choice
300-410 Practice Question: Is a limitation of local SPAN on a Cisco switch?
Which of the following is a limitation of local SPAN on a Cisco switch?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing local SPAN with RSPAN/ERSPAN — candidates may think local SPAN can mirror to a remote switch, but the exam tests that local SPAN is limited to the same switch, and remote mirroring requires RSPAN or ERSPAN.
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 cannot mirror traffic to a remote switch.
Local SPAN (Switched Port Analyzer) on a Cisco switch can only mirror traffic to a destination port on the same switch — it cannot forward mirrored traffic across the network to a remote switch. Remote SPAN (RSPAN) or Encapsulated Remote SPAN (ERSPAN) is required for that. This is a fundamental limitation of local SPAN.
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 can only monitor one source interface per session.
Why it's wrong here
Local SPAN supports multiple source interfaces per session, so this is not a limitation. The real constraint is that local SPAN cannot carry monitored traffic to a remote switch. It is correct when the analyser connects directly to the monitored switch.
- ✗
The destination port must be in the same VLAN as the source.
Why it's wrong here
SPAN destination ports need not share a VLAN with source ports; the switch replicates frames regardless of VLAN membership. This is tempting because VLAN mismatches do break some monitoring setups, but the genuine local SPAN limitation is that source and destination must reside on the same physical switch.
- ✓
It cannot mirror traffic to a remote switch.
Why this is correct
Local SPAN replicates frames only to ports on the same physical switch, so mirrored traffic cannot traverse the network to a destination port on a remote device. Satisfying the stem's limitation, remote monitoring requires RSPAN or ERSPAN, which encapsulate mirrored traffic for transport across switches or routed boundaries.
- ✗
It cannot monitor both ingress and egress traffic simultaneously.
Why it's wrong here
Local SPAN source ports can monitor ingress, egress or both directions concurrently, so this is not a limitation. It is tempting because direction selection exists as a configuration choice, but the actual local SPAN constraint is that it cannot deliver traffic to a destination port on a different switch.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
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