easyMultiple Choice
300-410 Practice Question: Is true about the SPAN source interface…
Which of the following is true about the SPAN source interface configuration?
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
✓
By default, only ingress traffic is monitored.
A SPAN source interface can be configured to monitor both ingress and egress traffic, or either direction. By default, only ingress traffic is monitored if no direction is specified.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
By default, both ingress and egress traffic are monitored.
Why it's wrong here
SPAN monitors only ingress (RX) by default; egress requires the 'both' keyword, so this statement misstates the default behaviour. It is tempting because bidirectional capture is a common design goal, and 'both' would be correct when full-duplex traffic analysis is genuinely needed.
- ✓
By default, only ingress traffic is monitored.
Why this is correct
SPAN monitors only ingress traffic on a source interface by default, so egress frames are not copied unless you explicitly configure both directions. This default satisfies the scenario's constraint, since the question asks what is true without additional configuration. Enabling egress requires the `both` keyword, which changes the monitored traffic scope.
- ✗
By default, only egress traffic is monitored.
Why it's wrong here
SPAN monitors ingress and egress traffic by default, so restricting monitoring to egress alone misstates the behaviour. The temptation arises because some monitoring features, such as NetFlow, can be scoped to a single direction, and egress-only capture suits scenarios where you only need to observe traffic leaving an interface.
- ✗
The direction must always be specified; there is no default.
Why it's wrong here
SPAN source configuration does not mandate a direction; omitting it defaults to ingress and egress on most Cisco platforms, so the claim of no default is false. Direction is specified only when monitoring traffic one way, such as capturing inbound-only traffic for intrusion detection.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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