mediumMultiple SelectObjective-mapped
350-401 SPAN destination port Practice Question
Which two statements about SPAN and RSPAN limitations are true? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
A common trap is thinking the RSPAN VLAN should be pruned from all trunks. In reality, it must be allowed on trunks between source and destination switches to carry the mirrored traffic.
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
✓
SPAN can cause increased CPU utilization on the switch if many packets are mirrored.
Only statements A and D are true. SPAN can increase CPU utilization when many packets are mirrored, and the destination port becomes a dedicated monitoring port that cannot carry normal traffic. Statement C is false because the RSPAN VLAN must be allowed on trunks that carry the mirrored traffic; pruning it from all trunks would break RSPAN. Statements B and E are also false: SPAN cannot monitor control plane traffic by default, and RSPAN does not support Layer 3 routed interfaces as sources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
SPAN can cause increased CPU utilization on the switch if many packets are mirrored.
Why this is correct
Correct. Mirroring many packets can increase CPU utilization on the switch because the CPU handles the replication process.
- ✗
SPAN can monitor control plane traffic such as routing protocol updates by default.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. By default, SPAN does not monitor control plane traffic; it only monitors data plane traffic on the source ports.
- ✗
RSPAN requires that the RSPAN VLAN be pruned from all trunks to avoid loops.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The RSPAN VLAN must be allowed on trunks that carry the mirrored traffic; pruning it from all trunks would prevent RSPAN from working.
- ✓
A SPAN destination port cannot be used for normal network traffic.
Why this is correct
Correct. A SPAN destination port stops normal switching and is used exclusively for receiving mirrored packets.
- ✗
RSPAN can be used to monitor traffic on a Layer 3 routed interface.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. RSPAN is a Layer 2 feature and cannot directly monitor traffic on Layer 3 routed interfaces; it only monitors Layer 2 traffic.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Access Control and AAA
Key term
SPAN and RSPAN
SPAN and RSPAN are Cisco features that copy network traffic from one or more ports to another port for analysis, with RSPAN extending this capability across multiple switches.
Key term
Network Visibility
Network visibility is the ability to see, monitor, and understand all traffic and devices on a network to ensure security, performance, and troubleshooting.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 350-401 question from scratch — 1,175 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-401 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 350-401 exam.