This N10-009 practice question tests your understanding of network operations. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 administrator is configuring a syslog server to receive logs from network devices. The administrator wants to capture all messages with a severity level of 'critical' (2) and higher (more severe). What severity threshold should be set on the devices?
Why wrong: Setting threshold to 0 would only capture emergencies, the most severe, excluding critical and alerts.
B
1 (alert)
Why wrong: This would capture emergencies and alerts but exclude critical.
C
2 (critical)
By setting the threshold to 2/critical, the device will send all messages with severity 0 (emergency), 1 (alert), and 2 (critical).
D
3 (error)
Why wrong: A threshold of 3/error would include error and all lower numbers (more severe), so it would also capture critical and above. However, the administrator specifically wants only critical and higher, not error. So setting to 2 is more precise to exclude error messages.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
2 (critical)
Syslog severity levels are numbered 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe). When you set a severity threshold on a device, it captures messages at that level and all lower-numbered (more severe) levels. To capture 'critical' (2) and higher (i.e., levels 0, 1, and 2), you must set the threshold to 2. Option C is correct because level 2 includes itself and all more severe levels (0 and 1).
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
0 (emergency)
Why it's wrong here
Setting threshold to 0 would only capture emergencies, the most severe, excluding critical and alerts.
✗
1 (alert)
Why it's wrong here
This would capture emergencies and alerts but exclude critical.
✓
2 (critical)
Why this is correct
By setting the threshold to 2/critical, the device will send all messages with severity 0 (emergency), 1 (alert), and 2 (critical).
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
3 (error)
Why it's wrong here
A threshold of 3/error would include error and all lower numbers (more severe), so it would also capture critical and above. However, the administrator specifically wants only critical and higher, not error. So setting to 2 is more precise to exclude error messages.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think setting a threshold of 2 captures only level 2 messages, but in syslog, the threshold includes all lower-numbered (more severe) levels as well.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Syslog severity is defined in RFC 5424, where lower numbers indicate higher severity. When configuring logging on Cisco IOS devices, the command 'logging trap <level>' or 'logging console <level>' uses this numeric threshold: all messages with a severity number less than or equal to the threshold are sent. For example, 'logging trap 2' sends emergencies (0), alerts (1), and criticals (2). A common real-world scenario is setting a threshold of 3 (errors) for SNMP traps to avoid overwhelming the syslog server with debug or informational messages.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the N10-009 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this N10-009 question in full detail.
Network Operations — This question tests Network Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: 2 (critical) — Syslog severity levels are numbered 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe). When you set a severity threshold on a device, it captures messages at that level and all lower-numbered (more severe) levels. To capture 'critical' (2) and higher (i.e., levels 0, 1, and 2), you must set the threshold to 2. Option C is correct because level 2 includes itself and all more severe levels (0 and 1).
What should I do if I get this N10-009 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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