hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
300-410 Practice Question: Runs the following command on Router R7: R7# show…
A network engineer runs the following command on Router R7:
R7# show logging | include %SYS-2-MALLOCFAIL *Mar 1 00:05:10.123: %SYS-2-MALLOCFAIL: Memory allocation failed for size 1024, from process 0x12345678, pool Processor *Mar 1 00:06:20.456: %SYS-2-MALLOCFAIL: Memory allocation failed for size 2048, from process 0x12345678, pool Processor *Mar 1 00:07:30.789: %SYS-2-MALLOCFAIL: Memory allocation failed for size 512, from process 0x12345678, pool Processor
Based on this output, what is the most likely problem?
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
✓
The router has a memory leak or is running out of memory in the Processor pool.
The output shows memory allocation failures in the Processor pool. This indicates that the router is running low on memory, which can cause various issues including process crashes, inability to allocate buffers, and overall instability. The process ID 0x12345678 is likely a specific process that is consuming memory or failing to allocate.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The router has a memory leak or is running out of memory in the Processor pool.
Why this is correct
Multiple MALLOCFAIL messages indicate that the router cannot allocate memory, which is a sign of memory exhaustion or a leak.
- ✗
The router is experiencing high CPU utilization due to routing protocol updates.
Why it's wrong here
CPU utilization is not directly indicated by memory allocation failures.
- ✗
The router's logging buffer is full and cannot store new messages.
Why it's wrong here
Logging buffer fullness does not cause memory allocation failures.
- ✗
The router has a hardware failure in the memory module.
Why it's wrong here
While possible, software memory exhaustion is more likely than hardware failure, and the message does not indicate hardware error.
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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.