Cybersecurity-Apprentice Practice Question: A university campus network uses a Cisco Catalyst switch stack for its student residence…
A university campus network uses a Cisco Catalyst switch stack for its student residence halls. Network operations notices that students are plugging personal wireless routers into wall jacks, causing loops and DHCP conflicts. The team wants a control that limits each wall jack to a single learned MAC address and shuts the port down (err-disabled) if a second MAC is seen. Which feature should be configured on the access ports?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming any loop-prevention feature such as BPDU Guard will catch a personal router, when only port security enforces a hard limit on learned MAC addresses per port.
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
✓
Port security with a maximum of one MAC address and violation mode shutdown
Port security is the Layer 2 control that caps the number of source MAC addresses an interface can learn. Configuring the maximum to one with the shutdown violation mode err-disables the access port the moment a second MAC appears. This precisely stops students from attaching personal routers that bridge multiple devices and generate loops on the residence hall wall jacks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Dynamic ARP Inspection on the student VLAN
Why it's wrong here
Dynamic ARP Inspection validates ARP packets against the DHCP snooping binding table to prevent ARP spoofing. It does not restrict how many MAC addresses can appear on a port, so a personal router bridging multiple clients would still be permitted and the loop or conflict condition described would remain unaddressed by this feature alone.
- ✗
BPDU Guard enabled on the access ports
Why it's wrong here
BPDU Guard err-disables a port only when it receives a Bridge Protocol Data Unit, which detects a switch or bridge connected to a PortFast edge port. A student wireless router in router mode may not emit BPDUs, so BPDU Guard would not reliably catch the described behavior and does not enforce a MAC address count limit.
- ✓
Port security with a maximum of one MAC address and violation mode shutdown
Why this is correct
Port security enforces a maximum number of source MAC addresses per interface. Setting the maximum to one and violation mode to shutdown causes the switch to err-disable the port as soon as a second MAC is learned, which directly matches the requirement to lock each residence hall wall jack to a single device and stop rogue routers from bridging multiple hosts.
- ✗
DHCP snooping with a trusted uplink
Why it's wrong here
DHCP snooping filters rogue DHCP server replies by trusting only designated uplink ports, but it does not limit the number of MAC addresses learned on a port. A student router could still introduce a loop or bridging behavior on the wall jack, so this control does not address the described symptom of multiple MAC addresses appearing behind one access port.
Visual reference
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Security Systems Architect · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This Cybersecurity-Apprentice practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks 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 Cybersecurity-Apprentice exam.