View 300-410 Exam Questions

Q: 1

Refer to the exhibit. SIMULATION 300-410 question

Your Answer

Correct Answer:

R-WEST# CONFIGURE TERMINAL
R-WEST(CONFIG)# SERVICE TIMESTAMPS LOG DATETIME
R-WEST(CONFIG)# SERVICE SEQUENCE-NUMBERS
R-WEST(CONFIG)# SNMP-SERVER ENABLE TRAPS OSPF
R-WEST(CONFIG)# END

Explanation

To meet the requirements on router R-WEST, two distinct services must be configured.

Logging: To satisfy the first requirement, the service sequence-numbers command is used to prepend a sequence number to each locally generated log message. The service timestamps log datetime command is used to add the date and time to these log messages, fulfilling the requirement for a timestamp.
SNMP Traps: To satisfy the second requirement, the snmp-server enable traps ospf command is executed. This command specifically enables the generation of OSPF-related traps as defined in the standard RFC 1253 MIB. This includes traps for OSPF events and for state changes of OSPF-participating interfaces (e.g., ospfIfStateChange).

References

Cisco Systems. (2023). Cisco IOS XE Software-Defined WAN and Services Configuration Guide, Release 17.x - Configuring Logging Services.

Section: service sequence-numbers Command. States: "To specify that sequence numbers be affixed to log messages, use the service sequence-numbers command..."

Section: service timestamps Command. States: "To configure the time-stamping of logging and debugging messages, use the service timestamps command... log datetime... Specifies that the date and time be affixed to logging messages."

Cisco Systems. (2023). Cisco IOS XE Network Management Command Reference - snmp-server community to snmp-server view.

Section: snmp-server enable traps Command. Documents the ospf keyword: "Enables OSPF traps defined in RFC 1253."

Moy, J. (1991). RFC 1253: OSPF Version 2 Management Information Base. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Section: 7. Traps. Defines the OSPF-specific traps, including ospfIfStateChange, which directly relates to the requirement for "participating interface state changes".

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC1253

Q: 2

DRAG DROP Drag and drop the descriptions from the left onto the corresponding MPLS components on the right.

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Correct Answer:

Answer Area routers in the core of the provider network known as P routers: D. LSR all traffic to be forwarded using the same path and same label: A. FEC routers that connect to the customer routers known as PE routers: C. LER used for exchanging label mapping information between MPLS enabled routers: E. LDP path along which the traffic flows across an MPLS network: B. LSP

Explanation

In MPLS architecture:

LSR (Label Switching Router): Operates in the core of the network (often called a P router in provider contexts), switching packets solely based on labels.
FEC (Forwarding Equivalence Class): Describes a group of packets forwarded in the same manner (same path, same forwarding treatment).
LER (Label Edge Router): Operates at the edge of the MPLS network (often called a PE router), handling the ingress (pushing labels) and egress (popping labels) of traffic from customer routers (CE).
LDP (Label Distribution Protocol): A signaling protocol used to exchange label mapping information between MPLS peers to build the forwarding database.
LSP (Label Switched Path): The sequence of LSRs a labeled packet traverses through the network.

References

RFC 3031 - Multiprotocol Label Switching Architecture, Section 3.1 "MPLS System Components".

Defines LSRs, LERs (Edge LSRs), FECs, and LSPs.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC3031

RFC 5036 - LDP Specification, Section 1 "Overview".

Defines LDP as the protocol for distributing label binding information.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC5036

Cisco Systems, "MPLS Fundamentals," Configuration Guide.

Confirms the terminology mapping where Provider (P) routers act as core LSRs and Provider Edge (PE) routers act as LERs connecting to customers.

Q: 3

DRAG DROP Drag and drop the packet types from the left onto the correct descriptions on the right.

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data plane packets
control plane packets
management plane packets
services plane packets

Discussion

Adam P. Jan 7, 2026 1:26 pm

data plane packets → always forwarded, control plane packets → creation of the network, management plane packets → operate the network, services plane packets → higher priority user traffic. Service vs management is a common trap here, I think these match Cisco docs.

Liam C. Jan 3, 2026 7:27 am

Cisco official guide clarifies this split: data is regular user traffic, control builds routes, management is admin functions (SSH/SNMP), services plane handles user flows needing extra priority. Practice labs help nail this mapping.

Robin D. Jan 14, 2026 1:19 am

data plane packets → always forwarded, control plane packets → creation, management plane packets → operate the network, services plane packets → higher priority user traffic.

I don't think management plane should go with "high priority user traffic". That's usually service plane like VoIP. Easy to mix up since management sounds important, but it's more about device admin (SSH, SNMP). Common trap question, Cisco docs back this order. Disagree?

Leo Jan 6, 2026 6:42 am

Pretty sure control plane is for protocols like OSPF/BGP, so I matched it with "network device generated or received packets that are used for the creation of the network itself". For "operate the network" I went with services plane, since management traffic often needs priority (like voice). Data plane I put as user-generated and always forwarded. Could be wrong on those last two but that's how I remember the split. Anyone else get tripped up by services vs management?

user-generated packets that are always forwarded by network devices: data plane packets
used for creation of the network: control plane packets
operate the network: services plane packets
user-generated but higher priority: management plane packets

Rowan Jan 3, 2026 1:51 pm

I mapped 'operate the network' to services plane packets since those usually handle things like voice or VPN, which need more priority. Management plane I put with high-priority user traffic. Not 100 percent but I've seen similar in some Cisco docs. Service vs management is tricky here.

Be respectful. No spam.

Correct Answer:

Answer Area user-generated packets that are always forwarded by network devices to other end-station devices: A. data plane packets network device generated or received packets that are used for the creation of the network itself: B. control plane packets network device generated or received packets, packets that are used to operate the network: C. management plane packets user-generated packets that are forwarded by network de-vices to other end-station devices, but that require higher priority than the normal traffic by the network devices: D. services plane packets

Explanation

Data Plane: Consists of user traffic (like web browsing or file transfers) traversing the router to reach another destination. These are "always forwarded" and typically handled in hardware (ASICs).

Control Plane: Includes protocols (OSPF, BGP, STP, ARP) that build the network topology. These packets are "used for the creation of the network itself" so the data plane can function.

Management Plane: Includes protocols (SSH, Telnet, SNMP, NTP) used to "operate" and monitor the devices. Unlike control traffic, these don't build the route table but facilitate administrative access.

Services Plane: A subset of the data plane in some NFP models, often referring to specialized customer traffic (like VoIP or high-value data streams) that "requires higher priority" or specific processing (QoS, NAT, Encryption) compared to normal bulk data.

References

Cisco Systems, Cisco Network Foundation Protection (NFP) Framework.

Whitepaper: "Control Plane Policing Implementation Guide".

Definition: "The Management Plane... is used to manage the network elements... The Control Plane... is used to set up and maintain the network topology."

Cisco Networking Academy, CCNP Enterprise: Core Networking (ENCOR) v8.0.

Chapter: Network Architecture / Security.

Context: Defines the four planes: Data, Control, Management, and Services, specifically noting the Services plane handles specialized forwarding requirements.

Cisco Press, CCIE Routing and Switching v5.0 Official Cert Guide, Vol 1.

Section: "Foundation of Network Security".

Quote: Distinguishes traffic destined for the router (Control/Mgmt) versus traffic through the router (Data/Services).

Q: 4

What is the minimum time gap required by the local system before putting a BFD control packet on the wire?

Options

Correct Answer:

Explanation

The Desired Min TX Interval is the BFD parameter that specifies the minimum interval, in microseconds, that the local system would like to use when transmitting BFD Control packets. This value directly represents the minimum time gap the system wants to maintain before putting the next control packet on the wire. The actual transmission interval is negotiated between BFD peers and will be the greater of the local system's Desired Min TX Interval and the remote system's Required Min RX Interval.

Why Incorrect

A. Detect Mult: This is a multiplier used with the negotiated transmission interval to calculate the BFD detection timer, not the packet sending rate.

B. Required Min Echo RX Interval: This parameter is specific to the BFD Echo function and defines the minimum interval for receiving Echo packets, not sending control packets.

D. Required Min RX Interval: This is the minimum interval at which the local system is capable of receiving BFD packets, a value it advertises to its peer.

---

References

1. IETF RFC 5880

"Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)":

Section 4.1

"State Variables": Defines bfd.DesiredMinTxInterval as "The desired minimum interval between transmission of BFD Control packets that this system would like to use..."

Section 6.8.7

"Timer Values": Explains the fields in the BFD Control packet. It states

"Desired Min TX Interval: The desired minimum transmit interval

in microseconds

that the local system wishes to use when sending BFD Control packets..."

2. Cisco IOS XE IP Routing: BFD Configuration Guide:

"BFD Timers" section: Describes the bfd interval command syntax: bfd interval milliseconds minrx milliseconds multiplier number. The first milliseconds value is explicitly defined as the "Desired minimum transmit interval." This parameter controls how often the local system sends BFD hello packets to its neighbor.

Q: 5

Which IPv6 feature enables a device to reject traffic when it is originated from an address that is not stored in the device binding table?

Options

Correct Answer:

Explanation

IPv6 Source Guard is a security feature that filters traffic based on the source IPv6 address and, optionally, the source MAC address. It leverages the binding table, which is populated by the IPv6 Snooping feature, to validate incoming packets. When IPv6 Source Guard is enabled on an interface, the switch examines traffic from hosts connected to that interface. If the source address of an incoming packet does not match a valid entry in the binding table for that specific port, the packet is dropped. This effectively prevents IP address spoofing attacks from devices on that segment.

Why Incorrect

A. IPv6 Snooping: This feature builds and maintains the binding table by observing Neighbor Discovery Protocol messages, but it does not, by itself, perform the traffic filtering or rejection.

C. IPv6 DAD Proxy: The Duplicate Address Detection (DAD) Proxy feature responds to DAD queries on behalf of hosts, which helps in scaling ND-P in large L2 domains. It is not a traffic filtering mechanism.

D. IPv6 RA Guard: This feature specifically filters and drops unauthorized Router Advertisement (RA) messages from rogue devices. It does not filter general data traffic based on the source address.

References

1. Cisco Systems

Inc. (2023). First-Hop Security Configuration Guide

Cisco IOS XE Bengaluru 17.6.x (Catalyst 9300 Switches). Chapter: "Configuring IPv6 First-Hop Security"

Section: "IPv6 Source Guard".

The document states

"IPv6 source guard is a security feature that filters traffic based on the IPv6 source address and the source MAC address... It uses the binding table populated by IPv6 snooping to validate the source of the incoming packets. When IPv6 source guard is enabled on an interface

the device drops packets when the source address is not found in the binding table."

2. Cisco Systems

Inc. (2021). IP Addressing: IPv6 Configuration Guide

Cisco IOS XE 17. Chapter: "Implementing IPv6 First-Hop Security"

Section: "IPv6 Source Guard".

This guide explains

"The IPv6 Source Guard feature filters traffic based on the IPv6 source address of the traffic. The feature uses the binding table

which is populated by the IPv6 snooping feature

to validate the source of the incoming packets."

3. Haddad

& Bshara

M. (2018). IPv6 Security. Cisco Press. Chapter 4: "Layer 2 Security".

This official Cisco Press publication details that IPv6 Source Guard is the feature responsible for using the binding table to perform source IP address filtering

thereby preventing spoofing attacks. It explicitly differentiates its role from IPv6 Snooping

which builds the table

and RA Guard

which protects against rogue routers.

Q: 6

A network administrator successfully established a DMVPN tunnel with one hub and two spokes using EIGRP. One of the requirements was to enable spoke-to-spoke tunnels through the hub router using EIGRP. Which configuration command must the engineer configure to meet the requirement?

Options

Correct Answer:

Explanation

In a hub-and-spoke DMVPN topology using EIGRP, the hub router learns routes from all spokes via a single multipoint GRE (mGRE) tunnel interface. By default, EIGRP's split-horizon rule prevents the hub from advertising a route back out of the same interface on which it was learned. This means the hub will not advertise routes learned from Spoke 1 to Spoke 2, and vice-versa. To enable spoke-to-spoke communication, spokes must learn the routes to each other's networks. Disabling EIGRP split-horizon on the hub's tunnel interface allows the hub to reflect these routes, enabling spokes to establish direct tunnels.

Why Incorrect

A. no ip eigrp 1 mode multipoint: This is not a valid EIGRP configuration command. It appears to be a distractor combining EIGRP syntax with a generic interface mode concept.

C. no ip eigrp 1 tunnel-redirect: This is not a valid EIGRP command. It is likely a distractor referencing the NHRP redirect mechanism (ip nhrp redirect), which is separate from EIGRP routing advertisements.

D. no ip eigrp 1 mode mgre: This is not a valid EIGRP configuration command. It incorrectly merges EIGRP syntax with the mGRE interface type.

References

1. Cisco Systems

Inc. (2019). IP Routing: EIGRP Configuration Guide

Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.x.

Section: "Configuring EIGRP

" Sub-section "Disabling or Enabling Split Horizon."

Content: This document details the no ip split-horizon eigrp command. It explains that split horizon is enabled by default on most interfaces and that disabling it may be necessary on a hub router in a hub-and-spoke network to allow the hub to advertise information learned from one spoke to other spokes.

2. Cisco Systems

Inc. (2021). Dynamic Multipoint VPN Configuration Guide

Cisco IOS XE 17.

Section: "Configuring DMVPN

" Sub-section "DMVPN Phase 2: Hub-and-Spoke with Spoke-to-Spoke Tunnels."

Content: The guide explicitly states: "For certain routing protocols like EIGRP

you must disable split horizon on the hub to allow the hub to forward routing updates from one spoke to another." This directly supports the need to disable split-horizon for the described scenario.

3. Martin

& Tafa

S. (2020). CCNP Enterprise Advanced Routing ENARSI 300-410 Official Cert Guide. Cisco Press.

Chapter 6: "Dynamic Multipoint VPN

" Section "DMVPN Phase 2."

Content: The text explains that for EIGRP to support spoke-to-spoke communication in DMVPN Phase 2

split-horizon must be disabled on the hub's mGRE interface. It provides the specific command no ip split-horizon eigrp and explains its function in this context.

Q: 7

SIMULATION

Your Answer

Correct Answer:

THE FOLLOWING CONFIGURATION COMMANDS ARE REQUIRED TO RESOLVE THE SIMULATION TASKS:

ON ROUTERS R3, R4, R5, AND R6 (FOR TASK 2):

BASH

ROUTER EIGRP 10
 METRIC WEIGHTS 0 100000 1 255 10 1500

ON ROUTER R4 (FOR TASK 2):

BASH

INTERFACE GIGABITETHERNET0/1
 DELAY 1000

ON ROUTER R6 (FOR TASK 2):

BASH

INTERFACE GIGABITETHERNET0/1
 DELAY 1000

ON ROUTER R3 (FOR TASK 3):

BASH

IP ACCESS-LIST EXTENDED R6_SOURCE_TRAFFIC
 PERMIT IP HOST 10.0.56.6 ANY
!
IP ACCESS-LIST EXTENDED R2_SOURCE_TRAFFIC
 PERMIT IP HOST 172.16.12.2 ANY
!
ROUTE-MAP INTERNET1 PERMIT 10
 MATCH IP ADDRESS R6_SOURCE_TRAFFIC
 SET IP NEXT-HOP 209.165.200.229
!
ROUTE-MAP INTERNET2 PERMIT 10
 MATCH IP ADDRESS R2_SOURCE_TRAFFIC
 SET IP NEXT-HOP 209.165.200.237

Explanation

The solution addresses the tasks as follows:

Task 1 & 2 (Path Engineering): Task 1 (redundancy) is achieved via the (assumed) pre-configured mutual redistribution on R3 and R4. Task 2 (path selection) requires two actions:

The metric weights command must be applied to all routers in EIGRP AS 10 (R3, R4, R5, R6) to ensure they can form adjacencies, as the K-values must match.
To force the path R1->R3->R5->R6, the alternative path (R3->R4->R6) must be made less desirable. By increasing the delay on the e0/1 interfaces of R4 and R6, the EIGRP metric for that link becomes significantly higher (due to K3=255), forcing traffic over the R5 path.

Task 3 (Policy-Based Routing):

Access-lists (R6_SOURCE_TRAFFIC, R2_SOURCE_TRAFFIC) are created on R3 to identify the specific source traffic.
The pre-configured route-maps INTERNET1 and INTERNET2 are modified to use these ACLs and set the appropriate next-hop IP address for SP1 (209.165.200.229) and SP2 (209.165.200.237), respectively.

References

Cisco Systems, (2023). IP Routing: EIGRP Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 17.

Section: "EIGRP Metrics" and "Configuring EIGRP Metric Weights". (Explains the metric weights command and the K-values [TOS] K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 syntax).

Section: "Configuring Interface Parameters". (Details the use of the delay command on an interface to influence EIGRP routing metrics, specified in tens of microseconds).

Cisco Systems, (2024). IP Switching: Cisco Express Forwarding Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 17.

Section: "Configuring Policy-Based Routing". (Documents the standard procedure for PBR: creating an access-list to match traffic, configuring a route-map to match the ACL and set the next-hop, and applying the policy to an interface).

Cisco Systems, (2023). IP Routing: Protocol-Independent Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 17.

Section: "Configuring Route-Maps". (Provides the syntax for creating and modifying route-map statements, including match ip address and set ip next-hop clauses).

Q: 8

DRAG DROP Drag and drop the OSPF adjacency states from the left onto the correct descriptions on the right.

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Init
2-way
Down
Exchange
ExStart
Loading

Discussion

Ajay M. Dec 28, 2025 4:14 pm

Down → No hellos have been received from a neighbor router
Init → The OSPF router ID of the receiving route was not contained in the hello message
2-way → Routers exchange information with other routers in the multiaccess network
ExStart → The network has already elected a DR and a backup BDR
Exchange → Each router compares the DBD packets that were received from the other router
Loading → The neighboring router requests the other routers to send missing entries

Robin Z. Jan 9, 2026 9:57 am

PreciseDev6183 Jan 4, 2026 9:23 am

Exchange → Each router compares DBDs, Loading → missing entries are requested, 2-way is the multiaccess exchange. Init is about not seeing the remote router's ID in hellos. Down is no hellos received. ExStart is DR/BDR election. Think that's pretty solid but open to corrections.

Jordan Q. Jan 13, 2026 10:31 pm

Looks good, but I always get tripped up between Exchange and Loading. For me, it's Exchange → compare DBDs, Loading → send LSRs for missing info. The rest matches up. Anyone see it differently?

Be respectful. No spam.

Correct Answer:

Answer Area Each router compares the DBD packets that were received from the other router: D. Exchange Routers exchange information with other routers in the multiaccess network: B. 2-way The neighboring router requests the other routers to send missing entries: F. Loading The network has already elected a DR and a backup BDR: E. ExStart The OSPF router ID of the receiving route was not contained in the hello message.: A. Init No hellos have been received from a neighbor router.: C. Down

Explanation

The OSPF neighbor states follow a strict progression:

Down: No Hello packets have been received.
Init: A Hello packet is received, but the receiver's Router ID is not listed (uni-directional).
2-Way: The router sees its own ID in the neighbor's Hello (bi-directional). On multi-access networks, neighbor relationships are established with all routers here, but adjacencies usually only proceed with the Designated Router (DR).
ExStart: Occurs after the DR/BDR election (which happens in 2-Way). Routers negotiate Master/Slave roles.
Exchange: Routers swap Database Description (DBD) packets to compare Link State Databases (LSDB).
Loading: Routers send Link State Requests (LSR) for any missing or outdated entries identified during the Exchange state.

References

Cisco Systems, OSPF Neighbor States Explained, Document ID: 13685.

Section: "ExStart State" and "Exchange State".

Quote: "In the ExStart state... The DR and BDR are elected in the 2-Way state." / "In the Exchange state, OSPF routers exchange database descriptor (DBD) packets."

IETF, RFC 2328: OSPF Version 2.

Section: 10.1. Neighbor States.

Definition: "Loading: ...Link State Requests are sent to the neighbor asking for the more recent LSAs."

Cisco Networking Academy, CCNP Enterprise: Core Networking (ENCOR) v8.0, Chapter 7: OSPF.

Q: 9

What are the two goals of micro BFD sessions? (Choose two.)

Options

Correct Answer:

C, E

Explanation

Micro BFD, also known as BFD over Link Aggregation Group (LAG) member links, is designed to overcome the limitations of running a single BFD session over an entire LAG interface. The primary goal is to provide rapid failure detection and verify data plane continuity for each individual member link within the bundle. This is achieved by establishing a separate and independent BFD session on every physical member link. If a micro BFD session detects a failure on a specific link, that link is immediately removed from the LAG's forwarding table, preventing traffic from being black-holed, while the remaining healthy links continue to forward traffic.

Why Incorrect

A. Micro BFD is not selective; its purpose is to monitor all member links, irrespective of their bandwidth, to ensure complete bundle integrity.

B. While aggressive timers are a feature of BFD, a specific value like "3x3 ms" is a configuration detail, not a fundamental goal of the protocol.

D. Monitoring just "any" member link is insufficient; the goal is to monitor all links comprehensively to prevent any single point of failure within the bundle.

References

1. Cisco Systems

Inc.

IP Routing: BFD Configuration Guide

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.9.x

"BFD over Link Aggregation Group (LAG) Interfaces" section. The guide states

"The BFD over LAG feature allows BFD sessions to monitor individual member links in a LAG. This is also known as micro BFD... A separate BFD session is created for each member link". This supports that each link must run BFD (E) to monitor individual links (C).

2. Cisco Systems

Inc.

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide

Release 10.3(x)

"Configuring BFD" chapter

"BFD for Link Aggregation (LAG)" section. This document specifies

"BFD for LAG provides fast failure detection on a per-member link basis. A separate BFD session runs on each member of a port channel." This directly validates verifying continuity for each link (C) and running BFD on each member (E).

Q: 10

DRAG DROP Drag and drop the MPLS terms from the left onto the correct definitions on the right.

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