Question

Difficulty: EasyInterswitch Connectivity and Trunking (802.1Q)

A network technician is verifying the operational characteristics of an IEEE 802.1Q trunk link established between two Cisco Catalyst switches. Which two statements describe correct behavior or features of IEEE 802.1Q trunking? (Select two.)

  1. Frames belonging to the configured native VLAN are transmitted across the trunk link untagged by default.Answer
  2. B
    A native VLAN mismatch across a trunk link causes both switch interfaces to immediately enter an err-disabled state.
  3. IEEE 802.1Q inserts a 4-byte header into the standard Ethernet frame to carry VLAN identification information.Answer
  4. D
    Spanning Tree PortFast should be enabled on interswitch trunk ports to minimize VLAN convergence times.

Answer

The correct statements are that native VLAN frames are transmitted untagged across an 802.1Q trunk by default, and that IEEE 802.1Q inserts a 4-byte header into the Ethernet frame.
IEEE 802.1Q trunking inserts a 4-byte tag between the MAC Source Address and EtherType fields of an Ethernet frame for tagged VLAN traffic. By default, frames originating from or destined for the native VLAN are sent across the trunk link without any 802.1Q tag attached.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze frame tagging mechanics for IEEE 802.1Q trunk links.
IEEE 802.1Q inserts a 4-byte tag into the frame header for tagged VLANs, while natively configured VLAN traffic remains untagged by default.
This maintains backward compatibility with legacy non-trunking devices.
2
Evaluate operational misconfiguration consequences on trunks.
Native VLAN mismatches generate warnings (via CDP/STP) without err-disabling ports, and PortFast is explicitly restricted from switch-to-switch links.
PortFast bypasses listening/learning states which can cause bridging loops on interswitch trunk paths.

Key Concept

IEEE 802.1Q Trunking Fundamentals and Native VLAN Mechanics
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