Question

Difficulty: MediumTroubleshooting VLAN, Trunking, and Switching Issues

Match each switch status indicator or log message on the left with its corresponding underlying root cause on the right.

  • %CDP-4-NATIVE_VLAN_MISMATCH: Native VLAN mismatch discovered on GigabitEthernet0/1 (10), with Switch2 GigabitEthernet0/1 (20).Untagged frames are arriving on a trunk interface whose default 802.1Q VLAN ID does not match the adjacent switch.
  • Interface FastEthernet0/12 reports an increasing counter for CRC errors and late collisions during heavy traffic.Duplex misconfiguration where one port is manually set to full-duplex while the connecting port defaults to half-duplex.
  • Interface GigabitEthernet0/2 transitions to err-disabled state after receiving BPDUs with a bridge priority of 0.STP Root Guard protection triggered by receiving a superior Bridge Protocol Data Unit on an interface designated for downstream access.
  • Trunk port operational state is up, but frames belonging to VLAN 30 are dropped while VLAN 10 frames pass normally.Trunk interface configuration contains an explicit allowed VLAN list that excludes VLAN 30 from traversing the link.

Answer

Each switch indicator matches its root cause: Native VLAN mismatch log matches untagged frame default VLAN mismatch; CRC errors and late collisions match duplex misconfiguration; Err-disabled port from priority 0 BPDU matches STP Root Guard enforcement; Trunk passing VLAN 10 but dropping VLAN 30 matches trunk allowed VLAN list exclusion.
Each indicator corresponds to a classic Layer 2 troubleshooting symptom: CDP log warnings indicate non-matching native VLAN IDs on 802.1Q trunks; late collisions with CRC errors indicate a full-duplex/half-duplex mismatch; an err-disabled state after receiving a priority 0 BPDU indicates STP Root Guard action; and selective VLAN dropping on an active trunk indicates an incomplete allowed VLAN list.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the CDP error message indicating native VLAN mismatch.
Identified that native VLAN settings differ between trunk endpoints (VLAN 10 vs VLAN 20).
802.1Q trunking requires identical native VLAN IDs on both ends to ensure untagged traffic is processed consistently.
2
Analyze interface statistics showing late collisions and CRC errors.
Identified duplex mismatch as the root cause.
Late collisions occur when a full-duplex interface transmits while a half-duplex interface on the same segment attempts to transmit after its 512-bit collision window.
3
Evaluate the interface transitioning to err-disabled upon receiving a priority 0 BPDU.
Identified Root Guard protection mechanism as the root cause.
Root Guard protects the root bridge topology by blocking ports that receive superior BPDUs.
4
Evaluate selective VLAN traffic dropping on an active trunk link.
Identified trunk allowed VLAN list pruning or exclusion.
Trunk ports forward only VLANs explicitly allowed in their configuration; missing VLANs are silently dropped.

Key Concept

Switching and VLAN Troubleshooting Indicators
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