CCNA Router & Switch
A Complete Guide to Interview Questions & Concepts
The Cisco CCNA certification provides a solid foundation for building a career as a Network
Engineer. Whether you come from a Desktop Support background or are looking to advance your
infrastructure skills, routing and switching remain at the core of the discipline.
This guide explores essential routing and switching interview questions designed for beginners,
intermediates, and advanced candidates to help evaluate and prepare for success.
Part 1: Routing and Switching Questions For Freshers
1. What do you understand by Networking?
Networking is a collection of computers that communicate and share information. Connecting devices
or systems so that they are able to share resources is called networking.
Types of computer networks:
• Local Area Network (LAN): Covers a small area, like an office or home.
• Wide Area Network (WAN): Covers large geographical areas such as the Internet.
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): Covers a city or a large campus.
• Personal Area Network (PAN): Interconnects personal devices with each other, usually within the
range of Bluetooth.
Key Concepts in Networking:
• IP Addressing: Assigns unique addresses to devices within a given network.
• Routing: Selecting the path for sending data.
• Protocols: Set of rules to control communication among devices (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP).
• Topology: Arrangement of physical and logical interconnection in a network.
2. What is a routing protocol and its functions?
A routing protocol is a set of rules and algorithmic guidelines by which routers communicate and
determine the most effective path for data flow.
Common Routing Protocols:
• RIP: A protocol that measures in hop counts.
• OSPF: Shortest path based on link costs.
• BGP: Routing between autonomous systems.
• EIGRP: Cisco routing protocol leveraging the best of distance vector and link state.
Functions of routing protocols:
• Calculate the best path based on metrics such as hop count, bandwidth, and transfer delay.
• Update routing tables when any changes occur in the network.
• Create and exchange routing information with every router.
• Prevent routing loops.
3. Difference Between a Router and a Switch
• Routers operate on Layer 3 (Network Layer) while switches work on Layer 2 (Data Link Layer).
• Routers forward packets between different networks using IP addresses; switches forward packets
within the same network using MAC addresses.
• Routers determine the best path for data to travel; switches connect hardware devices that reside
within the same local network.
4. What are VLANs and why are they used?
VLANs, short for Virtual Local Area Networks, are used to group devices that may physically be
separated but behave logically as being part of the same network.
Advantages of VLANs:
• Increases security by separating traffic.
• Limits and controls broadcast traffic.
• Allows grouping of networks by department or project.
• Provides easy-to-use network management and optimizes overall network performance.
5. What is the function of ARP?
The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is responsible for the conversion of an IP address into a MAC
address. When a device wants to communicate locally, it sends an ARP broadcast asking who has a
specific IP address. The device holding that IP responds with its MAC address.
6. What Does Default Gateway Mean?
A default gateway is the router interface to which all devices send packets that are not intended to be
delivered within the local network. Without it, communication is only possible within the immediate
Local Area Network (LAN).
7. Differences Between Static Routing and Dynamic Routing
• Static routes are determined manually, while dynamic routes are learned automatically through
predefined protocols.
• A static route is a poor choice for network failure resilience; dynamic routing updates routes to new
paths as network topology changes.
• Static routing is simple but offers poor scaling opportunities. Dynamic routing scales well and
handles complex networks with higher efficiency.
8. What Does Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Do?
In a switched network, STP provides a loop-free topology while ending broadcast storms and handling
congestion. It achieves this by temporarily blocking redundant links while maintaining a loop-free path
structure, dynamically adjusting if changes occur.
9. What is DHCP, and how does it work?
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) dynamically assigns IP addresses and network
parameters to hosts on the network.
The process consists of DORA:
• Discover: The client requests an IP address.
• Offer: The server provides an available IP.
• Request: The client requests the provided IP.
• Acknowledgment: The server confirms the assignment.
10. Explain ACLs and Why They Are Significant.
Access Control Lists (ACLs) filter network traffic according to set rules such as IP addresses, ports, or
protocols.
ACLs are used for:
• Increasing network security.
• Restricting access to sensitive network resources.
• Enforcing network policies.
• Prioritizing certain traffic.
Part 2: Routing and Switching Questions for Experts
11. Differences between Distance Vector and Link-State Protocols
• Distance vector protocols inform only neighboring routers; link-state protocols keep the full network
topology map.
• Distance vector protocols use simple metrics like hop count; link-state protocols independently
calculate the shortest paths based on complex costs.
• Distance vector protocols are suitable for small networks; link-state protocols are suited for large
networks demanding fast convergence.
12. When STP sends a frame over a switch port, how does it prevent a loop?
STP elects a root bridge using the lowest bridge ID (priority + MAC). Ports are then assigned specific
states:
• Root Port: Best path to the root bridge.
• Designated Port: Best path on a segment to forward traffic.
• Blocked Port: Prevents loops.
This ensures that only one logical path is active at a time, preventing broadcast storms.
13. How do VLANs enhance security and performance? Types of VLANs
VLANs isolate traffic securely between groups and lessen the overall broadcast load, improving
performance.
Types of VLANs:
• Data VLAN: User-generated traffic.
• Voice VLAN: Given precedence for latency-sensitive voice traffic.
• Management VLAN: Used for managing network devices securely.
• Native VLAN: Carries untagged traffic across trunk links.
14. Routing Tables and Packet Forwarding
Routing tables contain information concerning all known networks and the best paths to reach them.
Routers use these tables to forward packets to the correct next-hop IP address.
If no specific route exists, the packet is sent to the default gateway (gateway of last resort) or discarded
if no default exists.
15. What are the Kinds of Switching Techniques?
• Store-and-Forward: Checks the entire frame for errors before forwarding. High error detection but
higher latency.
• Cut-Through: Forwards the frame as soon as the destination MAC is read. Low latency, but errors
may pass through.
• Fragment-Free: Reads the first 64 bytes (checking for collisions) before forwarding. A balance
between latency and error checking.
16. Advantages and Disadvantages of Static vs. Dynamic Routing
Static Routing:
Advantage: Simple to implement in small networks, secure, and predictable.
Disadvantage: Requires manual installation, not adaptable to failures, and has limited scalability.
Dynamic Routing:
Advantage: Scales well, adapts automatically to changes, and reduces administrative overhead.
Disadvantage: Higher complexity, consumes more CPU/RAM resources, and adaptability can spawn
security risks or routing loops if misconfigured.
17. How OSPF Operates During Changes in Networks
OSPF maintains a complete link-state database of the network. Whenever a link fails or changes state,
Link-State Advertisements (LSAs) are flooded to all routers in that specific area. The routers update
their databases and run the Dijkstra algorithm to recompute the shortest paths, leading to extremely
fast convergence.
18. The Dimensions of Collision Domains and Broadcast Domains
• A collision domain is a network segment where devices compete for the same transmission
medium (often seen with hubs).
• A broadcast domain is the extent of a network where all devices receive broadcast packets.
Switches are used to break up and reduce collision domains (each port is its own collision domain).
Routers or VLANs are used to separate and reduce broadcast domains.
19. Purpose of QoS
Quality of Service (QoS) prioritizes critical or latency-sensitive network traffic, like voice and video. It is
implemented using techniques such as traffic classification, queueing, congestion avoidance, traffic
shaping, and policing.
20. Functions of First Hop Redundancy Protocols (HSRP, VRRP, GLBP)
First Hop Redundancy Protocols (FHRP) enable clients to gain access to a highly available, redundant
default gateway. If the active router fails, standby routers immediately take over the gateway IP,
significantly reducing downtime.
• HSRP: Cisco proprietary redundancy protocol.
• VRRP: Open standard redundancy protocol.
• GLBP: Cisco proprietary protocol that provides gateway redundancy and active load balancing
between routers.