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200-301 · Question #1361

How does MAC learning function on a switch?

The correct answer is A. associates the MAC address with the port on which it is received. MAC learning on a switch builds a forwarding table by associating the source MAC address of incoming frames with the port they were received on.

Submitted by tyler.j· Mar 5, 2026Network Access

Question

How does MAC learning function on a switch?

Options

  • Aassociates the MAC address with the port on which it is received
  • Brewrites the source and destination MAC address
  • Cbroadcasts frames to all ports without queueing
  • Dsends an ARP request to locate unknown destinations

How the community answered

(26 responses)
  • A
    92% (24)
  • C
    4% (1)
  • D
    4% (1)

Why each option

MAC learning on a switch builds a forwarding table by associating the source MAC address of incoming frames with the port they were received on.

Aassociates the MAC address with the port on which it is receivedCorrect

A switch learns MAC addresses by examining the source MAC address of frames entering its ports and then associating that MAC address with the specific port through which the frame was received. This information is stored in the MAC address table (CAM table) for efficient future forwarding decisions.

Brewrites the source and destination MAC address

Switches forward frames based on MAC addresses; they do not rewrite the source and destination MAC addresses, which is typically a function of NAT or routing on Layer 3 devices.

Cbroadcasts frames to all ports without queueing

Broadcasting frames to all ports without queueing is not the primary function of MAC learning; switches broadcast only for unknown unicast, broadcast, and multicast traffic, and frames are always queued.

Dsends an ARP request to locate unknown destinations

Sending an ARP request is a Layer 3 function used to resolve an IP address to a MAC address, not a mechanism for a switch to learn MAC addresses.

Concept tested: Switch MAC Address Learning

Source: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/lan-switching/ethernet-switching/10574-5.html

Topics

#MAC learning#CAM table#port-MAC association#switch operation

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