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200-301 · Question #215

What is a characteristic of spine-and-leaf architecture?

The correct answer is D. Each device is separated by the same number of hops. In a spine-and-leaf architecture, all end devices are equidistant from each other, resulting in predictable and low latency due to an equal number of hops between any two devices.

Submitted by andreas_gr· Mar 5, 2026Network Fundamentals

Question

What is a characteristic of spine-and-leaf architecture?

Options

  • AEach link between leaf switches allows for higher bandwidth.
  • BIt provides greater predictability on STP blocked ports.
  • CIt provides variable latency.
  • DEach device is separated by the same number of hops.

How the community answered

(61 responses)
  • A
    2% (1)
  • B
    2% (1)
  • C
    3% (2)
  • D
    93% (57)

Why each option

In a spine-and-leaf architecture, all end devices are equidistant from each other, resulting in predictable and low latency due to an equal number of hops between any two devices.

AEach link between leaf switches allows for higher bandwidth.

Links between leaf switches are not directly part of the spine-and-leaf forwarding path for end-device traffic; leaf switches typically do not connect to each other.

BIt provides greater predictability on STP blocked ports.

Spine-and-leaf architectures typically use Layer 3 routing protocols and ECMP between spines and leaves to avoid the need for Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) in the underlay, which eliminates blocked ports and provides higher aggregate bandwidth.

CIt provides variable latency.

Because any two devices are always two hops away (leaf-spine-leaf), the latency is consistent and predictable, not variable, which is a key advantage for modern data centers.

DEach device is separated by the same number of hops.Correct

In a spine-and-leaf topology, every leaf switch is connected to every spine switch, and end devices connect only to leaf switches. This design ensures that any two end devices within the network are always separated by exactly two hops (leaf -> spine -> leaf), providing predictable latency and facilitating the use of Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing.

Concept tested: Spine-and-leaf architecture characteristics (latency/hops)

Source: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/white_paper_c11-737751.html

Topics

#spine-and-leaf#data center networking

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