200-301 Question #324: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is D: data plane. In software-defined architectures, the data plane is distributed across network devices and is responsible for the actual forwarding of network traffic.

Submitted by anjalisingh· Mar 5, 2026MISSING_DOMAIN_LIST

Question

In software-defined architectures, which plane is distributed and responsible for traffic forwarding?

Options

Amanagement plane
Bcontrol plane
Cpolicy plane
Ddata plane

Explanation

In software-defined architectures, the data plane is distributed across network devices and is responsible for the actual forwarding of network traffic.

Common mistakes.

A. The management plane is responsible for configuration, monitoring, and management of network devices, not for traffic forwarding.
B. The control plane is responsible for making forwarding decisions and populating forwarding tables, but it does not directly forward traffic; it instructs the data plane.
C. The policy plane is a higher-level conceptual layer that defines network behavior, which the control plane then translates into specific forwarding instructions.

Concept tested. SDN data plane

Reference. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/cloud-systems-management/what-is-software-defined-networking-sdn.html

Topics

#SDN planes#data plane#traffic forwarding

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