If a network port that supports auto-negotiation is connected to a network port that does not support auto-negotiation, half-duplex and full-duplex modes can be interconnected.

Question

Options

• ATrue
• BFalse

• A
  75% (45)
• B
  25% (15)

Explanation

Option A is correct because IEEE 802.3 auto-negotiation is designed for backward compatibility: when an auto-negotiating port detects no auto-negotiation signal from the peer, it uses parallel detection to identify the link speed and defaults to half-duplex mode, allowing a working connection to be established.

Option B is wrong because the lack of auto-negotiation on one end does not prevent link establishment - it simply means the auto-negotiating side falls back to a safe default rather than refusing to connect.

One practical caveat worth knowing: if the non-auto-negotiating port is manually forced to full-duplex, a duplex mismatch occurs (one side half, one side full), causing degraded performance and collisions - but the link still technically comes up, which is why the answer remains True.

Memory tip: Think of auto-negotiation like a bilingual speaker meeting someone who only speaks one language - the bilingual speaker switches to the other's language (half-duplex) to communicate. They can talk; it's just not ideal.

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