Referring to the exhibit. Which type of IP fabric is shown in the exhibit?

Question

Exhibit

Options

• Acollapsed fabric
• B5-stage IP fabric
• C7-stage IP fabric
• D3-stage IP fabric

• A
  6% (2)
• B
  3% (1)
• C
  91% (30)

Explanation

Option C is correct because a 7-stage IP fabric contains 4 tiers of switching devices (Leaf → Spine → Super Spine → Core), and a packet traverses 7 switching stages traveling from source to destination and back (4 tiers going up + Core + 3 tiers coming down, counted symmetrically). The exhibit likely shows this 4-tier hierarchy with a distinct Core layer at the top, which is characteristic of hyperscale or very large data center deployments.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (collapsed fabric): A collapsed fabric reduces tiers by merging functions (e.g., spine and core into one layer), not expanding them - the exhibit shows distinct, separate tiers.
• B (5-stage): A 5-stage fabric has only 3 tiers (Leaf → Spine → Super Spine); the exhibit shows an additional Core tier, ruling this out.
• D (3-stage): The classic 2-tier Leaf-Spine architecture produces only 3 stages; the exhibit has more layers than this simplest form.

Memory tip: Use the formula (2 × tiers) − 1 = stages. Two tiers = 3-stage, three tiers = 5-stage, four tiers = 7-stage. Count the rows of switches in the exhibit, double it, subtract one, and you have your answer.

No community discussion yet for this question.