Objective 1.6N10-009

1.6 Compare and contrast network topologies, architectures, and types.

Objective 1.6 sits in Networking Concepts, which carries 23% of the Network+ exam. The questions below are original, written from the official objective title above, and each explanation cites the CompTIA page it rests on.

Objective title verbatim from the official objectives. CompTIA exam page

A worked example

Shown solved, with the whole explanation open: this is what every question here carries.

Networking ConceptsEasy

A network administrator is deploying STP in a three-tier hierarchical network. According to Cisco design guidance, which device should be configured as the spanning tree primary root bridge?

Correct.

The concept

In a three-tier hierarchical architecture, STP root placement follows the core/distribution/access layering, and Cisco guidance states the root device for each spanning tree instance should be a backbone or distribution device.

Why this answer

The distribution layer switch aggregates access switches and sits above them in the hierarchy, matching the guidance that the root device should be a backbone or distribution device rather than an access device.

  • AAccess switches are explicitly called out as devices that should not be configured as the primary root.
  • Correct: matches the guidance that root devices should be backbone or distribution devices.
  • CAccess points sit at the access layer and are not spanning tree root candidates in this design.
  • DEnd stations do not participate as STP root devices in a switched hierarchy.
  • EFirewalls at the network edge are not part of the STP root device recommendation for this topology.
Read the sourceCisco: Configuring Spanning Tree Protocol
Verified against cisco.com · 2026-07-27
three-tier hierarchicalstptopologiesroot bridge

Now you: objective 1.6 questions

No account needed. The explanation opens when you answer.

Sample question 1 of 2

Networking ConceptsModerate

A network architect is building a spine and leaf topology. Between a leaf switch and a spine switch, the architect wants more bandwidth and wants traffic to keep flowing automatically if one physical link fails. Which technology fits this requirement?

Sample question 2 of 2

Networking ConceptsHard

In a three-tier hierarchical network, single links from wiring closet switches to the data center are bottlenecked at peak times. An engineer wants to increase bandwidth on these links while avoiding a redundant link that STP would simply place in a blocked, unused state. Which action meets both goals?

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Read the sources

These are the official pages the questions above cite. Reading them is studying the objective from the primary source, which is what the explanations point you toward anyway.

More objectives in Networking Concepts