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FabricPath brings the benefits of routing protocols to layer 2 network Ethernet environments. What are the advantages of using FabricPath technology?(Choose three.)
A. FabricPath provides MAC address scalability with conversational learning
B. Loop mitigation with TTL in the frame field
C. STP independence
D. 10 Gbps bandwidth
E. Layer 2 extensions between data centers
Correct Answer: ABC
Explanation/Reference:
Explanation:
The advantages of using FabricPath include:
MAC address scalability with conversational learning
Spanning Tree Protocol independence: No reliance on Spanning Tree anymore. Each switch has a complete view of the Layer 2 topology, and it calculates the Layer 2 forwarding table based a shortest-path-first calculation.
Traffic distribution for unicast: Unicast Layer 2 traffic can take multiple equal-cost Layer 2 paths.
Traffic distribution for multicast on multiple distribution trees: Multicast traffic can be distributed along two multidestination trees.
More direct communication paths: Any topology is possible, so cabling two access or edge switches directly to each other creates a direct communication path, unlike what happens with Spanning Tree.
Simplicity of configuration: The configuration of FabricPath is very simple. Tuning may still be advised but by default the switches negotiate switchids allocation with a protocol called Dynamic Resource Allocation Protocol (DRAP).
Loop mitigation with TTL in the frame field: Layer 2 loops, as they are known of today in Spanning-Tree-Protocol-based Layer 2 networks, are mitigated by dropping frames that have been propagated across too many hops. The Layer 2 FabricPath frames include a Time to Live (TTL) field that is decremented at each hop. The value of the TTL field is 32.
Reference: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-5000-series-switches/guide_c07-690079.html (introduction, see the bullets)
