Rapid PVST+ Port State That Neither Receives BPDUs nor Learns MAC

200-301 By islever Editorial Last updated

Interpret basic operations of Rapid PVST+ Spanning Tree Protocol

Short answer

C The Disabled state is the only one that neither receives BPDUs from neighbors nor updates the MAC address table (the port is administratively down).

Question

Which Rapid PVST+ port state does a port operate in without receiving BPDUs from neighbors or updating the address database?
  1. listening
  2. forwarding
  3. disabled Correct Answer
  4. blocking

Key Takeaways

The trap is confusing Blocking with Disabled. Blocking still listens for BPDUs; Disabled does not. 'Without receiving BPDUs' points to Disabled, not Blocking.

In STP/PVST+, a Blocking (or Discarding) port still receives and processes BPDUs to track topology. A Disabled port is administratively shut down: it neither receives BPDUs nor learns MAC addresses. The question asks for the state doing neither, which is Disabled.

Common mistake: Choosing Blocking (D) because it also does not forward or learn — but Blocking DOES receive BPDUs, which violates the 'without receiving BPDUs' condition in the question.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

C (Disabled) is correct. A Disabled port is administratively down: it does not receive BPDUs from neighbors and does not update the MAC address table, exactly matching the question's two conditions.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

D (Blocking) is the common distractor but a Blocking/Discarding port still receives BPDUs to detect topology changes, so it fails the 'without receiving BPDUs' condition. A (Listening) receives BPDUs, and B (Forwarding) receives BPDUs and updates the MAC table.

Community Comment Notes

The vote splits C (58) versus D (42). Commenters who pick C note 'Blocking = receiving BPDUs, Disabled = don't receive BPDUs,' while the D camp conflates blocking with 'not learning.' The precise wording favors Disabled.

Official Reference

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/s/ccna-exam-topics

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Community Votes

C
58%
D
42%

58% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 12 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 12

  1. Shaifalimittal02 👍 4 Answered D
    The correct answer is D. blocking. In Rapid PVST+, if a port is not receiving BPDUs from neighbors and is not updating the MAC address table, it is most likely in the blocking state. In this state, the port does not forward traffic and is essentially waiting to receive a BPDU to determine whether it should transition to another state.
  2. MicroDiff 👍 4 Answered C
    Blocking = receiving BPDUs Disabled = don't receive BPDUs
  3. bezkin 👍 3 Answered C
    C might have to be correct, but i suspect the question might be misworded. Understand that Blocking mode, the ONLY traffic allowed are bpdus. if no bpdus are received it will automatically transition to forwarding (through the other stages first) because it assumes there is no switch on the other side, and therefore needs no STP on that link. (it does not process any other traffic, so it will not update the mac table, so that part is correct) Disabled meets both the criteria of not receiving bpdus, and not updating the address database, but i would hardly call that an STP mode, and would hardly call that "operating in", not much operation going on. Take this question with a grain of salt and use it to better your understanding of the port states.
  4. Joshua25 👍 2 Answered C
    The correct answer is C - disabled. A. Listening - Receiving BPDUs B. Forwarding - Receiving BPDUs and updating MAC table D. Blocking - Receiving BPDUs so that topology changes can be noticed, and can change to a Root port or Designated port when needed. If not receiving BPDUs, the port won't be able to know the changes.
  5. Rushit23 👍 2
    In the blocking state, the port neither forwards frames nor updates the address database, and it remains in this state if it does not receive BPDUs from neighbors. This prevents loops in the network while waiting for the topology to stabilize or change. Final Answer: D. blocking
Show 7 more comments
  1. adrianspa 👍 2 Answered D
    Blocking State: In this state, a port does not forward frames, does not learn MAC addresses, and does not receive BPDUs from other switches. The port remains in this state if it is not part of the active topology and is used to prevent loops.
  2. ibram2004 👍 2 Answered C
    Blocking = receiving BPDUs Disabled = don't receive BPDUs and it is clear , the question says the state which doesn't do both which is disabled state not blocking coz blocking recieves bdpu
  3. exiledwl 👍 1
    The real answer which isn't a choice here is the discarding state, rapid pvst only has discarding, learning, and forwarding state...discarding state is the equivalent of traditional stp's blocking + listening states combined so I guess the closest answer is blocking
  4. SeMo0o0o0o0 👍 1 Answered D
    it´s D The port in the blocking state dosen´t receive BPDUs from neighbors, dosen´t forward traffic, and dosen´t update the MAC address table.
  5. orxan1492 👍 1 Answered D
    Port is administratively shut down is not part of STP operation. In question we can see "Whuch RPVST+ port"
  6. 3040636 👍 2
    Blocking
  7. 3040636 👍 1
    D is the answer

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