Identifying Administratively Down Switch Port Status
Short answer
D The port is administratively down because it was manually disabled by an administrator using the shutdown command during device hardening.
Question
Key Takeaways
The key distinction is between intentional configuration (administratively down) and automatic fault response (error disabled).
Learn why a manually disabled switchport shows as administratively down rather than error disabled. Understand the difference between manual shutdown and fault-based port disabling.
Common mistake: Candidates often select 'Error disabled' because they associate 'down' ports with errors. However, error disabled is triggered by security violations or hardware faults, not manual admin commands.
Expert Analysis
The scenario describes a port that was manually disabled by an administrator as part of a security hardening process. In Cisco IOS and most enterprise networking operating systems, the command used to disable a switchport is shutdown. When this command is applied, the interface state changes from 'up' to 'administratively down'. This status indicates that while the physical layer may be intact (cable plugged in), the data link layer is intentionally inactive due to configuration.
The term 'Error disabled' (Option A) is a common distractor. This state occurs when a port detects a fault condition, such as a BPDU guard violation, port-security breach, or duplex mismatch, causing the switch to automatically shut down the port for protection. It is not the result of a manual administrative decision.
'Iidle' (Option B) and 'Suspended' (Option C) are not standard operational states for Ethernet interfaces in this context. 'Idle' might refer to traffic statistics, and 'Suspended' is typically associated with Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) blocking states or specific wireless contexts, but not the primary status of a manually shutdown wired port.
Therefore, because the technician explicitly turned off the port via configuration commands, the correct technical description of the port's status is 'Administratively down'. This aligns with the official body of knowledge for CompTIA Network+ regarding network troubleshooting and switching technologies.
Exam Strategy
When troubleshooting switch ports, always check if the port was manually configured. If an admin ran 'shutdown', the state is 'administratively down'. If the port went down due to a BPDU guard or port-security violation, it is 'error disabled'. Differentiate between human action and system reaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What command causes a port to become administratively down?
How do you re-enable an administratively down port?
Discussion 3 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 3
-
AnderSpain 👍 1 Answered DFor Question 682, the correct answer is D. Administratively down. 🔍 Detailed Explanation Why this is the correct answer: When a technician manually disables unused ports on a switch as part of security hardening tasks using the shutdown command, the port enters a state where it will not process traffic or show any activity until it is explicitly reactivated with no shutdown. In networking terminology, this state is known as administratively down.
-
ERB14 👍 1 Answered DWhen an administrator manually turns off or disables an unused port on a switch (typically via a shutdown command during device hardening), the status of that port is administratively down.
-
Skri113xX 👍 1 Answered AThis is a core concept for this certification. The answer has to be A.
Reader comments & corrections
No reader corrections yet — spotted an error or have a note? Share it below.
Related Analysis
Practice All N10-009 Questions
Access 100 questions with complete answers and detailed explanations.
View Full N10-009 Practice Test →