CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

What characterizes spine and leaf architecture?

1. Leaf switches connect to each other

2. Only spine switches connect among themselves

3. Each leaf switch connects to each spine switch

4. Spine switches are used only for storage

The correct answer is: Each leaf switch connects to each spine switch

Spine and leaf architecture is a network topology commonly used in data centers to achieve scalability and reduce latency. The accurate characteristic of this architecture is that each leaf switch connects to each spine switch. In spine and leaf architecture, the spine switches serve as the backbone and are connected to all leaf switches. This design allows for high bandwidth and low-latency communication between different devices connected to the leaf switches. Since each leaf switch has a connection to every spine switch, it ensures that data can flow efficiently across the network without bottlenecks. This redundancy and connectivity also provide resilience and better load balancing for traffic. The other options do not accurately depict the spine and leaf architecture's nature. While leaf switches do not connect directly to one another but only to the spine switches, spine switches are not exclusive to handling storage tasks, and all spine switches connect to each other, enhancing network performance. Thus, the correct choice emphasizes the essential interconnectedness in spine-leaf topology, facilitating efficient data transfer.