Cisco Certified Network Professional Practice Test 2025 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The correct response indicates that there are 16 Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) instances available for configuration in a network. This is defined by the IEEE 802.1s standard, which extends the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) to accommodate multiple spanning trees in a single network.

Having 16 MST instances allows network designers to group VLANs more flexibly, optimizing traffic management and improving redundancy within a network. By assigning VLANs to different MST instances, administrators can fine-tune their network's load-balancing capabilities and provide better fault tolerance in scenarios involving network failures.

Understanding the significance of these instances is crucial for network scalability, as it provides organizations the ability to effectively manage physical network resources while supporting a diverse range of applications and services. This capability can help minimize issues such as broadcast storms and reduce convergence times when link failures occur, thereby enhancing overall network performance.