Cisco Certified Network Professional Practice Test 2026 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

During a topology change in Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), the behavior of MAC addresses is specifically designed to ensure the efficient handling of network traffic. When a topology change occurs, RSTP identifies the change and marks non-edge designated ports to flush their MAC addresses from the MAC address table. This action is crucial because it helps prevent the potential for forwarding frames based on stale MAC address information that might no longer be valid due to the new topology.

By flushing these addresses, RSTP ensures that frames are sent to the correct locations in the updated topology and that any old or outdated paths are no longer used. This practice enhances network stability and ensures that devices can re-learn the appropriate MAC addresses through normal traffic flow, thereby maintaining optimal network performance after the topology change.

The other options do not accurately reflect the behavior dictated by RSTP during topology changes. For example, retaining entries in the MAC address table would lead to confusion in forwarding decisions, while moving addresses to a standby table or backing them up in the ARP cache is not part of the standard RSTP procedures.