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

TCAM, or Ternary Content Addressable Memory, is a specialized type of memory used in networking devices, primarily for fast lookups. Its primary function is to enable quick forwarding and routing decisions by allowing devices to search and match multiple fields in a packet simultaneously.

This capability is especially beneficial in handling tasks associated with Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) operations within networking equipment such as switches and routers. By allowing fast lookups of the necessary forwarding information—such as MAC addresses for Ethernet frames at L2 and IP addresses for Layer 3 routing—TCAM substantially speeds up the data processing that occurs within the network device.

In contrast, while the other options may mention relevant network functions, they do not accurately capture TCAM’s unique capabilities. For instance, storage of MAC addresses only refers to part of TCAM's use but does not encompass all its functions, especially since TCAM can handle multiple types of lookups. Traffic shaping is an entirely different process that regulates data flow, and using TCAM as a cache for routing tables does not acknowledge its more complex multinomial lookup capability which surpasses simple caching functions.