Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Practice Exam 2025 - Free CCNA Practice Questions and Study Guide

The correct answer, 0000.0C07.AC01, is a valid HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) Virtual MAC Address. HSRP is a Cisco redundancy protocol that allows multiple routers to work together to present the appearance of a single virtual router or default gateway.

The distinctive feature of HSRP MAC addresses is that they follow a specific format, which starts with the prefix 0000.0C. This prefix indicates that the address is part of the HSRP protocol. The last two segments of the MAC address (in this case, 07.AC01) are used to identify the specific HSRP group. Thus, the format is consistent with how HSRP assigns MAC addresses to its virtual routers.

The other options do not fit this format, which makes them invalid for HSRP. For example, while one of the options starts with a different prefix or resembles another protocol's MAC address, it doesn't conform to the standard structure prescribed for HSRP. Understanding this format is crucial when configuring or troubleshooting HSRP implementations in a network.