In order to maximize the speed and duplex settings of auto-negotiation, a network administrator has configured all Ethernet ports of a workgroup switch to 100 Mbps, full-duplex. When a workstation NIC configured for auto-negotiation is connected to the switch, the resulting negotiated parameters are 100 Mbps, half-duplex.
What statement best accounts for this result?
A . The workstation NIC may not be properly configured for auto-negotiation as the highest port speed and duplex should result from this setup.
B . The port speed is auto-negotiated by the burst of Fast Link Pulses sent upon port initialization, but duplex negotiation does not use FLF^.
C . The switch port should be configured as an edge port since the spanning tree protocol leaves the port in the blocking state as it initializes, causing the auto-negotiation process to fail.
D . Without auto-negotiation on the switch, FLPs will not be sent to the workstation, and as a result, the workstation will configure itself to half-duplex.
E . There is a problem with the NIC, most likely resulting from older drivers since auto-negotiation will allow the workstation NIC to identify what speed and duplex settings have been configured on the switch.
Answer: D