Which pod-based deployment model provides the most flexibility and scalability in a modern data center...

TheSpine-and-Leafarchitecture is the preferredpod-based deployment modelin modern data centers because of itshigh scalability and flexibility. In this topology:

Leaf switchesconnect to servers and act as the access layer.

Spine switchesfunction as the core layer, interconnecting all leaf switches.

This non-blocking, highly redundant model supportspredictable latency, easy horizontal scaling, and load balancing, making it ideal for cloud-scale and virtualized environments.

Top of Rack (ToR)andEnd of Row (EoR)are physical cabling layouts that do not inherently provide the same level of architectural scalability.

Fabric Extender modelsextend switch ports but depend on upstream switches for intelligence, limiting flexibility.