Performance-based questions drop you into a simulated CLI or lab environment and ask you to complete a real configuration task. On Cisco exams this means IOS commands in a terminal with a live topology. PBQs are worth more marks and appear first in the exam — get these right.
Start Scenario PracticeYou are connected to R1. Configure IPv4 and IPv6 addressing on R1's interfaces and verify reachability to R2. The current configuration has a wrong subnet mask on G0/0, missing default gateway for IPv4, and R1's IPv6 address is configured using EUI-64 while R2 uses a static IPv6 address. Fix these issues so that R1 can ping both R2's IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
Explanation: The problem had three issues: (1) R1's G0/0 subnet mask was /24 (255.255.255.0) but R2's G0/0 was /30 (255.255.255.252), causing an IP subnet mismatch. (2) R1 lacked a default gateway for IPv4; the static route pointed to 192.0.2.254 which is not reachable. (3) R1's IPv6 EUI-64 configuration on G0/0 generates an interface ID from the MAC, but R2 expects a static address 2001:db8:1::2/64, so R1 must use a static IPv6 address on the same subnet. The fix: change R1's G0/0 mask to /30, add a default route via R2's G0/0 IP (192.0.2.2), and configure a static IPv6 address (e.g., 2001:db8:1::1/64) on R1's G0/0.
You are connected to R1 in a small office network. Configure PAT (NAT overload) so that hosts on the 192.168.1.0/24 LAN can access the Internet via the public IP 203.0.113.1 (the IP assigned to interface G0/0). Also configure a static NAT for the internal web server at 192.168.1.10 to the public IP 203.0.113.6. The current configuration has errors: the inside/outside interface assignments are swapped, the ACL for PAT does not match the inside subnet, and the PAT rule points to the wrong ACL. Fix all issues so that both PAT and static NAT work correctly.
Explanation: The main issues: (1) Interfaces were swapped — G0/0 (public) was inside and G0/1 (private) was outside. They should be reversed: G0/0 outside, G0/1 inside. (2) ACL 1 (used in the PAT command) permitted 192.168.2.0/24 instead of 192.168.1.0/24. (3) The PAT command for G0/0 used ACL 2, which was correct for the subnet but the interface was wrong. After fixing interface assignments and correcting ACL 1 to permit the inside subnet, the PAT command must use ACL 1 and the correct outside interface. The static NAT was correctly configured but needed the correct inside interface. The PAT translation uses the IP address of the outside interface (interface overload), so after fixing the configuration, inside hosts will be translated to 203.0.113.1, the primary IP of G0/0, not 203.0.113.5.
You are connected to R1 via the console. R1's GigabitEthernet0/0 (10.0.0.1/30) connects to an ISP router at 10.0.0.2/30. The internal network has a web server at 192.168.1.10 and a mail server at 192.168.1.20. You need to configure NAT so that internal hosts can access the internet (PAT overload) and external users can reach the web server via public IP 203.0.113.10 and the mail server via public IP 203.0.113.11. The inside interface is GigabitEthernet0/1 (192.168.1.1/24) and the outside interface is GigabitEthernet0/0.
Explanation: The named standard ACL PERMIT_INTERNAL permits all internal hosts in 192.168.1.0/24. The 'ip nat inside source list PERMIT_INTERNAL interface GigabitEthernet0/0 overload' command enables PAT, translating internal addresses to the outside interface's IP. Static NAT entries map web and mail servers to public IPs with the 'extendable' keyword to allow both PAT and static NAT. Proper interface NAT direction (inside/outside) is crucial.
You are connected to R1 via console. The network has a primary link to the ISP via R2 and a backup link via R3. Configure IPv4 and IPv6 floating static default routes on R1 so that the primary path goes through R2 (AD 1) and the backup through R3 (AD 10). Additionally, configure a static route on R1 for the internal LAN 192.168.10.0/24 via R2 (AD 1). The current configuration includes a static default route ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.0.0.3, which causes a recursive routing failure because 10.0.0.3 is not a valid next-hop address. Identify and fix the issue, then apply the floating static routes.
Explanation: The IPv4 default route currently uses next-hop 10.0.0.3, which is not a valid address on any directly connected interface, causing a recursive lookup failure. Option A fixes this by removing the incorrect route and correctly adding the primary (10.0.0.2 with AD 1) and backup (10.0.0.6 with AD 10) default routes, fulfilling the floating static requirement. It also adds both IPv6 floating default routes and the LAN static route. Option B is wrong because adding a route to 10.0.0.0/30 via R3 does not fix the next-hop 10.0.0.3 failure for the default route. Option C incorrectly reverses the administrative distances, making the backup path the primary. Option D erroneously uses an exit interface instead of the correct next-hop IP, which is not suitable for multi-access or point-to-point networks without additional configuration and does not resolve the original misconfigured next-hop.
You are connected to the console of R1. The network uses IPv6 with EUI-64. R1's GigabitEthernet0/0 interface has MAC address 0011.2233.4455. You must configure the interface to generate an IPv6 link-local address using the 'ipv6 enable' command, and also assign a global unicast address 2001:db8:1::/64 using EUI-64. The interface is currently administratively down.
Explanation: The ipv6 enable command explicitly creates a link-local address as required by the scenario. The global unicast address with the eui-64 keyword automatically derives the interface ID from the MAC address. Option B is incorrect because it tries to manually configure a link-local address with eui-64, which is unnecessary and invalid. Option C omits the ipv6 enable command, failing the explicit requirement. Option D assigns a static host portion instead of using eui-64.
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Practice all Performance-Based Questions (PBQs)Performance-based questions drop you into a simulated CLI or lab environment and ask you to complete a real configuration task. On Cisco exams this means IOS commands in a terminal with a live topology. PBQs are worth more marks and appear first in the exam — get these right. These appear throughout the 200-301 and require you to apply your knowledge, not just recall facts.
Cisco doesn't publish an exact breakdown, but scenario-based questions (especially exhibit and command-output formats) make up a significant portion of the 200-301. Practicing each scenario type ensures you're ready for any format.
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