350-601 Automation Practice Test 4 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Refer to the exhibit. What is the intended effect of this Ansible playbook task?

Accepted Answer

It ensures VLAN 10 exists with the name 'Automation_VLAN' on the target switches.. The Ansible playbook task uses the `cisco.nxos.nxos_vlans` module with the `state: merged` directive, which ensures that the specified VLAN configuration (VLAN 10 with name 'Automation_VLAN') is present on the target Nexus switches. If VLAN 10 does not exist, it will be created; if it exists with a different name, it will be updated. The `merged` operation does not delete or reboot; it only applies the configuration to align the device's state with the playbook's desired state.

Answer

It deletes VLAN 10 from all switches.

Answer

It saves the running configuration to startup.

Answer

It reboots the Nexus switches after applying the configuration.

Question 2

A network engineer wants to automate the deployment of VLANs across 50 Nexus switches in a data center. Which approach provides the most consistent and repeatable results with minimal manual effort?

Accepted Answer

Ansible playbook with nxos_vlan module. Ansible playbook with the nxos_vlan module is the correct choice because it provides idempotent, declarative automation that ensures consistent VLAN configuration across all 50 Nexus switches with minimal manual effort. Ansible handles SSH connectivity and state management natively, eliminating the need for custom scripting and reducing the risk of human error.

Answer

Python script using netmiko

Answer

Manual CLI on each switch

Answer

Bash script with SSH

Question 3

A team is using Cisco DCNM for fabric management. They need to integrate with an external CI/CD pipeline. Which API should they use to trigger a network configuration change?

Accepted Answer

DCNM REST API. The DCNM REST API is the correct choice because it provides a programmatic, northbound interface specifically designed for integrating Cisco DCNM with external CI/CD pipelines. This API allows you to trigger network configuration changes at the fabric level, abstracting the complexity of individual switches and ensuring consistency across the entire fabric, which is essential for automated, version-controlled deployments.

Answer

SNMP SET

Answer

NX-API on each switch

Answer

CLI via SSH

Question 4

An engineer receives an error 'XML namespace mismatch' when using NETCONF to configure a Nexus switch. The YANG model used is from the Cisco NX-OS openconfig model. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The namespace in the XML payload does not match the YANG model. The 'XML namespace mismatch' error occurs when the namespace URI declared in the XML payload does not match the namespace defined in the YANG module. NETCONF uses the namespace to identify the correct YANG model for parsing the configuration data. If the namespace in the XML does not exactly match the one in the Cisco NX-OS openconfig YANG model, the switch rejects the operation with this specific error.

Answer

The switch is running in VM mode

Answer

The YANG model is not supported on this switch version

Answer

The NETCONF session is not authenticated

Question 5

A data center automation script uses Python's requests library to call the NX-API for a Nexus 9000 switch. The script works but returns HTTP 400. Which is a likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The request payload is malformed. HTTP 400 indicates a bad request, which in the context of NX-API typically means the JSON or XML payload sent to the switch does not conform to the expected schema. Common issues include missing required fields (e.g., 'ins_api' version, 'type', 'chunk', 'sid', 'input', 'outputformat'), incorrect JSON syntax, or invalid values for parameters like 'version' or 'type'. The requests library successfully delivered the HTTP request, but the NX-API rejected it due to malformed content.

Answer

The switch has no management IP

Answer

The script uses HTTP instead of HTTPS

Answer

The API is not enabled

Question 6

A company wants to automate backup of running-configurations for 200 Nexus switches. Which solution provides the best combination of reliability and version history?

Accepted Answer

Ansible playbook with the nxos_config backup option. An Ansible playbook with the nxos_config backup option is the best solution because it provides idempotent, version-controlled backups of running-configurations across 200 Nexus switches. The nxos_config module automatically creates a timestamped backup file on the Ansible control node, ensuring both reliability through automated, consistent execution and a built-in version history via the backup files. This approach scales efficiently without requiring manual intervention or fragile scripting.

Answer

Manual backup via CLI

Answer

Custom Python script using TFTP

Answer

A cron job that SCPs config to a server

Question 7

A Nexus switch configured with 'feature nxapi' and 'nxapi https port 443' fails to respond to REST API calls from a monitoring system. The engineer can ping the management IP. Which troubleshooting step should be taken first?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the NX-API process is running with 'show nxapi'. The first step when NX-API is configured but not responding is to verify that the NX-API process is actually running. The 'feature nxapi' command enables the feature, but the NX-API service may not have started due to a configuration error, resource issue, or process crash. The 'show nxapi' command displays the operational status of the NX-API service, including whether it is listening on the configured port (443 in this case). Since the engineer can ping the management IP, basic network connectivity exists, so the issue is likely at the application layer.

Answer

Check if the monitoring system is using the correct HTTP method

Answer

Review the switch's ACL for the management VRF

Answer

Confirm that the SSL certificate is trusted

Question 8

An engineer needs to collect streaming telemetry from a Nexus 9000 switch. Which two protocols can be used to transmit telemetry data to a collector? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

gNMI. gNMI (gRPC Network Management Interface) and gRPC are both correct because they are the primary protocols used for streaming telemetry on Nexus 9000 switches. gNMI defines a standard model-driven telemetry subscription mechanism over gRPC, while gRPC provides the underlying high-performance transport for streaming telemetry data to collectors.

Answer

NETCONF

Answer

HTTP

Answer

SNMP traps

Question 9

A network automation engineer is writing an Ansible playbook to configure Nexus switches. Which three modules are available to manage NX-OS configuration? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

nxos_config. The `nxos_config` module is the primary Ansible module for managing NX-OS device configurations, allowing you to apply, replace, or merge configuration snippets directly onto Nexus switches. It is part of the `cisco.nxos` collection and is specifically designed for NX-OS, unlike `ios_config` which targets Cisco IOS/IOS-XE devices.

Answer

eos_config

Answer

ios_config

Question 10

A data center engineer is implementing model-driven telemetry using Cisco NX-OS. Which three components are required in the telemetry configuration? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

A sensor path to specify the data to stream. A sensor path defines the specific YANG data model paths or operational data that the device will stream to the collector. In model-driven telemetry on Cisco NX-OS, the sensor path is the fundamental component that tells the device exactly which data to monitor and stream, such as 'Cisco-NX-OS-device:System/clock-items' or interface statistics paths.

Answer

A HTTPS certificate for authentication

Answer

An SNMP community string

Question 11

Refer to the exhibit. An engineer configured NX-API on a Nexus 9000 switch. The REST API client receives 'SSL_ERROR_BAD_CERT_DOMAIN'. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The certificate does not match the switch's hostname. The SSL_ERROR_BAD_CERT_DOMAIN error indicates that the certificate presented by the Nexus 9000 switch does not match the hostname used in the REST API client's request. When NX-API uses HTTPS, the client validates the server's certificate against the requested domain; a mismatch triggers this error. This is a common TLS/SSL certificate validation issue, not a problem with HTTP conflicts, missing keys, or corrupted files.

Answer

HTTP is enabled which conflicts with HTTPS

Answer

The key file is missing

Answer

The certificate file is corrupted

Question 12

A data center has 100 Nexus switches in a fabric managed by Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO). The network team needs to automate the creation of a new network template that includes multiple VLANs and VRF configurations. They want to ensure that the template is applied consistently across all leaf switches without manual intervention. The engineer writes a Python script using the NDO REST API to create the template and deploy it. However, the deployment fails with an error 'Template validation failed: overlapping IP subnets'. Upon reviewing the template, the engineer notices that two VLANs have overlapping subnet definitions. Which action should the engineer take to resolve this issue efficiently?

Accepted Answer

Manually correct the overlapping subnets in the template and re-run the deployment script. The root cause of the deployment failure is overlapping IP subnets in the template definition. Manually correcting the overlapping subnets in the template and re-running the deployment script directly resolves the validation error without introducing unnecessary complexity or risk. This approach ensures the template is valid before deployment, maintaining consistency across all leaf switches.

Answer

Use the NDO GUI to edit the template and then re-run the script

Answer

Create separate templates for each VLAN to avoid overlaps

Answer

Modify the Python script to ignore validation errors and force the deployment

Question 13

A large enterprise data center uses Cisco UCS Manager to manage hundreds of blade servers. The automation team has been using Python SDK scripts to provision service profiles. Recently, after a UCS Manager firmware upgrade, several scripts that previously worked are now failing with 'AttributeError: 'ServiceProfile' object has no attribute 'set_vnic_order''. The team confirms that the UCS Manager version changed from 4.0 to 4.2. Which course of action should the engineer take to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Update the Python SDK to the version that supports UCS Manager 4.2 and modify scripts accordingly. The Python SDK for UCS Manager is version-specific; upgrading UCS Manager from 4.0 to 4.2 introduces API changes that can deprecate or remove methods like `set_vnic_order`. Updating the SDK to a version compatible with UCS Manager 4.2 ensures the Python scripts use the correct API calls, and modifying the scripts to align with any new method signatures or attributes resolves the AttributeError.

Answer

Use the UCS Manager XML API directly without the SDK

Answer

Downgrade UCS Manager back to version 4.0 to restore compatibility

Answer

Replace Python scripts with Ansible modules that use the UCS API

Question 14

An organization is migrating from traditional SNMP monitoring to model-driven telemetry on their Nexus 9000 switches. They have configured a telemetry destination using gRPC and have defined sensor paths for interface statistics. After several hours, the collector (a Linux server running Telegraf) reports no data received. The engineer verifies that the switch can reach the collector via ICMP. On the switch, 'show telemetry data collector details' indicates the destination is 'connected', but the 'last data sent' timestamp is several hours old. Which action should the engineer take next?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the sensor paths are correct and that the data is being generated. The 'show telemetry data collector details' output shows the destination is 'connected' and the switch can reach the collector, ruling out network or connectivity issues. The stale 'last data sent' timestamp indicates the telemetry process is running but no data is being published, which typically means the configured sensor paths are not producing data—either because the paths are incorrect, the MIB objects are not supported, or the interfaces are not generating the expected statistics. Option C is correct because verifying the sensor paths and ensuring data generation addresses the root cause without unnecessary changes or reboots.

Answer

Change the transport protocol from gRPC to HTTP

Answer

Reboot the switch to reset the telemetry process

Answer

Increase the telemetry sampling interval to reduce load

Question 15

A financial services company operates a multi-site data center with Cisco ACI. The automation team uses Ansible Tower to manage configurations. They have a playbook that configures EPGs using the 'aci_epg' module. The playbook runs successfully for most sites but fails on one site with the error 'Object 'uni/tn-Tenant1/ap-AP1/epg-EPG1' doesn't exist'. The engineer checks the ACI fabric and confirms that the tenant, application profile, and EPG exist on that site. The playbook uses the same credentials and variables across all sites. What is the most likely cause of the failure?

Accepted Answer

The fabric name in the Ansible inventory is incorrect for that site. The error 'Object doesn't exist' despite the EPG being present on the ACI fabric indicates that Ansible is targeting the wrong fabric or APIC. Since the playbook uses the same credentials and variables across all sites, the most likely cause is an incorrect fabric name in the Ansible inventory for that specific site, causing the module to query a different APIC cluster where the object does not exist.

Answer

The Ansible Tower job runs with a different user that lacks permissions on that site

Answer

The ACI APIC version is incompatible with the Ansible module

Answer

The EPG name in the playbook has a typo that only affects this site