350-601 Automation — Timed 10 Questions

Question 1

Refer to the exhibit. An engineer is trying to automate configuration using NX-API on a Nexus 9000 switch. They have enabled 'feature nxapi' but when they attempt to send a POST request to the NX-API endpoint, they receive '400 Bad Request' with 'Invalid message format'. What is the most likely missing configuration?

10 minute time limit — choose an answer to begin.

Accepted Answer

The NX-API HTTP/HTTPS server is not configured with a port (e.g., 'nxapi http port 80').. The 400 Bad Request with 'Invalid message format' error occurs because the NX-API HTTP/HTTPS server has not been configured with a port. Without commands like 'nxapi http port 80' or 'nxapi https port 443', the NX-API service does not start on any port. When the POST request is sent to the switch, the management interface receives the request but cannot dispatch it to the NX-API handler, resulting in a 400 error indicating the request format is not understood.

Answer

The switch does not have the 'nxapi' feature enabled.

Answer

The engineer is using the wrong URL path; should be /ins instead of /api.

Answer

The authentication method is set to 'none' but should be 'basic'.

Question 2

A DevOps team uses Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for data center network automation. They want to adopt a vendor-neutral YANG data model for configuration management. Which YANG model set should they use?

Accepted Answer

OpenConfig YANG models. OpenConfig is a vendor-neutral YANG model initiative supported by multiple vendors.

Answer

Cisco native YANG models

Answer

IETF YANG models

Answer

NX-OS-specific YANG models

Question 3

A data center engineer is using Ansible to automate NX-OS configuration. They want to ensure that the running configuration is updated and saved to the startup configuration after applying changes to VLANs. Which Ansible module attribute should be used in the nxos_vlan module?

Accepted Answer

save: yes. The nxos_vlan module does not have a 'save', 'backup', 'startup_config', or 'running_config' parameter. To save the running configuration to startup configuration, use the nxos_config module with the 'save_when' parameter set to 'always' or 'changed'.

Answer

backup: yes

Answer

startup_config: yes

Answer

running_config: yes

Question 4

A network engineer wants to automate the deployment of a new VLAN across all Cisco Nexus switches in a data center using Python scripts. Which tool is most appropriate for this task?

Accepted Answer

Cisco NX-API with Python requests. Cisco NX-API provides a RESTful API interface on Nexus switches, allowing direct HTTP/HTTPS calls to configure VLANs programmatically. Using Python's requests library, you can send structured JSON payloads to the API endpoint, making it the most direct and efficient method for script-driven automation without requiring intermediate tools or protocols.

Answer

SSH CLI commands via Paramiko

Answer

Ansible playbook

Answer

SNMP SET commands

Question 5

A data center team is troubleshooting an automation script that uses REST API to configure a Cisco Nexus 9000 switch. The script fails with a '401 Unauthorized' error. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Invalid or expired authentication token. A 401 Unauthorized error in REST API communication indicates that the request lacks valid authentication credentials. For Cisco Nexus 9000 switches, REST API access typically requires a token-based authentication (e.g., using HTTP Basic Auth to obtain a session token or cookie). If the token is invalid or expired, the API server rejects the request with a 401 status code, as the script cannot prove its identity.

Answer

API rate limiting has been exceeded

Answer

Network connectivity issue between the script and the switch

Answer

The user account does not have admin privileges

Question 6

An engineer is designing an automation solution for a large data center with multiple Cisco UCS Manager domains. Which approach best ensures idempotent configuration operations?

Accepted Answer

Using a declarative automation tool like Ansible with idempotent modules. Ansible's declarative modules for Cisco UCS Manager (e.g., `ucs_*` modules) are designed to be idempotent: they compare the current state of the configuration against the desired state defined in the playbook and only apply changes when necessary. This ensures that running the same playbook multiple times yields the same result without unintended side effects, which is critical for large-scale automation across multiple UCS domains.

Answer

Writing imperative Python scripts that execute CLI commands

Answer

Directly calling UCS Manager XML API using POST requests

Answer

Using SNMP to set configuration parameters

Question 7

A DevOps team uses Ansible to automate the configuration of Cisco Nexus switches. After running a playbook, some switches have the correct configuration but others do not. The playbook uses the 'nxos_config' module. Which action should be taken to ensure consistent configuration?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'backup' option to save the running config before changes. The 'nxos_config' module's 'backup' option saves the running configuration to a file before applying changes. This ensures that if a switch fails to apply the configuration correctly, the original configuration is preserved for rollback, enabling consistent recovery across all switches. Without this, some switches may have partial or incorrect configurations that cannot be easily reverted.

Answer

Set 'ignore_errors' to true in the playbook

Answer

Use 'serial' directive to run the playbook on one switch at a time

Answer

Enable check mode to verify changes before applying

Question 8

A network engineer is implementing automated configuration management using Cisco NSO (Network Services Orchestrator). The team wants to ensure that any configuration changes made directly on the devices (out-of-band) are detected and reconciled. Which NSO feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Fast-map synchronization. Fast-map synchronization is the correct NSO feature because it is specifically designed to detect and reconcile configuration changes made directly on managed devices (out-of-band changes). It compares the device's running configuration against NSO's CDB and generates the necessary NETCONF or CLI operations to bring the device back into sync with NSO's desired state, ensuring consistency without manual intervention.

Answer

Configuration Database (CDB) snapshots

Answer

Service model templates

Answer

Rollback and recovery mechanism

Question 9

Which TWO statements about Cisco NX-API are correct? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

NX-API uses HTTP/HTTPS as the transport protocol.. Cisco NX-API is a programmatic interface that uses HTTP/HTTPS as the transport protocol, allowing RESTful API calls to configure and monitor Nexus switches. It supports both XML and JSON output formats, enabling flexible data parsing in automation scripts. This makes options C and E correct.

Answer

NX-API uses SSH for transport.

Answer

NX-API only supports GET requests.

Answer

NX-API is only available on Nexus 3000 series switches.

Question 10

Which THREE statements about Cisco UCS Manager automation using XML API are correct? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Operations can be made idempotent by using the 'dn' (distinguished name) to specify the exact object.. The Cisco UCS Manager XML API allows operations to be idempotent by using the 'dn' (distinguished name) attribute to target a specific managed object. When you include the 'dn' in an XML request, the operation applies only to that exact object, so repeating the same request produces the same result without side effects. This is a key design principle of the management information model (MIT) that ensures predictable and safe automation.

Answer

The API uses SNMP for configuration changes.

Answer

The UCS Manager XML API uses RESTful JSON format.