350-601 Compute Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a UCS firmware upgrade, the upgrade fails on a few servers in a chassis. The administrators notice that the management plane is still responsive, but the data plane is disrupted. What is the most likely cause?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

The secondary Fabric Interconnect did not synchronize the firmware image before the upgrade.. The most likely cause is that the secondary Fabric Interconnect did not synchronize the firmware image before the upgrade. In a UCS domain, firmware upgrades are typically performed in a hitless manner by first upgrading the secondary Fabric Interconnect, which requires the firmware image to be synchronized from the primary. If synchronization fails, the secondary may boot with an incompatible or missing firmware, causing data plane disruption while the management plane remains responsive because the primary still handles management traffic.

Answer

The boot policy was changed during maintenance.

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The server memory is exhausted due to high traffic.

Answer

The service profiles were not updated after the upgrade.

Question 2

A network engineer needs to create a consistent QoS policy for all servers in a UCS service profile template. Which policy must be attached to the template to ensure uniform traffic management?

Accepted Answer

QoS Policy. A QoS Policy is the correct attachment because it defines traffic classification, marking, and queuing behavior at the interface level within a UCS service profile template. By applying a QoS Policy, the engineer ensures uniform traffic management across all servers by controlling bandwidth allocation, priority, and drop preferences consistently. This policy directly maps to the system class definitions in UCS Manager, enabling per-interface QoS settings that are inherited by all service profiles using the template.

Answer

Network Control Policy

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LAN Connectivity Policy

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Flow Control Policy

Question 3

In a Cisco HyperFlex cluster, a new ESXi host is being added. The host is discovered, but the cluster health status shows 'Degraded'. What should be the first troubleshooting step?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the new host's controller VM has the same firmware version as the cluster.. When adding a new ESXi host to a Cisco HyperFlex cluster, the controller VM (CVM) firmware version must match the cluster's version. A mismatch causes the cluster health status to show 'Degraded' because the CVMs cannot properly synchronize storage operations. Verifying and aligning the firmware version is the first troubleshooting step, as it directly impacts cluster stability.

Answer

Reboot the new ESXi host.

Answer

Check if the vCenter Server is in maintenance mode.

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Delete and re-create the cluster.

Question 4

A CCNP engineer is troubleshooting a UCS environment where a server is stuck in 'Discovery: In Progress' state. The chassis has been power-cycled, but the issue persists. FEX fabric port is configured correctly. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Firmware version mismatch between the server's CIMC and the Fabric Interconnect.. When a server is stuck in 'Discovery: In Progress' state and the chassis has been power-cycled with correct FEX fabric port configuration, the most likely cause is a firmware version mismatch between the server's Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) and the Fabric Interconnect (FI). During discovery, the FI attempts to inventory and manage the server via CIMC; if the firmware versions are incompatible, the discovery process cannot complete, leaving the server in a perpetual 'In Progress' state.

Answer

Incorrect IP address on the Fabric Interconnect management interface.

Answer

The chassis is not connected to the FI via a valid fabric cable.

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The server's service profile is not associated.

Question 5

An enterprise requires that all virtual machines using a specific service profile must have the same MAC address pool. Which policy should be configured on the service profile template?

Accepted Answer

MAC Pool Policy. A MAC Pool Policy is correct because it defines a range of MAC addresses that are dynamically assigned to virtual network adapters in a service profile. When multiple VMs use the same service profile template, configuring a MAC Pool Policy ensures all VMs derive their MAC addresses from the same pool, guaranteeing consistency and avoiding address conflicts across the cluster.

Answer

UUID Pool Policy

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Server Pool Policy

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WWPN Pool Policy

Question 6

A data center administrator reports that traffic from a specific UCS server is not flowing through the expected Fabric Interconnect (FI) A. The pin group is configured, but traffic is still sent to FI B. What should the administrator check?

Accepted Answer

Ensure the vNIC's fabric ID is set to match the pin group's preferred fabric.. The pin group configuration determines which Fabric Interconnect a vNIC should use for upstream traffic. If the vNIC's fabric ID is not set to match the pin group's preferred fabric, the server will ignore the pin group and send traffic to the other FI. Option D is correct because the fabric ID mismatch causes the pin group to be ineffective, and verifying this alignment ensures traffic flows through the expected FI A.

Answer

Verify that the server is associated with the correct service profile.

Answer

Reboot the Fabric Interconnect.

Answer

Check if the pin group is deleted.

Question 7

A Cisco UCS upgrade from release 3.1(1) to 4.0(4) is planned. The current release has a known issue that affects NVRAM backup. What is the best practice to avoid an outage during this upgrade?

Accepted Answer

Upgrade to an intermediate release that is recommended for the upgrade path.. Cisco UCS firmware upgrades must follow a supported upgrade path to avoid incompatibilities and known issues. Skipping directly from 3.1(1) to 4.0(4) is not supported; an intermediate release (e.g., 3.2(x) or 4.0(1)) is required to resolve the NVRAM backup issue and ensure a seamless upgrade without service disruption.

Answer

Perform a cold reboot of all Fabric Interconnects before starting.

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Upgrade all components simultaneously to reduce transition time.

Answer

Upgrade the firmware on the chassis first, then the Fabric Interconnects.

Question 8

Which TWO options are correct regarding Cisco UCS server profiles? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Resource pools, such as UUID pools, can be shared across service profile templates.. Resource pools like UUID pools, MAC pools, and WWN pools are global objects in Cisco UCS Manager that can be shared across multiple service profile templates. This allows administrators to define a pool once and reference it from any template, ensuring consistent allocation and avoiding conflicts.

Answer

Service profiles can be updated while the server is in OS configuration.

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A vHBA in a service profile inherits the boot policy automatically.

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A service profile can be associated with multiple servers simultaneously to provide load balancing.

Question 9

Which TWO are important considerations when using Cisco UCS Central for multi-domain management? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Global policies can be defined in UCS Central and applied per domain with local overrides.. Cisco UCS Central allows administrators to define global policies that can be applied across multiple UCS domains, while still permitting local overrides at the UCS Manager level. This hierarchical policy model provides centralized control without sacrificing the flexibility needed for domain-specific configurations, such as unique VLANs or boot policies.

Answer

UCS Central requires separate licensing per managed server.

Answer

All domains must have identical hardware and firmware versions.

Answer

Local UCS Manager policies are always overridden by UCS Central policies.

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. The server in slot 2 is associated and working. A new server is inserted into slot 1, but after 30 minutes it remains in 'Unassigned' state. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The server's CIMC firmware is not compatible with the Fabric Interconnect firmware.. The server in slot 1 remains in 'Unassigned' state because its CIMC firmware is incompatible with the Fabric Interconnect firmware. In Cisco UCS, the CIMC on each blade must match a supported firmware version for the Fabric Interconnect to discover and manage the server. When firmware versions are mismatched, the server cannot transition to the 'Associated' state and stays 'Unassigned'.

Answer

The service profile is already associated with another server.

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The server is not powered on.

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The Fabric Interconnect ports are not configured as server ports.

Question 11

Refer to the exhibit. A UCS domain shows a 'Major' NVRAM backup failure alarm in Intersight. What is the best immediate action?

Accepted Answer

Attempt a manual NVRAM configuration backup from the primary Fabric Interconnect to the secondary.. A 'Major' NVRAM backup failure alarm in Intersight indicates that the automatic periodic backup of the UCS domain's configuration from the primary Fabric Interconnect (FI) to the secondary FI has failed. The best immediate action is to attempt a manual NVRAM configuration backup from the primary FI to the secondary, as this directly addresses the backup failure without disrupting domain operations or requiring re-registration.

Answer

Perform a factory reset on both Fabric Interconnects.

Answer

Reboot the primary Fabric Interconnect.

Answer

Reclaim the UCS domain from Intersight and register again.

Question 12

Refer to the exhibit. The Fabric Interconnect cannot ping its default gateway. The management interface is configured and up. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The default route is missing from the routing table.. The Fabric Interconnect cannot ping its default gateway despite the management interface being up and configured, which indicates that the device lacks a route to reach the gateway subnet. A default route is required to forward traffic destined for networks not directly connected; without it, the Fabric Interconnect will drop packets to the gateway even if the interface is operational. This is the most likely cause because the exhibit shows no default route in the routing table, and the interface status confirms Layer 1 and Layer 2 connectivity.

Answer

The management VLAN is not allowed on the upstream switch.

Answer

The management interface is configured as DHCP instead of static.

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The IP address is a duplicate on the network.

Question 13

A data center administrator is troubleshooting slow storage performance on a UCS B-Series blade server. The server is connected to a Cisco UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnect and uses local SAS drives. The administrator checks the UCS Manager and sees that the storage adapter has a driver version that is not recommended. What is the most likely impact of using a non-recommended driver version?

Accepted Answer

Degraded storage performance or instability. Using a non-recommended driver version for the storage adapter in a UCS B-Series blade server can lead to degraded storage performance or system instability. Cisco validates specific driver versions for compatibility with the UCS 6300 Series Fabric Interconnect and local SAS drives; deviations may cause suboptimal I/O handling, increased latency, or unexpected errors. This is a common issue in compute environments where driver- firmware mismatches affect storage throughput.

Answer

Loss of redundancy on the fabric interconnect

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Inability to boot the server

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Increased security vulnerabilities

Question 14

A network engineer is designing a Cisco HyperFlex cluster for a virtualized environment. The cluster will run VDI workloads. Which storage policy should be selected to ensure that all VMs have the highest possible performance while maintaining data redundancy?

Accepted Answer

Dual replication with deduplication and compression. For VDI workloads in a Cisco HyperFlex cluster, the storage policy must balance performance and data redundancy. Dual replication with deduplication and compression provides the highest performance by using two copies of data (mirroring) for redundancy, while deduplication and compression reduce storage overhead without the write penalty of parity-based schemes. This avoids the performance degradation of RAID 5 parity or erasure coding, which are unsuitable for latency-sensitive VDI.

Answer

Triple replication with RAID 5 parity

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Erasure coding with deduplication

Answer

No replication with compression

Question 15

A UCS Manager administrator is deploying a service profile for a boot-from-SAN environment. The SAN switch is configured with NPV mode. The administrator notices that the WWPN of the vHBA in the service profile is not being recognized by the SAN switch. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The upstream SAN switch has NPIV disabled. In a boot-from-SAN environment with NPV mode on the SAN switch, the upstream switch must have NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization) enabled to allow multiple FCIDs to be assigned to a single physical link. Without NPIV, the upstream switch rejects the WWPN of the vHBA because it cannot support the virtualized N_Port IDs required for the service profile's vHBA to log in. This is the most likely cause of the WWPN not being recognized.

Answer

The WWPN pool has been exhausted and the server cannot obtain a new WWPN

Answer

The vHBA is not bound to a SAN pin-group

Answer

The vHBA speed is set to auto-negotiation but the SAN switch is set to a fixed speed