350-601 Storage Network Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

In an FCoE deployment, a storage administrator needs to ensure that FCoE traffic is carried over a dedicated VLAN. Which configuration is required on a Cisco Nexus switch?

Accepted Answer

Enable FIP snooping and map the FCoE VLAN to a VSAN.. In an FCoE deployment, FIP snooping is required on the Cisco Nexus switch to enforce that only FCoE traffic is carried over a dedicated VLAN. The FCoE VLAN must be mapped to a VSAN to ensure proper isolation and forwarding of storage traffic. This configuration prevents unauthorized devices from injecting FCoE frames and maintains the integrity of the storage network.

Answer

Configure the VLAN as a private VLAN.

Answer

Assign the VLAN as an access VLAN to the interface.

Answer

Configure the VLAN as a native VLAN on the FCoE interface.

Question 2

Which Fibre Channel frame field is used to identify the upper-layer protocol being carried?

Accepted Answer

R_CTL. The R_CTL (Routing Control) field in the Fibre Channel frame header is used to identify the upper-layer protocol being carried, such as SCSI-FCP, IP, or VI. It contains the routing bits and information category that specify the frame type and protocol context, enabling the receiver to interpret the payload correctly.

Answer

Source FC ID

Answer

D_ID

Answer

CS_CTL

Question 3

Based on the exhibited output, what can be concluded about the fabric?

Accepted Answer

The device with FCID 0x010003 is a loop-attached device.. The output shows that the device with FCID 0x010003 has an 'NLP' (Node Loop Port) state, which indicates it is attached to a loop (e.g., via an FL_Port). This is a key characteristic of a loop-attached device, as opposed to a point-to-point fabric-attached device. Therefore, option D is correct.

Answer

The fabric contains a domain ID conflict.

Answer

The device with FCID 0x010002 is a disk array.

Answer

There are three initiators and one target.

Question 4

Which TWO commands are used to verify Fibre Channel connectivity issues on a Cisco MDS switch? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

show interface fc . The 'show interface fc ' command displays detailed status, errors, and operational state of a specific Fibre Channel interface, which is essential for diagnosing physical or link-level connectivity issues on a Cisco MDS switch. Option E is correct because the 'show flogi database' command lists all N-port (host) logins registered with the fabric via the Fabric Login (FLOGI) process, verifying that end devices have successfully established a session with the switch and are visible in the Fibre Channel fabric.

Answer

show ip interface brief

Answer

show mac address-table

Answer

show vlan

Question 5

Which THREE factors should be considered when designing an FCoE SAN to avoid traffic loss? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Enable priority flow control (PFC) on all FCoE-enabled interfaces.. Priority Flow Control (PFC) is essential in an FCoE SAN because it provides a lossless Ethernet fabric by pausing traffic on a per-priority basis. Without PFC, standard Ethernet congestion mechanisms would drop FCoE frames, which violates the lossless requirement of Fibre Channel traffic. Enabling PFC on all FCoE-enabled interfaces ensures that buffer credits are managed correctly and no frames are discarded due to congestion.

Answer

Use standard Ethernet cut-through switching for all FCoE traffic.

Answer

Disable the FIP snooping feature to reduce latency.

Question 6

Which TWO statements about NPV configuration on a Cisco MDS switch are true? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

NPV mode is enabled globally with the 'npv enable' command.. NPV (N-Port Virtualization) mode is enabled globally on a Cisco MDS switch using the 'npv enable' command. This command places the entire switch into NPV mode, allowing it to function as an NPV proxy that forwards FLOGI requests from downstream F ports to the core Fibre Channel switch. NPV mode is not a per-VSAN configuration; it is a global switch-level setting.

Answer

The core switch must have NPV enabled as well.

Answer

All downstream interfaces must be F ports.

Answer

NPV mode is configured per VSAN.

Question 7

A storage administrator notices that a Fiber Channel link between a server and a Cisco MDS switch is flapping every few minutes. The server's HBA and the switch port are both configured for 16 Gbps. Which action is most likely to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Replace the SFP module on the switch port with a compatible Cisco SFP. The most likely cause of link flapping on a 16 Gbps Fiber Channel link is an incompatible or faulty SFP module. Cisco MDS switches require Cisco-qualified SFPs to ensure proper signal integrity and protocol negotiation; using a third-party or mismatched SFP can cause intermittent link drops. Replacing the SFP with a compatible Cisco SFP directly addresses the hardware compatibility issue that leads to flapping.

Answer

Increase the link timeout interval on the switch port

Answer

Configure the switch port speed to auto-negotiate

Answer

Change the admin state of the interface to shut and no shut

Question 8

An organization uses FCIP to extend their SAN between two data centers over a 100 Mbps WAN link with 80 ms latency. The storage traffic includes large sequential writes. Which statement best describes the benefit of enabling compression on the FCIP tunnel?

Accepted Answer

Compression improves effective throughput over the WAN link. Enabling compression on an FCIP tunnel reduces the amount of data transmitted over the WAN link by compressing FC frames before encapsulation. For large sequential writes, this directly improves effective throughput because more actual storage data can be sent within the same 100 Mbps bandwidth, compensating for the high latency and low bandwidth.

Answer

Compression reduces end-to-end latency

Answer

Compression is recommended only when the link has high packet loss

Answer

Compression eliminates the need for jumbo frames

Question 9

A network engineer is deploying FCoE in a top-of-rack design. Which statement about the required lossless Ethernet fabric is correct?

Accepted Answer

Priority Flow Control (PFC) must be enabled to create lossless CoS. FCoE requires a lossless Ethernet fabric to prevent frame drops, which would corrupt Fibre Channel traffic. Priority Flow Control (PFC), defined in IEEE 802.1Qbb, provides per-priority pause mechanisms to create lossless CoS (Class of Service) queues, ensuring no frames are lost due to congestion. Without PFC, standard Ethernet's best-effort delivery would cause frame drops, breaking FCoE's reliability.

Answer

Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX) automatically enables PFC when FCoE is configured

Answer

FCoE uses VLAN 1002 by default for all traffic

Answer

FCoE frames are limited to 1500 bytes to avoid fragmentation

Question 10

A company wants to consolidate multiple physically separate Fibre Channel SANs into one switch infrastructure while keeping each SAN's traffic isolated. Which technology best achieves this?

Accepted Answer

Virtual SANs (VSANs). VSANs (Virtual SANs) allow multiple physically separate Fibre Channel SANs to be consolidated onto a single switch infrastructure by creating isolated virtual fabrics. Each VSAN maintains its own fabric services, such as name server and zone server, ensuring traffic isolation without requiring separate physical switches or cabling.

Answer

Reduce the number of switches by using a single director

Answer

Use a single VSAN with extensive zoning

Answer

Deploy separate physical cabling for each SAN

Question 11

In a multipath Fibre Channel SAN, which component is responsible for selecting the active path for I/O operations?

Accepted Answer

The initiator (host HBA and multipath driver). In a multipath Fibre Channel SAN, the initiator (host HBA and multipath driver) is responsible for selecting the active path for I/O operations. The multipath driver, such as Cisco MDS N-Port Virtualization or native OS multipathing (e.g., Linux DM-Multipath), uses path selection policies (e.g., round-robin, least-queued, or active/passive) to choose the path for each I/O request. The storage target, switch, and fabric name server do not make per-I/O path decisions; they only provide connectivity or discovery services.

Answer

The storage target

Answer

The Fibre Channel switch

Answer

The fabric name server

Question 12

A Cisco MDS switch is configured with fabric binding to restrict which switches can join the fabric. A new switch is added, but it fails to establish an E-port connection. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The new switch's WWN is not included in the fabric binding configuration. Fabric binding on a Cisco MDS switch uses the fabric-binding database to enforce a whitelist of allowed switch WWNs. When a new switch attempts to bring up an E-port, the principal switch checks the new switch's WWN against this database. If the WWN is not present, the E-port is automatically isolated, preventing the switch from joining the fabric. This is the most direct cause of the failure described.

Answer

Incompatible SFP modules between the switches

Answer

Incorrect zoning configuration on the existing switch

Answer

The new switch has a higher priority than the principal switch

Question 13

Which THREE statements accurately describe FCIP (Fibre Channel over IP) configurations on Cisco MDS switches?

Accepted Answer

FCIP uses VE_port (Virtual E_port) interfaces to connect to the FC fabric. FCIP encapsulates Fibre Channel frames into IP packets and uses VE_ports (Virtual E_ports) to connect separate FC fabrics over an IP network. VE_ports behave like standard E_ports but operate over an FCIP tunnel, allowing Fibre Channel fabric services to extend across the IP link.

Answer

FCIP requires IPsec for security over public networks

Answer

FCIP compression reduces the latency of the IP transport

Question 14

A Fibre Channel switch port is experiencing a high number of CRC errors. Which action should be taken to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Replace the fiber optic cable between the switch and the storage device.. CRC errors in Fibre Channel typically indicate physical-layer issues such as damaged or dirty fiber optic cables, faulty connectors, or signal degradation. Replacing the cable directly addresses the most common root cause of CRC errors, which is physical-layer corruption of frames. Other options like reducing speed or adjusting buffer credits do not fix the underlying physical integrity problem.

Answer

Reduce the port speed to 2 Gbps.

Answer

Reconfigure the zone to include only the affected device.

Answer

Increase the buffer credits on the port.

Question 15

Which feature allows a single Fibre Channel port to log in with multiple N-port IDs, enabling a host to connect to multiple targets through one port?

Accepted Answer

NPIV. NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization) allows a single Fibre Channel N_Port to register multiple N_Port IDs (FCIDs) with the fabric. This enables a host with one physical port to appear as multiple virtual initiators, each connecting to different targets, which is essential for virtualized environments like VMware ESXi with multiple VMs requiring separate FC connections.

Answer

FCoE

Answer

VSAN

Answer

NPV