350-601 Storage Network Practice Test 18 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which Fibre Channel addressing component identifies a specific port on a host or storage device uniquely in the fabric?

Accepted Answer

WWPN. The World Wide Port Name (WWPN) is a unique 64-bit identifier assigned to each Fibre Channel port on a host bus adapter or storage device. It is used in zoning and LUN masking to identify specific ports in the fabric. The question asks for the component that identifies a specific port uniquely, which is the WWPN.

Answer

WWNN

Answer

VSAN ID

Answer

FCID

Question 2

An engineer needs to connect a Cisco MDS switch to a core Fibre Channel fabric using NPV mode. What port type will the edge switch's uplink ports assume in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

NP-port. In NPV (N_Port Virtualization) mode, the edge switch's uplink ports to the core fabric operate as NP-ports. An NP-port acts as both an N-port (to the core switch) and a proxy for the hosts connected to the edge switch, allowing the edge switch to appear as a single N-port to the core. This enables the edge switch to connect to the core without consuming multiple domain IDs.

Answer

N-port

Answer

E-port

Answer

F-port

Question 3

A storage administrator configures zoning on a Cisco MDS switch. The requirement is to prevent any changes to the zone set from taking effect unless explicitly activated. Which configuration is correct?

Accepted Answer

Create zones, add them to the zone set, then activate the zone set.. In Cisco MDS zoning, changes to the zone set do not take effect until the zone set is explicitly activated. The correct process is to create zones, add them to a zone set, and then activate that zone set. This ensures that the new configuration is applied to the fabric only when intended, preventing unintended changes.

Answer

Create zones and directly add them to the database; activation is automatic.

Answer

Create zones and add them to the active zone set; deactivate the zone set to apply changes.

Answer

Create zones and add them to the full zone set; the switch automatically activates changes.

Question 4

Which of the following is a requirement for iSCSI storage connectivity to support jumbo frames?

Accepted Answer

Configure MTU 9000 on all involved interfaces. Jumbo frames require an end-to-end MTU of 9000 bytes on all interfaces in the path, including the iSCSI initiator, target, and every switch port in between. If any device in the path uses the default 1500-byte MTU, large frames will be fragmented or dropped, defeating the purpose of jumbo frames. Therefore, configuring MTU 9000 on all involved interfaces is the fundamental requirement.

Answer

Enable PFC on the switch

Answer

Enable MPIO

Answer

Use CHAP authentication

Question 5

What is the purpose of FIP (FCoE Initialization Protocol) in an FCoE network?

Accepted Answer

To discover FCoE-capable devices and establish virtual links. FIP is used to discover and initialize FCoE devices and establish virtual links before FCoE data frames can be sent.

Answer

To provide flow control for FCoE traffic

Answer

To negotiate DCB parameters

Answer

To encapsulate FC frames into Ethernet frames

Question 6

A Cisco MDS switch has multiple Fibre Channel interfaces that need to be aggregated into a single logical interface to increase bandwidth and provide redundancy. Which technology should be used?

Accepted Answer

PortChannel. PortChannel (also called SAN port channel) aggregates multiple physical Fibre Channel interfaces into one logical interface on Cisco MDS switches, providing increased aggregate bandwidth and link-level redundancy. If a member link fails, traffic continues over the remaining links, and the fabric sees a single logical ISL, avoiding unnecessary reconvergence. This is the standard MDS mechanism for FC link aggregation, configured with the 'interface port-channel' and 'channel-group' commands.

Answer

VSAN load balancing

Answer

NPV mode

Answer

EISL trunking

Question 7

Which type of zoning uses the World Wide Port Name (WWPN) to define zone members, providing better security because WWPNs are globally unique?

Accepted Answer

Hard zoning by WWPN. Hard zoning by WWPN defines zone members using the globally unique World Wide Port Name, and it is enforced in hardware by the ASIC, making it more secure than soft zoning. Because WWPNs are unique, spoofing is harder and access control is stricter. Soft zoning by port, VSAN-based zoning, and LUN masking do not match the description.

Answer

Soft zoning by port

Answer

VSAN-based zoning

Answer

LUN masking

Question 8

An engineer is deploying iSCSI storage in a data center. Which two features should be configured to improve performance and redundancy? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Jumbo frames (MTU 9000). Jumbo frames (MTU 9000) (A) is correct because increasing the MTU on the iSCSI initiator, target, and every intervening switch port reduces per-packet header processing overhead and interrupts, raising throughput for large block I/O. MPIO (E) is correct because multipathing provides multiple redundant paths between initiator and target, enabling failover if a NIC, switch, or cable fails and allowing load balancing across paths for better performance. VSAN (B) is incorrect because it is a Fibre Channel fabric partitioning concept, not an iSCSI feature. CHAP authentication (C) is incorrect because it is a security mechanism for authenticating initiators, not a performance or redundancy feature. FCoE (D) is incorrect because Fibre Channel over Ethernet is a separate storage protocol that encapsulates FC frames, not an enhancement to an iSCSI deployment.

Answer

VSAN

Answer

CHAP authentication

Answer

FCoE

Question 9

A storage architect is designing a disaster recovery solution with a storage array supporting replication. Which three factors should be considered when choosing between synchronous and asynchronous replication? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Network bandwidth availability. Option B (Network bandwidth availability) is correct because asynchronous replication depends on sufficient WAN bandwidth to ship changed blocks or writes to the remote site without falling behind, and insufficient bandwidth directly increases lag and RPO risk. Option D (Distance between sites) is correct because synchronous replication requires round-trip latency low enough (typically within a few milliseconds, often limited to metropolitan distances) to avoid degrading application performance, while asynchronous replication tolerates long-distance links. Option E (Recovery Point Objective requirements) is correct because RPO dictates how much data loss is acceptable: synchronous replication offers near-zero RPO, whereas asynchronous replication inherently exposes a nonzero RPO based on replication lag. Option A (Fibre Channel zoning configuration) is not a deciding factor between sync and async replication, since zoning is a SAN fabric access-control mechanism that applies regardless of replication mode. Option C (Storage array RAID level) is also not a deciding factor, because RAID level affects local redundancy and performance within each array, not the choice of inter-site replication mode.

Answer

Fibre Channel zoning configuration

Answer

Storage array RAID level

Question 10

A Cisco MDS switch is being configured for FCoE. Which three DCB components are required for lossless Ethernet operation? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

DCBX (Data Center Bridging Exchange). DCBX (Data Center Bridging Exchange) is correct because it is the negotiation protocol that advertises and exchanges DCB capabilities such as PFC and ETS between directly connected FCoE peers, ensuring consistent lossless Ethernet parameters. PFC (Priority Flow Control) is correct because it provides per-priority PAUSE frames (IEEE 802.1Qbb) so that a congested priority class can be paused without halting all traffic, which is essential for lossless FCoE frames. ETS (Enhanced Transmission Selection) is correct because it allocates guaranteed bandwidth per traffic class (IEEE 802.1Qaz) and prevents one class from starving another, supporting the lossless behavior FCoE requires. FIP (FCoE Initialization Protocol) is not a DCB component; it is the FCoE control protocol used for discovery, login, and fabric establishment, not for lossless Ethernet. iSCSI is a separate SCSI-over-TCP/IP storage protocol and has no role in DCB or FCoE lossless Ethernet operation.

Answer

FIP (FCoE Initialization Protocol)

Answer

iSCSI

Question 11

An engineer is deploying FCoE in a data center and must ensure lossless transport for Fibre Channel traffic over Ethernet. The engineer configures Priority Flow Control (PFC) on the DCB-enabled switches. However, FCoE initialization fails. Which additional DCB feature is required to enable FCoE devices to discover and negotiate PFC settings with the switch?

Accepted Answer

DCBX (Data Center Bridging Exchange). DCBX (Data Center Bridging Exchange) is a protocol that enables DCB devices to exchange configuration information, including PFC settings, and to negotiate parameters. Without DCBX, FCoE initiators cannot discover the switch's PFC configuration, leading to initialization failure. DCBX is built on LLDP and is essential for automatic configuration of PFC, ETS, and other DCB features.

Answer

CN (Congestion Notification)

Answer

ETS (Enhanced Transmission Selection)

Answer

QoS (Quality of Service)

Question 12

A Cisco MDS switch is configured with a VSAN and the administrator needs to assign a Fibre Channel port to this VSAN. Which command should be used in interface configuration mode to assign the port to VSAN 10?

Accepted Answer

switchport vsan 10. On Cisco MDS switches, to assign a Fibre Channel interface to a VSAN, you enter interface configuration mode and use the command 'switchport vsan <vsan-id>'. This command sets the VSAN membership for that port. The 'vsan database' command is used in global configuration mode to create VSANs and assign interfaces, but the question specifies interface configuration mode.

Answer

vsan database vsan 10

Answer

switchport mode vsan 10

Answer

vsan 10

Question 13

An engineer is designing a Fibre Channel fabric with two Cisco MDS switches for redundancy. The switches are connected via two ISLs. The engineer wants to aggregate the ISLs for higher throughput and load balancing. Which feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

PortChannel. PortChannel (also known as Port Channel or EtherChannel) is used to aggregate multiple ISLs between Cisco MDS switches into a single logical link, providing higher throughput and load balancing. This is the standard feature for link aggregation in Fibre Channel fabrics.

Answer

EISL trunking

Answer

VSAN load balancing

Answer

NPV mode

Question 14

A storage array supports both synchronous and asynchronous replication. The application requires zero data loss in case of a site failure. Which replication type should be chosen?

Accepted Answer

Synchronous replication. Synchronous replication writes data to the primary and secondary storage before acknowledging the write, ensuring zero data loss (RPO=0). Asynchronous replication may have some lag.

Answer

Asynchronous replication

Answer

Thin provisioning

Answer

Snapshot-based replication

Question 15

An engineer is configuring iSCSI CHAP authentication between an initiator and a target. The initiator has a CHAP username and secret configured. What must be configured on the target?

Accepted Answer

The same username and secret as the initiator.. For iSCSI CHAP authentication to succeed, the target must be configured with the same CHAP username and secret that the initiator uses (or, in mutual CHAP, matching credentials in both directions). The target validates the initiator's CHAP response using the shared secret, so the credentials must match.

Answer

A different username and secret.

Answer

No CHAP configuration is needed on the target.

Answer

Only the secret, no username.