350-601 Storage Network Practice Test 19 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which Fibre Channel address component identifies a specific port on a node?

Accepted Answer

WWPN. The World Wide Port Name (WWPN) is a 64-bit identifier assigned to each Fibre Channel port on a node, uniquely identifying that specific port in the fabric. The WWNN identifies the node itself, while the WWPN identifies the individual port, making WWPN the correct answer for 'a specific port on a node.'

Answer

WWNN

Answer

FCID

Answer

WWN

Question 2

An organization's storage network uses RAID-10 for critical databases. The storage array has 12 disks. How many disks can fail simultaneously without data loss, assuming the worst-case scenario?

Accepted Answer

6. RAID-10 mirrors data across pairs of disks and then stripes across those mirrored pairs. With 12 disks, you have 6 mirror pairs. In the worst-case scenario, you can lose one disk from each mirror pair — 6 disks total — without data loss, because each pair still retains one intact copy.

Answer

11

Answer

2

Answer

1

Question 3

Which FCoE port type is analogous to an N-port in traditional Fibre Channel and connects to a VF-port on an FCoE switch?

Accepted Answer

VN-port. The VN-port (Virtual N-port) is the FCoE equivalent of a traditional Fibre Channel N-port. It represents the virtual endpoint on an ENode (FCoE node) that connects to a VF-port on an FCoE switch, carrying FCoE traffic over Ethernet. This mapping preserves the FC model where N-ports attach to F-ports, but in FCoE the switch side is a VF-port.

Answer

VF-port

Answer

VE-port

Answer

NP-port

Question 4

An engineer is implementing storage virtualization with thin provisioning on a Pure Storage array. Which three benefits does thin provisioning provide? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Ability to over-allocate storage. Thin provisioning on a Pure Storage array lets the engineer present more logical capacity to hosts than physically exists, which is exactly the ability to over-allocate storage (A), since space is consumed only as writes occur. Because physical capacity can be purchased incrementally rather than sized for worst-case growth, it reduces upfront capacity cost (B). By avoiding stranded, pre-allocated but unused space, thin provisioning increases storage utilization (D), allowing the array to serve more workloads from the same physical footprint. Option C is incorrect because snapshot management is a separate data-protection feature (Pure's Purity snapshots and SafeMode) and is not a benefit of thin provisioning itself. Option E is incorrect because performance isolation is delivered through QoS mechanisms and volume/network design, not through thin provisioning, which concerns capacity allocation only.

Answer

Simplified snapshot management

Answer

Guaranteed performance isolation

Question 5

An administrator is configuring a Cisco MDS switch for FCoE. Which two DCB features must be enabled to support FCoE traffic? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX). For FCoE on a Cisco MDS switch, DCBX (Option C) must be enabled because it is the discovery and negotiation protocol that exchanges DCB capabilities and configuration—such as PFC and ETS parameters—between the switch and converged network adapters, ensuring consistent per-priority settings. Priority Flow Control (PFC, Option D) is also required because FCoE is a lossless storage protocol; PFC provides per-priority PAUSE so that FCoE traffic (typically CoS 3) can be paused independently without halting other traffic, preventing frame drops. Jumbo frames (Option A) are often recommended for FCoE efficiency but are not a required DCB feature, LACP (Option B) is a link-aggregation protocol unrelated to DCB lossless requirements, and ETS (Option E) provides bandwidth allocation among traffic classes but is not one of the two mandatory DCB features for basic FCoE support.

Answer

Jumbo frames

Answer

Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)

Answer

Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS)

Question 6

A storage administrator is configuring zoning on a Cisco MDS switch. They need to ensure that only the specified WWPNs can communicate, even if a device is moved to a different physical port. Which zoning method should be used?

Accepted Answer

Hard zoning by WWPN. Hard zoning by WWPN enforces access control at the hardware level using the Fibre Channel world-wide port name, which is a unique identifier burned into the device's HBA. Because the zone membership is tied to the WWPN rather than the physical switch port, the device retains its zone permissions even if it is moved to a different port. This satisfies the requirement that only specified WWPNs can communicate regardless of physical location.

Answer

Broadcast zoning

Answer

LUN zoning

Answer

Soft zoning by port ID

Question 7

An engineer is configuring a Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) deployment. The network must ensure lossless transport for FCoE traffic. Which Data Center Bridging (DCB) feature must be enabled to provide no-drop service for FCoE frames?

Accepted Answer

Priority Flow Control (PFC). Priority Flow Control (PFC) is the DCB feature that provides no-drop, lossless service for FCoE frames by pausing specific priority classes (CoS) when congestion occurs. FCoE requires a lossless Ethernet fabric because Fibre Channel assumes reliable delivery; PFC uses IEEE 802.1Qbb pause frames per priority to prevent buffer overflow and frame drops. Enabling PFC on the FCoE VLAN/priority is mandatory for lossless FCoE transport.

Answer

Jumbo frames

Answer

Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS)

Answer

Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX)

Question 8

A storage administrator is setting up iSCSI connectivity between a server and a storage array. To enhance security, the administrator wants to authenticate the initiator and target during the login process. Which authentication method should be configured?

Accepted Answer

CHAP. CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) is used to authenticate iSCSI initiators and targets during the login process. It provides mutual authentication using a shared secret. CHAP is the standard method for iSCSI authentication.

Answer

IPsec

Answer

RADIUS

Answer

Kerberos

Question 9

A data center team is configuring a Cisco MDS switch to support multiple isolated SAN environments on the same physical infrastructure. They need to create separate fabrics that are completely isolated at Layer 2. Which technology should be used?

Accepted Answer

VSANs. VSANs (Virtual SANs) allow multiple isolated fabrics to share the same physical Fibre Channel infrastructure by partitioning the switch into separate logical switches, each with its own fabric services, zoning, and domain ID. This provides Layer 2 isolation between SAN environments, which is exactly what the team needs. VSANs are a Cisco MDS-specific feature and are the correct technology for fabric isolation.

Answer

NPV

Answer

Zoning

Answer

PortChannels

Question 10

A storage administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue between a server and a storage array over Fibre Channel. The server is connected to an NPV edge switch, which uplinks to a core switch. The server's WWPN is registered in the zone, but the server cannot see the target. The administrator notices that the core switch does not see the server's WWPN in its FC name server database. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The NPV edge switch does not register host WWPNs in the core fabric's name server; only the NP-port WWPN is registered. In NPV mode, the edge switch does not register the host WWPNs in the core fabric's name server; only the NP-port's WWPN is registered. Therefore, the core switch's name server will not show the server's WWPN, even though the server is zoned. This is expected behavior in NPV, and the server can still communicate with the target if zoning is correct on the core. The issue is likely a misunderstanding of NPV's registration behavior.

Answer

The host is using an incorrect FCID

Answer

The VSAN mismatch between edge and core switches

Answer

The zone set is not activated on the edge switch

Question 11

A storage administrator is configuring a new storage array that supports thin provisioning. The array reports 10 TB of physical storage and 50 TB of thin-provisioned logical capacity. Which risk is most important to monitor to avoid out-of-space conditions?

Accepted Answer

The rate of physical capacity consumption and remaining free space. With thin provisioning, the array presents more logical capacity (50 TB) than physical capacity (10 TB), relying on actual consumption staying below physical limits. The critical risk is that physical capacity is exhausted before administrators can add storage, causing write failures and potential data loss. Monitoring the rate of physical capacity consumption and remaining free space is therefore the most important safeguard.

Answer

High latency on the Fibre Channel links

Answer

The number of snapshots taken

Answer

The replication status

Question 12

An engineer is configuring iSCSI multipath I/O (MPIO) on a Windows server connected to a storage array. The goal is to provide load balancing and failover. What must be configured on the storage side to support MPIO?

Accepted Answer

Multiple iSCSI target IP addresses presenting the same LUN. To support MPIO, the storage array must present the same LUN through multiple iSCSI target IP addresses (or portals). This allows the initiator to establish multiple paths to the same LUN, enabling load balancing and failover.

Answer

Jumbo frames

Answer

CHAP authentication

Answer

Thin provisioning

Question 13

A data center team is planning a Fibre Channel fabric with multiple Cisco MDS switches. They want to ensure that all switches share the same configuration and that zone changes are propagated automatically. Which feature should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Cisco Fabric Services (CFS). Cisco Fabric Services (CFS) is the Cisco MDS distributed configuration service that replicates configuration and zone changes across all switches in the fabric automatically. When CFS is enabled and a fabric-wide distribution is triggered (e.g., via zone commit), the change is propagated to every participating switch, ensuring consistent configuration. This directly satisfies the requirement for shared configuration and automatic zone propagation.

Answer

NPV mode

Answer

Fibre Channel Security Protocol (FC-SP)

Answer

VSAN trunking (EISL)

Question 14

A storage administrator is implementing synchronous replication between two storage arrays over a Fibre Channel link. Which three characteristics are true of synchronous replication? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

It requires a high-bandwidth, low-latency link between the arrays.. Option B is correct because synchronous replication must complete the write on both arrays before acknowledging the host, so the inter-array link needs sufficient bandwidth and very low latency (typically limited to distances where round-trip latency stays within the application's tolerance, often tens of kilometers over Fibre Channel). Option C is correct because in synchronous replication the host write I/O is only acknowledged after the data is committed to both the primary and secondary arrays, guaranteeing the secondary copy is identical at the moment of acknowledgment. Option D is correct because that dual-commit behavior means no data acknowledged to the host can be lost in a failover, yielding an RPO of essentially zero (the lowest possible). Option A is not correct because long-distance replication over hundreds of kilometers introduces latency that makes synchronous writes impractical; that scenario is served by asynchronous replication. Option E is not correct because synchronous replication generally consumes more bandwidth and is more latency-sensitive than asynchronous replication, which batches and sends writes without waiting for remote acknowledgment.

Answer

It is suitable for long-distance replication over hundreds of kilometers.

Answer

It uses less bandwidth than asynchronous replication.

Question 15

A storage administrator connects a host to an MDS switch via Fibre Channel. The host has an HBA with WWPN 21:00:00:1b:32:12:34:56. Which port type does the MDS switch automatically configure on the interface connecting to the host?

Accepted Answer

F-port. When a host HBA (N-port) connects to an MDS switch, the switch port automatically configures itself as an F-port (Fabric port) to serve the N-port. F-ports provide fabric services (name server, login, zoning) to attached node ports. This is the standard SAN topology: N-port on the host, F-port on the switch.

Answer

Trunk port

Answer

NP-port

Answer

E-port