350-601 Storage Network Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An engineer needs to design a resilient Fibre Channel SAN that eliminates single points of failure between two MDS switches and a storage array with two controllers. What is the minimum number of FC port channels required to achieve this goal?

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

Accepted Answer

Two. To eliminate single points of failure between two MDS switches and a dual-controller storage array, you need two Fibre Channel port channels. Each port channel connects one MDS switch to both storage controllers, providing redundancy for both the switch and the controller paths. This design ensures that if one switch or one controller fails, the other port channel maintains connectivity.

Answer

Three

Answer

One

Answer

Four

Question 2

A company is deploying a multi-tenant environment with several virtualized hosts using NPIV. Each virtual machine requires its own WWPN. During testing, some VMs cannot log into the SAN. The MDS switch logs show 'FLOGI rejected: no available resources'. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The NPIV limit or the number of allowed logins has been exceeded on the upstream switch. The error 'FLOGI rejected: no available resources' on an MDS switch in an NPIV environment indicates that the switch has exhausted its allocated resources for handling fabric logins (FLOGIs) from N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) initiators. NPIV allows multiple virtual WWPNs to share a single physical FC port, but each virtual login consumes a login resource on the upstream switch. When the NPIV limit or the maximum number of allowed logins per interface or per VSAN is exceeded, the switch rejects new FLOGIs, preventing VMs from logging into the SAN.

Answer

The maximum FC frame size is set incorrectly on the switch

Answer

The VSAN maximum number of devices has been reached

Answer

The zone set is full and cannot accept more members

Question 3

A storage engineer is planning to migrate from an existing 2 Gbps Fibre Channel fabric to a new 16 Gbps fabric while maintaining connectivity during the cutover. The legacy and new switches are connected via ISL and use the same VSAN. What is a best practice to ensure a seamless migration?

Accepted Answer

Set the ISL port speed to 2 Gbps on both sides until the migration is complete. Setting the ISL port speed to 2 Gbps on both sides ensures that the new 16 Gbps switch negotiates down to the legacy fabric's speed, preventing buffer-to-buffer credit mismatches and frame corruption during the cutover. This allows both fabrics to operate at a common speed, maintaining stable connectivity until all devices are migrated and the ISL speed can be safely increased.

Answer

Assign the new switches to a separate VSAN to prevent mixing

Answer

Use a dedicated ISL for the migration and move zones gradually

Answer

Disable zoning on both fabrics and re-apply after migration

Question 4

During an FCoE deployment, the server team reports that hosts can reach the storage array but performance is intermittent with periodic timeouts. The network team sees no errors on the FCoE VLAN. The DCB configuration on the upstream switch shows that PFC is enabled for CoS 3. What should the engineer check next?

Accepted Answer

Check if the PFC configuration matches on both ends and that PFC is enabled on the FCoE VLAN interfaces. D is correct because PFC (Priority Flow Control) must be consistently configured on both ends of an FCoE link to prevent frame loss. If PFC is enabled for CoS 3 on the upstream switch but not on the server's vNIC or the FCoE VLAN interfaces, the lack of lossless behavior causes intermittent timeouts and performance degradation, even if the FCoE VLAN shows no errors.

Answer

Verify that jumbo frames are enabled on the storage array

Answer

Confirm that the VSAN is appropriately sized for the number of hosts

Answer

Ensure that the FCoE VLAN is enabled for FCoE on the server's vNIC

Question 5

A company is deploying a new storage array with dual controllers. Each controller has two 16 Gbps Fibre Channel ports. The engineer wants to connect each controller to two separate MDS switches for redundancy. What is the recommended port type configuration on the MDS switches for the storage-facing ports?

Accepted Answer

F port. A is correct because an F port (Fabric port) is the standard port type on an MDS switch for connecting to an N_port (Node port) on a storage array's Fibre Channel controller. Since each controller has two 16 Gbps FC ports and each connects to a separate MDS switch for redundancy, the switch-facing ports must operate as F ports to establish a point-to-point link with the array's N_ports, enabling fabric services and proper zoning.

Answer

Configure the port as auto to allow negotiation

Answer

NP port

Answer

E port

Question 6

Which TWO of the following Fibre Channel port types are used to connect end devices such as hosts or storage?

Accepted Answer

N port. (N port) is correct because an N_port (Node port) is the Fibre Channel port type used on end devices such as hosts (HBAs) or storage controllers to connect to a Fibre Channel switch. Option D (F port) is correct because an F_port (Fabric port) is the switch-side port that connects to an N_port, forming a point-to-point link between the end device and the fabric. Together, N_port and F_port enable standard fabric login (FLOGI) and frame exchange.

Answer

FL port

Answer

E port

Answer

NP port

Question 7

Which THREE of the following are required for a successful FCoE deployment on a Cisco MDS switch?

Accepted Answer

Enable the FCoE feature globally. The FCoE feature must be enabled globally on the Cisco MDS switch using the 'feature fcoe' command. This activates the FCoE protocol stack and allows the switch to process FCoE frames, which is a prerequisite for any FCoE deployment.

Answer

Enable FIP snooping on the FCoE VLAN

Answer

Set the MTU to 9216 bytes on all FCoE interfaces

Question 8

Which THREE of the following are best practices for Fibre Channel zoning on Cisco MDS switches?

Accepted Answer

Make zones as specific as possible, avoiding device inclusion across multiple zones unnecessarily. Options A, B, and D are best practices for Fibre Channel zoning on Cisco MDS switches. A: Making zones as specific as possible reduces unnecessary exposure and simplifies management. B: WWPN-based zoning is preferred over port-based zoning because it allows device mobility without reconfiguration. D: Hard zoning provides hardware-level enforcement via access control lists, offering stronger security than soft zoning. Option C is incorrect because while activating the zone set is necessary, the correct command is 'activate zoneset' not 'zone activate', and it is a procedural step rather than a best practice.

Answer

Always activate the zone set using the 'zone activate' command in configuration mode

Answer

Use soft zoning with name server response filtering

Question 9

Refer to the exhibit. A server connected to interface fc1/3 on the MDS switch cannot log in to the fabric. The server's HBA WWPN is 10:00:00:00:c9:2b:1a:62. What is the most likely reason for the login failure?

Accepted Answer

Interface fc1/3 is not assigned to VSAN 100. Interface fc1/3 is not assigned to VSAN 100, as shown in the exhibit (the interface is in VSAN 1 by default or another VSAN). Without being in the correct VSAN, the server's FLOGI (Fabric Login) request is processed in the wrong VSAN context, preventing it from logging into the fabric and accessing the intended storage targets. Assigning the interface to the correct VSAN is mandatory for successful fabric login.

Answer

NPIV is disabled on the port

Answer

The server's WWPN is not in the active zone set

Answer

The link speed is mismatched between switch and HBA

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. A server with WWPN 10:00:00:00:c9:2b:1a:5f is zoned to two storage ports in zone Server1_Storage1 and to one storage port in zone Server1_Storage2. The server can access the LUNs through the first zone but not through the second. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The second zone does not include the second storage controller's port. The server can access LUNs through zone Server1_Storage1 because both storage ports in that zone are from the same storage controller or are properly configured for multipathing. However, zone Server1_Storage2 contains only one storage port (20:00:00:00:c9:2b:1a:6c), and if that port belongs to a different storage controller that is not zoned with the server's WWPN correctly, or if the second storage controller's port is missing from the zone, the server cannot discover or access LUNs through that path. In Fibre Channel zoning, each zone must include the initiator and at least one target port from the storage controller that owns the LUNs; if the second zone omits the required storage controller port, access fails.

Answer

The storage port 20:00:00:00:c9:2b:1a:6c is in a different VSAN

Answer

The zone set has not been activated

Answer

The server is not allowed to be in multiple zones

Question 11

Refer to the exhibit. An engineer is troubleshooting poor FCoE performance. The exhibit shows output from the FCoE interface. Which observation indicates a potential issue?

Accepted Answer

PFC frames received is high compared to PFC frames sent. A high count of PFC frames received compared to PFC frames sent indicates that the local interface is receiving many pause frames from the peer, which suggests the peer is experiencing congestion and is forcing the local interface to pause its transmission. This asymmetry is a classic symptom of a buffer congestion or credit starvation issue in the FCoE SAN fabric, leading to poor FCoE performance.

Answer

The CRC error count is zero

Answer

Data frames are 1500 bytes, which is too small for FCoE

Answer

The admin port mode is F instead of NP

Question 12

An engineer notices that the LED of an FC interface is off on a Cisco MDS switch. The interface is up/up. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The link is up but the LED is disabled in software configuration.. On Cisco MDS switches, the interface LED can be administratively disabled via the `no led` command in interface configuration mode, even when the interface is fully operational (up/up). This allows operators to selectively turn off LEDs for troubleshooting or to reduce visual noise in a data center, without affecting traffic. The LED being off while the interface shows up/up directly points to this software-based LED disablement.

Answer

The port LED firmware is corrupted.

Answer

The interface is administratively down.

Answer

The SFP is faulty.

Question 13

A storage administrator needs to configure zoning while minimizing administrative overhead and allowing multiple initiators to access multiple targets without having to change zones when new members are added. Which zoning approach is best?

Accepted Answer

Zoning by naming using a zone alias for initiators and another for targets. Zoning by name using zone aliases decouples the zone configuration from the physical port or WWN, allowing administrators to group initiators and targets into separate aliases. When new members are added to an alias, the zone automatically includes them without manual zone reconfiguration, minimizing administrative overhead while supporting multiple initiators and multiple targets.

Answer

Multiple initiator-multiple target zoning (all devices in one zone)

Answer

Single initiator-single target zoning

Answer

Single initiator-multiple target zoning (initiator-based)

Question 14

A Cisco MDS switch is configured as an NPV switch to connect to a core switch. Which statement about NPV operation is true?

Accepted Answer

The NPV switch uses FDISC to register multiple N-Port IDs from a single physical link.. In N_Port Virtualization (NPV) mode, a Cisco MDS switch acts as a passthrough device that aggregates multiple end-device N_Ports onto a single uplink to a core Fibre Channel switch. The NPV switch uses the Fabric Discovery (FDISC) protocol to register multiple N_Port IDs (NPIV) from a single physical link, allowing each end device to obtain its own FC ID from the core switch. This is correct because NPV does not assign FC IDs itself but relies on the core switch for fabric login and address assignment.

Answer

The NPV switch allocates FC IDs to end devices from its own pool.

Answer

The NPV switch requires at least one VSAN to be defined as a fabric VSAN.

Answer

The NPV switch performs fabric login (FLOGI) on behalf of all attached end devices.

Question 15

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.