350-601 Storage Network Practice Test 8 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An organization is deploying a new Fibre Channel SAN with Cisco MDS switches. The design requires high availability and load sharing over multiple ISLs. Which three features should be implemented? (Choose three.)

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

Accepted Answer

Fibre Channel PortChannels. Option B, Fibre Channel PortChannels, is correct because bundling multiple physical ISLs into a single logical PortChannel link provides link redundancy and distributes traffic across the member links, delivering the required high availability and load sharing between MDS switches. Option C, multiple equal-cost paths via FSPF, is correct because FSPF (Fabric Shortest Path First) computes and installs multiple equal-cost routes across parallel ISLs, allowing the fabric to load-balance traffic and fail over to an alternate path if one ISL goes down. Option E, VSAN trunking (EISL), is correct because an EISL (Enhanced ISL) carries multiple VSANs over a single ISL, which is essential for extending VSANs across the MDS switches while preserving fabric isolation and enabling efficient use of the interswitch links in a highly available design. Option A, NPIV, is not required here because NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization) is used to allow a single physical HBA port to register multiple virtual WWNs with the fabric, which addresses host virtualization rather than ISL redundancy or load sharing. Option D, hard zoning by WWPN, is not required because zoning controls which devices may communicate within a VSAN and does not provide ISL high availability or load sharing.

Answer

NPIV

Answer

Hard zoning by WWPN

Question 2

A NetApp storage array is configured for synchronous replication between two data centers. The round-trip latency is 2 ms. Which RAID type provides the best balance of capacity efficiency and protection for the primary storage volumes that are replicated?

Accepted Answer

RAID-10. RAID-10 provides the best balance of capacity efficiency and protection for primary storage volumes in a synchronous replication scenario because it offers high performance and fault tolerance through mirroring and striping. It can tolerate multiple drive failures (as long as they are not mirrored pairs) and provides excellent write performance, which is critical for synchronous replication with low latency.

Answer

RAID-5

Answer

RAID-6

Answer

RAID-0

Question 3

An administrator is configuring zoning on a Cisco MDS switch to ensure that two servers can only communicate with their assigned storage arrays. Which three statements about Fibre Channel zoning are correct? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Zoning is configured within a VSAN.. Option A is correct because Fibre Channel zoning is always scoped to a VSAN; zones and zone sets exist within a specific VSAN, and devices in different VSANs cannot be zoned together. Option C is correct because hard zoning enforced by the MDS using WWN-based filtering in the hardware (TCAM) permits only the specific WWNs listed in the zone to communicate, providing true access control. Option E is correct because a zone is simply a logical grouping of members and can contain both initiators (servers/HBAs) and targets (storage arrays), which is exactly how server-to-array communication is permitted. Option B is wrong because only the full zone set or the active zone set can be activated; individual zones within an active zone set cannot be edited directly—changes are made in the full zone set and then activated. Option D is wrong because soft zoning relies on name server queries and does not enforce traffic filtering in hardware, making it less secure than hard zoning, not more.

Answer

Only active zone sets can be modified.

Answer

Soft zoning based on port numbers is more secure than hard zoning.

Question 4

A network administrator is configuring iSCSI multipath I/O (MPIO) for a storage array. Which two conditions are required for MPIO to operate correctly? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The storage array must be configured with multiple target portals (IP addresses).. Option A is correct because iSCSI MPIO requires the storage array to expose multiple target portals—distinct IP addresses (and typically distinct TCP port 3260 listeners) on the target—so the initiator has more than one independent path to log into and load-balance or fail over across. Option C is correct because the initiator needs multiple network interfaces (NICs, HBAs, or VLAN-tagged interfaces) on separate subnets so that each path traverses a different network route to a different target portal, giving true path redundancy rather than a single shared link. Option B is wrong because a single target IP address provides only one path, defeating the purpose of MPIO. Option D is wrong because CHAP is an optional authentication mechanism and is not required for MPIO to function. Option E is wrong because jumbo frames are a performance tuning option and are not a prerequisite for MPIO operation.

Answer

The target must present a single IP address for all paths.

Answer

The initiator and target must use CHAP authentication.

Answer

Jumbo frames must be enabled on all switches.

Question 5

A Cisco MDS switch is configured with an ISL trunk between two switches. The administrator wants to enable multiple VSANs over the same physical link. Which two actions must be taken? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Enable VSAN trunking on the port.. Option D is correct because VSAN trunking must be explicitly enabled on the ISL port with the 'switchport trunk allowed vsan' or 'trunk vsan' configuration so that multiple VSAN traffic can traverse the single physical link. Option E is correct because the ISL port must be placed into trunk mode (E-port trunking) using the 'switchport mode trunk' command, which allows the port to carry tagged frames for multiple VSANs. Together, enabling VSAN trunking and configuring the port in trunk mode are the two required actions to run multiple VSANs over one ISL. Option A is not required because a PortChannel is only needed for link aggregation or bundling multiple physical links, not for carrying multiple VSANs over a single ISL. Option B is incorrect because an ISL between two switches must be an E-port (expansion port), not an F-port (fabric port used for node connections). Option C is incorrect because NPV mode is used to connect a switch as a host to an upstream NPIV core switch, which is unrelated to trunking multiple VSANs over an ISL.

Answer

Create a PortChannel for the ISL.

Answer

Configure the ISL port as an F-port.

Answer

Configure the port in NPV mode.

Question 6

A Cisco MDS 9000 switch is configured as an NPV core switch and connects to an upstream NPIV core switch. After applying the NPV configuration, the downstream devices fail to log in to the fabric. The administrator verifies that the NPIV feature is enabled on the upstream switch and that the interfaces are up. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The NPV core switch does not have the NPIV feature enabled.. For NPV to function, the NPV core switch must have the NPIV feature enabled. This allows the upstream switch to perform FLOGI on behalf of the NPV core switch, which then proxies logins for downstream devices. Without NPIV, the NPV core switch cannot act as a proxy and logins fail. The other options, while potentially relevant in other scenarios, do not address the specific requirement of NPIV on the NPV core switch.

Answer

The upstream NPIV core switch is not configured with the correct VSAN membership for the NPV core switch interfaces.

Answer

The downstream devices are not configured with the correct port world wide name (pWWN) in the zoning configuration.

Answer

The NPV core switch must be configured with a static domain ID before NPV can operate.

Question 7

A storage administrator is deploying a new Cisco MDS 9700 Series switch in a core-edge Fibre Channel fabric. The fabric requires deterministic, hard zoning enforcement at the hardware level because a security audit mandates that no unauthorized device can communicate even if soft zoning is misconfigured. Which zoning type should be configured to meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Hard zoning using FC ID-based zone members. Hard zoning with FC ID-based members programs the port ASICs to enforce zone membership in hardware, providing deterministic isolation even if soft zoning is bypassed. Soft zoning, regardless of member type, only uses name server filtering and can be circumvented. WWN-based members cannot be used for hard zoning because they require name server resolution.

Answer

Soft zoning using FC ID-based zone members

Answer

Hard zoning using WWN-based zone members

Answer

Soft zoning using WWN-based zone sets

Question 8

A storage administrator is configuring a new Cisco MDS 9000 switch in an existing VSAN. The switch must be able to forward frames between an F_port and an E_port. Which port type is required on the MDS switch?

Accepted Answer

E_port. To connect a new switch to an existing Fibre Channel fabric, an expansion port (E_port) is required on the inter-switch link. This port type allows the switch to join the fabric and forward frames between fabric ports and other switches. The other port types serve different roles, such as connecting nodes or trunking multiple VSANs, and do not fulfill the requirement.

Answer

TE_port

Answer

F_port

Answer

NP_port

Question 9

A storage administrator is configuring a Cisco MDS 9000 switch to connect to a tape library that requires multiple concurrent initiator sessions. The tape library uses a single target port but needs to present multiple logical units (LUNs) to different initiators. Which feature should be enabled to allow multiple initiators to access the same target port while maintaining separate sessions?

Accepted Answer

NPIV. NPIV enables a single physical port to register multiple N_Port IDs, allowing multiple initiators to establish separate sessions through the same target port. This is particularly useful for tape libraries that need to present multiple LUNs to different hosts. The other features do not provide this capability: IVR NAT is for inter-VSAN routing, PortChannel is for link aggregation, and Fabric Binding is for fabric security.

Answer

PortChannel

Answer

Fabric Binding

Answer

IVR NAT

Question 10

A storage engineer is configuring a Cisco MDS 9000 switch for a new SAN fabric. The engineer needs to enable features that provide fabric-wide high availability and load balancing for Fibre Channel traffic. Which two features should be configured? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

VSAN trunking. PortChannel with multiple physical links provides link-level redundancy and load balancing by aggregating links. VSAN trunking allows multiple VSANs to share a physical link, improving availability and efficiency. Together, they enhance fabric high availability and load balancing. FSPF is a routing protocol, not a configurable high-availability feature.

Answer

Multipath with Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF)

Answer

PortChannel with multiple physical links and VSAN trunking

Answer

Fabric Shortest Path First (FSPF)

Question 11

A data center engineer is implementing Fibre Channel zoning on a Cisco MDS 9000 switch. The engineer needs to ensure that only a specific host and a specific storage array can communicate, while allowing other devices to communicate freely. Which two zoning methods achieve this? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Create a zone with the host's pWWN and the storage array's pWWN, then add the zone to a zone set and activate it.. The correct methods involve creating a zone that includes only the host and storage array identifiers, and then enforcing it via an active zone set. Using pWWNs is the standard and stable approach. Smart zoning can also achieve this by defining the specific pair. Other methods either use unstable FC IDs, mix member types, or omit the necessary activation step, failing to enforce the desired access control.

Answer

Create a zone with the host's pWWN and the storage array's pWWN, but do not add it to a zone set; instead, activate the zone directly.

Answer

Create a zone with the host's pWWN and the storage array's FC ID, then add the zone to a zone set and activate it.

Answer

Create a zone with the host's FC ID and the storage array's FC ID, then add the zone to a zone set and activate it.

Question 12

A data center engineer is deploying FCoE on a Cisco Nexus 5600 switch. The host-facing interfaces are configured as VLAN 10 access ports carrying FCoE traffic, and the uplinks toward the Fibre Channel SAN are configured as trunk ports. Hosts fail to log in to the fabric. The engineer confirms that the vfc interfaces are bound and the FCoE Initialization Protocol is enabled. Which configuration is required on the switch to allow FCoE frames to be carried to the Fibre Channel forwarder?

Accepted Answer

Create a dedicated FCoE VLAN and map it to the vfc interface with the 'fcoe vsan' command.. FCoE requires a dedicated VLAN that is mapped to a VSAN and bound to a virtual Fibre Channel interface. The 'fcoe vsan' command under the VLAN creates that mapping, and the vfc interface ties the Ethernet port to the virtual Fibre Channel port. Without this mapping, the switch cannot encapsulate or forward FCoE frames, so hosts cannot complete FLOGI and will not appear in the fabric.

Answer

Enable PFC on the FCoE VLAN by configuring the 'priority-flow-control mode on' command under the VLAN interface.

Answer

Configure an SVI for the FCoE VLAN and assign it an IP address for fabric login.

Answer

Configure the FCoE VLAN as the native VLAN on the trunk uplink interfaces.

Question 13

A storage administrator is troubleshooting a performance issue on a Cisco MDS 9700 switch. The link between a server and the switch is experiencing intermittent slowdowns. The administrator suspects a credit shortage on the link. Which command should be used to verify the current buffer-to-buffer credits available on interface fc1/10?

Accepted Answer

show interface fc1/10 credit. The show interface credit command is specifically designed to display buffer-to-buffer credit information for a Fibre Channel interface. It shows the total credits, available credits, and other credit-related parameters. When performance issues are suspected due to credit shortage, this command provides the necessary data to confirm and address the problem. Other commands may show general interface statistics or zoning information but lack credit details.

Answer

show flogi database interface fc1/10

Answer

show zone active interface fc1/10

Answer

show interface fc1/10

Question 14

A network engineer is deploying a new Cisco MDS 9000 series switch in a Fibre Channel SAN. The engineer needs to configure the switch to support inter-VSAN routing (IVR) to allow devices in different VSANs to communicate. Which two statements about IVR configuration on Cisco MDS switches are true? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

IVR requires that the transit VSANs be configured to allow IVR traffic.. IVR on Cisco MDS switches requires the creation of IVR zone sets that include zones with members from different VSANs. Additionally, transit VSANs must be configured to allow IVR traffic. These two statements accurately describe key aspects of IVR configuration. The other options are incorrect because IVR is not enabled per VSAN, does not require a dedicated IVR VSAN, and does not use a virtual router.

Answer

IVR can be enabled on a per-VSAN basis using the 'ivr vsan' command.

Answer

IVR requires a special VSAN called the IVR VSAN to be created for routing traffic.

Answer

IVR uses a virtual router to forward traffic between VSANs.

Question 15

A network engineer is troubleshooting a Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) link between a Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch and a Cisco MDS 9000 switch. The FCoE link is up, but the MDS switch is not receiving FCoE frames. The engineer suspects a configuration issue on the Nexus 5000. Which command should be used to verify that the FCoE VLAN is correctly configured on the Nexus 5000?

Accepted Answer

show interface ethernet 1/1 fcoe. The command 'show interface ethernet 1/1 fcoe' provides detailed FCoE information for a specific Ethernet interface, including the VLAN used for FCoE and the associated VSAN. This directly addresses the need to verify FCoE VLAN configuration on the Nexus 5000. The other commands either target native FC interfaces or provide less specific information.

Answer

show vsan membership

Answer

show fcoe

Answer

show interface fc1/1