200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A developer wants to automate the configuration of multiple Cisco IOS-XE devices using Ansible. Which protocol should be used to ensure secure and idempotent configuration updates?

Accepted Answer

SSH. SSH (Secure Shell) is the correct protocol because it provides encrypted, authenticated remote access to Cisco IOS-XE devices, which is essential for secure automation. Ansible uses SSH to connect to network devices and execute configuration commands idempotently by comparing the desired state (defined in playbooks) against the current device state, ensuring only necessary changes are applied without duplication or disruption.

Answer

Telnet

Answer

SNMP

Answer

HTTP

Question 2

A team is using Python scripts with netmiko to back up configurations from a large number of network devices. What is the primary advantage of using netmiko over direct paramiko for this task?

Accepted Answer

Netmiko simplifies the handling of device-specific prompts and command output. Netmiko is built on top of Paramiko but adds a higher-level abstraction layer that automatically handles device-specific prompt detection, command output parsing, and SSH session management. This simplifies the backup process across heterogeneous devices by eliminating the need to manually write code for each device's unique prompt patterns and command responses.

Answer

Netmiko supports only Cisco devices

Answer

Netmiko uses REST API instead of SSH

Answer

Netmiko is faster than paramiko

Question 3

A network administrator is tasked with automating the deployment of a new VLAN configuration across a fabric of Cisco ACI switches. Which automation tool is best suited for interacting with the APIC REST API?

Accepted Answer

Ansible. Ansible is the best-suited tool because it provides a dedicated module (cisco.aci.aci_rest) that directly interacts with the APIC REST API, allowing declarative automation of VLAN and other ACI configurations. Unlike generic scripting, Ansible abstracts the HTTP requests and handles idempotency, authentication, and error handling natively for the ACI fabric.

Answer

Bash scripting with curl

Answer

Chef

Answer

Puppet

Question 4

A developer writes a Python script using Cisco's pyATS framework to test network reachability after a configuration change. What is a key advantage of using pyATS over a simple script that uses ping?

Accepted Answer

pyATS allows writing reusable test scripts with built-in test libraries. PyATS is a test automation framework designed for network engineers, providing built-in test libraries (e.g., `pyats.aetest`) that enable writing reusable, modular test scripts. Unlike a simple ping script, pyATS supports structured test cases, data-driven testing, and integration with Cisco devices via libraries like `Genie`, allowing for comprehensive validation beyond basic reachability.

Answer

pyATS requires less code than a ping script

Answer

pyATS can test multiple devices in parallel

Answer

pyATS automatically generates test reports

Question 5

In a CI/CD pipeline for network automation, a change is rolled back using a Git revert commit that triggers a new pipeline. The rollback playbook fails because the 'previous' configuration snapshot is missing. What should be implemented to prevent this?

Accepted Answer

Store configuration backups in a version-controlled repository before each change. Storing configuration backups in a version-controlled repository before each change ensures that a known-good 'previous' snapshot is always available for rollback, even if the Git revert commit only reverts the playbook code and not the device configuration. In CI/CD for network automation, the pipeline must have access to the exact prior state to restore it; version-controlled backups provide an immutable, auditable history that can be checked out by commit hash. This directly prevents the failure described, where the rollback playbook cannot find the previous configuration snapshot.

Answer

Use a single source of truth like NetBox

Answer

Use the 'check mode' only

Answer

Disable rollback pipelines

Question 6

Which THREE practices help ensure idempotent network automation? (Select three)

Accepted Answer

Using the 'state' parameter in Ansible modules to define desired state. Using the 'state' parameter in Ansible modules (e.g., 'state: present' or 'state: absent') explicitly declares the desired end state of a resource. This allows the module to compare the current state against the desired state and only make changes if necessary, ensuring that running the playbook multiple times produces the same result without unintended side effects.

Answer

Running commands multiple times to ensure they are applied

Answer

Always appending new configuration commands to the running config

Question 7

An automation script using Ansible tries to configure IP address 192.168.1.2 on GigabitEthernet0/1. After running, the interface remains administratively down. What is the first thing to check?

Accepted Answer

The 'no shutdown' command was not included in the configuration. The 'no shutdown' command is required to administratively enable an interface on Cisco IOS devices. Without it, the interface remains in an administratively down state regardless of IP configuration. Ansible automation scripts must include this command in the task or playbook to bring the interface up.

Answer

The VLAN configuration

Answer

The IP address is a duplicate

Answer

The interface is faulty

Question 8

A NETCONF manager sends a get-config request to a Cisco device and receives the above reply. The automation script expected the interface to be enabled. Which of the following is the best course of action to remediate the issue?

Accepted Answer

Send an edit-config request with true for the interface. NETCONF uses the edit-config operation to modify device configuration programmatically. Since the automation script detected that the interface is disabled (enabled state is false), sending an edit-config request with true for that interface directly remediates the issue by setting the operational state to enabled, aligning with the expected state without manual intervention.

Answer

Send an rpc to reboot the device

Answer

Use CLI to enable the interface manually

Answer

Send a get request again

Question 9

A network engineer wants to automate the configuration of multiple Cisco IOS devices using Ansible. What is the minimum requirement on the control node to execute Ansible playbooks against these devices?

Accepted Answer

A Linux or macOS control node with Python installed. Ansible uses a push-based architecture where the control node must be a Linux or macOS system with Python installed to execute playbooks. Python is required because Ansible itself is written in Python and relies on it for modules, SSH connections, and Jinja2 templating. No additional database, license, or dedicated management server is needed for basic network automation against Cisco IOS devices.

Answer

Ansible Tower license for automated network configuration

Answer

A PostgreSQL database to store inventory and credentials

Answer

A dedicated management server with Ansible Tower installed

Question 10

A DevOps team manages network infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC). They store configuration files in a Git repository and use CI/CD to deploy changes. What is the best practice to ensure that only validated configurations are applied to production devices?

Accepted Answer

Require a pull request with at least one approval before merging to the main branch. Requiring a pull request with at least one approval before merging to the main branch enforces peer review and validation of configuration changes. This ensures that only code that has been reviewed for correctness, syntax, and adherence to standards is merged, preventing erroneous or malicious configurations from reaching production via the CI/CD pipeline.

Answer

Allow any team member to push directly to the main branch after testing locally

Answer

Use a manual approval gate in the CI/CD pipeline that requires manager sign-off

Answer

Automate the deployment of every commit directly to production

Question 11

A YANG module defines a leaf named 'bandwidth' of type 'uint32'. What does this represent in the context of a network device?

Accepted Answer

A single integer value representing bandwidth in kilobits per second. In YANG, a 'leaf' node defines a single, scalar value of a specific data type. When the leaf is named 'bandwidth' with type 'uint32', it represents a single integer value, typically interpreted as kilobits per second (kbps) in the context of network device configuration (e.g., interface bandwidth). This aligns with the standard YANG data modeling approach where a leaf cannot hold multiple values or complex structures.

Answer

A set of unique bandwidth values

Answer

A grouping of related bandwidth parameters

Answer

An ordered list of bandwidth values

Question 12

A Python script uses the ncclient library to connect to a Cisco NX-OS device over NETCONF. After establishing the session, the script executes an editing operation with candidate datastore. Which additional step is required to make the changes take effect immediately on the running configuration?

Accepted Answer

Execute a commit operation on the candidate datastore. When using NETCONF with the candidate datastore on Cisco NX-OS, changes are staged in the candidate configuration and do not affect the running configuration until a commit operation is explicitly sent. The commit operation copies the candidate configuration to the running datastore, making the changes take effect immediately. Without this step, the candidate changes remain unapplied.

Answer

Execute a discard-changes operation on the candidate datastore

Answer

Execute a validate operation on the candidate datastore

Answer

No additional step is needed; candidate changes are automatically applied to running

Question 13

An organization wants to automate the deployment of wireless configurations across multiple Meraki networks using the Meraki Dashboard API. What authentication method should the developer use in the API requests?

Accepted Answer

Include an API key in the X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key header. The Meraki Dashboard API uses a simple API key for authentication, not OAuth2 or JWT. The key must be included in the `X-Cisco-Meraki-API-Key` header of every request. This is the only supported method for authenticating with the Meraki API, as documented by Cisco Meraki.

Answer

Provide username and password in the Authorization header with Basic auth

Answer

Use OAuth2 client credentials grant and pass a bearer token

Answer

Generate a JSON Web Token (JWT) signed with a shared secret

Question 14

A CI/CD pipeline for network automation includes stages for linting, unit testing, and deployment. Which stage typically validates the syntax of Ansible playbooks?

Accepted Answer

Linting stage. Linting is the stage that validates syntax and style for code or configuration files. In a CI/CD pipeline for network automation, the linting stage uses tools like `ansible-lint` to check Ansible playbooks for syntax errors, best practices, and idempotency issues before any testing or deployment occurs.

Answer

Integration testing stage

Answer

Deployment stage

Answer

Unit testing stage

Question 15

A network automation engineer uses Terraform to manage Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) resources. What is the purpose of the Cisco Catalyst Center Terraform provider?

Accepted Answer

To define and manage network infrastructure resources in a declarative state file. The Cisco Catalyst Center Terraform provider allows network automation engineers to define and manage network infrastructure resources in a declarative state file. Terraform uses a desired-state approach where the configuration file describes the intended end state of resources, and the provider communicates with Catalyst Center's REST API to enforce that state, enabling idempotent and version-controlled infrastructure management.

Answer

To execute a series of CLI commands on network devices in sequence

Answer

To write imperative scripts that configure network devices via SSH

Answer

To directly manage routers and switches without using Catalyst Center