CCNA AI and Network Operations Practice Question
A network engineer needs to automate the configuration of multiple Cisco IOS XE routers in a data center. The team requires a standard, vendor-neutral data modeling language to define the configuration parameters, and they need a protocol that uses XML-based remote procedure calls over SSH for secure, reliable configuration transactions. Which combination of technologies best meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between NETCONF (XML RPCs over SSH) and RESTCONF (RESTful operations over HTTPS), and candidates mistakenly choose RESTCONF because it is more modern, but the question explicitly requires XML-based RPCs over SSH, which only NETCONF provides.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use YANG data models combined with NETCONF over SSH.
YANG is a standard, vendor-neutral data modeling language (RFC 6020) for defining configuration parameters, and NETCONF (RFC 6241) uses XML-based remote procedure calls (RPCs) over SSH for secure, reliable configuration transactions. This combination directly satisfies the requirement for a standard data model and XML-based RPCs over SSH, unlike RESTCONF which uses HTTPS and JSON/XML but not SSH.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use YANG data models combined with RESTCONF over HTTPS.
Why it's wrong here
YANG models can describe network state, but RESTCONF is the wrong management protocol here because it is a RESTful HTTP-based API that runs over HTTPS and uses JSON/XML representations, not XML-based RPC sessions. NETCONF is the protocol that establishes an SSH transport and issues XML RPCs for configuration; RESTCONF does not use SSH for its transport and does not define the same remote-procedure-call model. Therefore, although YANG is acceptable, RESTCONF fails the transport requirement.
- ✓
Use YANG data models combined with NETCONF over SSH.
Why this is correct
YANG plus NETCONF over SSH is the standard model-driven management combination: YANG provides a vendor-neutral, hierarchical data model for configuration and state data, while NETCONF carries those models in XML-encoded RPCs over an encrypted SSH session. The NETCONF session supports transactions across multiple configuration datastores (candidate, running, startup), giving reliable commit/rollback behavior. This pairing exactly matches the requirements for a standardized data model and secure, remote procedure-style configuration exchange.
- ✗
Use CLI commands combined with NETCONF over SSH.
Why it's wrong here
CLI commands are device-specific, interactive, and text-based, so they do not constitute a structured data model for NETCONF to manipulate; NETCONF expects YANG-defined data trees and uses XML RPCs, not screen-scraping of command-line output. Although NETCONF does run over SSH, adding CLI commands does not make the solution model-driven or vendor-neutral, and it still relies on the device's proprietary command syntax rather than a standardized model. Thus, the transport is correct but the data-modeling element is missing.
- ✗
Use CLI commands combined with RESTCONF over HTTPS.
Why it's wrong here
This combination fails on both counts: CLI commands are not a data-modeling language, and RESTCONF is a RESTful API using HTTPS rather than an XML-RPC protocol over SSH. A RESTCONF request targets a URI that maps to YANG containers or lists, so sending arbitrary CLI text would not map to any standard resource. Additionally, SSH and XML-RPC framing are never provided by RESTCONF, so this selection does not meet the secure, standardized RPC requirement at all.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The 200-301 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Use YANG data models combined with NETCONF over SSH.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
YANG plus NETCONF over SSH is the standard model-driven management combination: YANG provides a vendor-neutral, hierarchical data model for configuration and state data, while NETCONF carries those models in XML-encoded RPCs over an encrypted SSH session. The NETCONF session supports transactions across multiple configuration datastores (candidate, running, startup), giving reliable commit/rollback behavior. This pairing exactly matches the requirements for a standardized data model and secure, remote procedure-style configuration exchange.
✗Use YANG data models combined with RESTCONF over HTTPS.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The scenario specifies a protocol that uses XML-based RPCs over SSH, which is a characteristic of NETCONF, not RESTCONF.
✗Use CLI commands combined with NETCONF over SSH.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The scenario specifically asks for a standard, vendor-neutral data modeling language, which CLI is not.
✗Use CLI commands combined with RESTCONF over HTTPS.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Neither the data modeling language (CLI) nor the protocol (RESTCONF) matches the specified requirements of vendor-neutral data modeling and XML-based RPCs over SSH.
Analysis generated from the official 200-301blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Agentic AI in Network Operations
Key term
Extensible Markup Language
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language that defines rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.
Key term
YANG
YANG is a data modeling language used to define the structure and constraints of data exchanged between network devices and management applications.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-301 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-301 exam.