CCNA AI and Network Operations Practice Question
Which two statements correctly describe a RESTful API used by network controllers? Choose two.
⚠ Common exam trap
Be careful not to confuse RESTful APIs with protocols that maintain state or require specific data formats like XML.
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
✓
It commonly uses HTTP methods such as GET and POST
REST commonly uses HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. It is also stateless, which means each request includes the information needed for the server to process it.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
It commonly uses HTTP methods such as GET and POST
Why this is correct
RESTful APIs map standard HTTP methods directly to CRUD operations: GET retrieves a resource, POST creates one, PUT/PATCH updates, and DELETE removes it. This reliance on HTTP verbs is a defining characteristic of REST-style APIs, distinguishing them from other remote procedure call (RPC) approaches that use a single endpoint with custom actions.
- ✗
It requires SNMP traps for every successful request
Why it's wrong here
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a completely separate protocol used for monitoring and managing network devices, typically over UDP, and it uses traps to asynchronously notify managers of events. RESTful APIs communicate over HTTP and do not require SNMP traps for any request, success or failure; implementing REST never involves SNMP as part of its data exchange mechanism.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question asked about a network management system that uses SNMP for event notifications, then SNMP traps would be correct for receiving asynchronous alerts from network devices.
- ✓
It is typically stateless between client requests
Why this is correct
A REST API is stateless because each client request must contain all information needed to understand and process it, and the server does not keep any client session context between requests. This design forces the client to store session state and send it with each request, allowing any server instance to handle any request, which greatly improves horizontal scalability and reliability.
- ✗
It can only return XML, never JSON
Why it's wrong here
REST architecture does not mandate a specific data format; it allows any media type, including JSON, XML, plain text, HTML, or even binary data. JSON is extremely common in practice because it is lightweight, human-readable, and natively parsed by JavaScript, but a REST API can also return XML or other formats, so saying it can only return XML is false.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question specified a legacy system or a particular API that exclusively uses XML (e.g., some older SOAP-based APIs), then 'It can only return XML, never JSON' could be correct. For example, a question about a specific vendor's API that only supports XML responses.
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.
✓It commonly uses HTTP methods such as GET and POSTCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
RESTful APIs map standard HTTP methods directly to CRUD operations: GET retrieves a resource, POST creates one, PUT/PATCH updates, and DELETE removes it. This reliance on HTTP verbs is a defining characteristic of REST-style APIs, distinguishing them from other remote procedure call (RPC) approaches that use a single endpoint with custom actions.
✗It requires SNMP traps for every successful requestWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
RESTful APIs do not require SNMP traps; they use HTTP methods for communication, and SNMP traps are unrelated to REST API operations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question asked about a network management system that uses SNMP for event notifications, then SNMP traps would be correct for receiving asynchronous alerts from network devices.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse SNMP traps with API callbacks or notifications, or incorrectly think that all network management protocols require traps for every request.
✗It can only return XML, never JSONWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
RESTful APIs are format-agnostic and commonly support both XML and JSON, with JSON being the more prevalent format due to its lightweight nature. The statement that RESTful APIs can only return XML is incorrect.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question specified a legacy system or a particular API that exclusively uses XML (e.g., some older SOAP-based APIs), then 'It can only return XML, never JSON' could be correct. For example, a question about a specific vendor's API that only supports XML responses.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse RESTful APIs with older web services like SOAP, which often use XML exclusively, or they may have limited exposure to APIs that support multiple data formats.
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?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Agentic AI in Network Operations
Key term
API
An API is a set of rules that allows software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other.
Key term
HTTP
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the set of rules web browsers and servers use to communicate and transfer web pages over the internet.
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JA
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.