CCNP Practice Question: Uses NAPALM to retrieve the ARP table from a…

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  A list of dictionaries, each with keys such as 'interface', 'ip', 'mac', and 'age'.

  Why this is correct

  NAPALM's get_arp_table() method returns a list of dictionaries, not raw text or a custom wrapper. Each dictionary represents a single ARP entry and includes structured keys such as 'interface', 'ip', 'mac', and 'age', making the data directly usable in Python logic such as filtering or comparison. This is the expected data model for NAPALM across multiple network platforms, because it normalizes vendor-specific CLI output into a consistent, machine-readable format.

• ✗

  A dictionary with keys 'arp_table' and a list of tuples.

  Why it's wrong here

  NAPALM does not wrap the ARP result in a top-level dictionary with a key like 'arp_table'; that pattern might be seen in other libraries or custom scripts, but NAPALM's get_arp_table() returns the list itself. Additionally, even if a wrapper existed, the entries would be dictionaries, not tuples, because NAPALM uses key-value pairs to represent each structured field. This option conflates the library's return type with an arbitrary dict-of-tuples structure that is not part of NAPALM's API contract.

• ✗

  A string containing the raw CLI output of 'show arp'.

  Why it's wrong here

  NAPALM's primary purpose is to return structured, vendor-neutral data, so it parses the underlying CLI output into native Python objects rather than passing through the raw string from 'show arp'. NAPALM internally relies on network drivers (e.g., napalm-ios, napalm-eos) that use tools like TextFSM or vendor APIs to extract and convert the output. A raw string would force users to write their own regex or parser, defeating the automation value that NAPALM provides, so this option incorrectly describes the library's output type.

• ✗

  A list of strings, each representing an ARP entry.

  Why it's wrong here

  Each ARP entry in NAPALM's return value is not a simple string; it is a dictionary whose keys ('interface', 'ip', 'mac', 'age') map to the corresponding attribute values for that entry. A list of strings would lack the structured, per-field access that network automation tasks require, such as checking a specific MAC address or sorting by age. NAPALM deliberately returns dictionaries because they allow clear, maintainable data access by key rather than relying on string indexing or parsing, making this option an incorrect characterization of the data format.