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CCNP Practice Question: Which three statements about policing and shaping…
Which three statements about policing and shaping are true? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Policing can be applied in both the inbound and outbound directions on an interface.
Policing drops or re-marks traffic exceeding a rate and does not buffer, while shaping buffers and smooths traffic to a lower rate. Both use token bucket algorithms. Shaping introduces delay but reduces drops, whereas policing can cause TCP retransmissions due to drops. Policing can be applied inbound or outbound, shaping typically outbound.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Policing can be applied in both the inbound and outbound directions on an interface.
Why this is correct
Correct because policing is supported on both input and output directions in Cisco IOS.
- ✓
Shaping buffers excess packets and may introduce additional delay.
Why this is correct
Correct because shaping queues packets that exceed the rate, causing delay but preventing drops.
- ✓
Policing uses a token bucket algorithm to measure traffic rates.
Why this is correct
Correct because both policing and shaping commonly use token bucket mechanisms.
- ✗
Shaping can be applied inbound to limit traffic entering an interface.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect because shaping is typically applied outbound; inbound shaping is not supported in most Cisco IOS versions.
- ✗
Policing always drops packets that exceed the configured rate and never re-marks them.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect because policing can be configured to re-mark (e.g., set a lower IP precedence) instead of dropping, using the 'police' command with 'set-dscp-transmit' or similar actions.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on 350-401
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Which two statements about policing and shaping are true? (Choose two.)
medium- ✓ A.Policing can be configured on both ingress and egress interfaces, whereas shaping is typically applied only on egress interfaces.
- B.Shaping drops packets that exceed the configured rate, while policing buffers them to meet the rate.
- ✓ C.Both policing and shaping use a token bucket algorithm to measure traffic rates.
- D.Shaping is more suitable than policing for traffic that must be dropped immediately, such as scavenger-class traffic.
- E.Policing always introduces additional latency due to queuing, while shaping does not.
Why A: Policing drops or re-marks packets that exceed a configured rate, while shaping buffers excess packets and delays them to smooth traffic. Policing can be applied inbound or outbound, but shaping is typically outbound only. Shaping uses a buffer, which can introduce jitter.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-401 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 350-401 exam.