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350-401 · topic practice

Automation practice questions

Practise ENCOR 350-401 Automation practice questions — original exam-style scenarios with answer choices, explanations, and analysis of common mistakes.

Courseiva uses original exam-style practice questions designed for learning and revision. The goal is to understand the concepts, recognise exam patterns, and improve through explanations — not memorise copied exam dumps.

Reviewed byJohnson Ajibi· MSc IT Security
20 questionsDomain: Automation
Practice 10 questionsBrowse domain →

What the exam tests

What to know about Automation

Automation questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.

How the topic appears in realistic exam-style scenarios.

Which detail in the question changes the correct answer.

How to eliminate plausible but wrong options.

How to connect the question back to the wider exam objective.

Watch out for

Common Automation exam traps

  • ▸Answering from memory before reading the full scenario.
  • ▸Missing a constraint such as cost, availability, security, scope or command context.
  • ▸Choosing a broad answer when the question asks for the most specific fix.
  • ▸Ignoring why the wrong options are tempting.

Practice set

Automation questions

20 questions · select your answer, then reveal the explanation

Question 1easymultiple choice
Study the full Python automation breakdown →

A network engineer needs to automate the backup of running configurations from multiple Cisco IOS XE devices to a central TFTP server. Which tool is best suited for this task in a Python-based automation framework?

Question 2mediummultiple choice
Read the full Automation explanation →

An organization uses Cisco DNA Center to automate network provisioning. A network engineer deploys a new access switch but finds that the switch does not receive the intended configuration template. The switch appears in DNA Center inventory with status 'Managed'. What is the most likely cause?

Question 3hardmultiple choice
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

A network team uses Ansible to automate VLAN configuration on Cisco IOS devices. The playbook fails with the error 'Failed to connect to the host via ssh: Permission denied (publickey)'. The control node runs Ubuntu, and the network devices are configured with SSH key authentication. Which solution should the engineer implement?

Question 4easymultiple choice
Read the full Automation explanation →

A company uses Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) for intent-based networking. After upgrading the Catalyst Center appliance, the engineer notices that some devices are unreachable via the network, but the Catalyst Center GUI shows them as 'Managed'. What is the most likely cause?

Question 5mediummultiple choice
Study the full Python automation breakdown →

A network engineer is creating a Python script using the Cisco IOS XE RESTCONF API to configure a loopback interface. The script sends a PUT request to the URI /restconf/data/Cisco-IOS-XE-native:native/interface/Loopback=100 with a JSON body that includes the IP address. The API returns a 201 Created status, but the loopback interface does not appear in the running configuration. What is the most likely issue?

Question 6hardmultiple choice
Study the full Python automation breakdown →

A network engineer uses Netmiko to connect to multiple Cisco IOS XE devices and execute commands. The script runs correctly for most devices but fails for one device with the error: 'ValueError: SSH session not active'. The device is reachable and SSH credentials are correct. What is the most likely cause?

Question 7easymultiple choice
Read the full Automation explanation →

A company uses Chef to automate network device configuration. The network devices are Cisco IOS XE running in a brownfield environment. Which Chef component is used to manage the state of the devices?

Question 8mediummultiple choice
Study the full ACL explanation →

A network engineer is troubleshooting an Ansible playbook that uses the ios_config module to apply ACLs. The playbook runs without errors, but the ACLs are not applied to the device. The engineer verifies that the device is reachable and the credentials are correct. What is the most likely cause?

Question 9easymulti select
Read the full Automation explanation →

Which TWO statements are true about Cisco DNA Center automation? (Choose two.)

Question 10mediummulti select
Read the full REST/YANG explanation →

Which THREE attributes are typically included in a YANG module for interface configuration? (Choose three.)

Question 11hardmulti select
Read the full Automation explanation →

Which THREE are valid methods for automating network device configuration using Cisco IOS XE? (Choose three.)

Question 12mediummultiple choice
Read the full Ansible explanation →

Refer to the exhibit. A network engineer wants to use Ansible to change the IP address of Loopback100 from 10.1.100.1/24 to 10.1.200.1/24. The playbook uses the ios_config module. The playbook runs successfully, but the IP address remains unchanged. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

R1#show ip interface brief | include Loopback
Loopback0        10.1.1.1       YES manual up                    up
Loopback100      10.1.100.1     YES manual up                    up

R1#show run interface Loopback100
Building configuration...
Current configuration : 67 bytes
!
interface Loopback100
 ip address 10.1.100.1 255.255.255.0
end

R1#show run | include snmp-server
snmp-server community public RO
snmp-server community private RW
Question 13hardmultiple choice
Study the full Python automation breakdown →

Refer to the exhibit. A Python script sends the JSON payload shown via a POST request to the RESTCONF URI /restconf/data/ietf-interfaces:interfaces on a Cisco IOS XE device. The API returns 201 Created, but the interface GigabitEthernet1 is not configured. What is the most likely cause?

Exhibit

{
  "ietf-interfaces:interface": {
    "name": "GigabitEthernet1",
    "type": "iana-if-type:ethernetCsmacd",
    "enabled": true,
    "ietf-ip:ipv4": {
      "address": [
        {
          "ip": "192.168.1.1",
          "netmask": "255.255.255.0"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
Question 14mediummultiple choice
Study the full Python automation breakdown →

A company has a large network of 500 Cisco IOS XE routers and switches spread across multiple sites. The network team wants to automate the collection of interface statistics every hour and store them in a central database for historical analysis. The team has a Linux server with Python 3 and access to all devices via SSH with key-based authentication. They have written a Python script using Netmiko to connect to each device, run 'show interfaces', and parse the output to extract key metrics (e.g., input/output errors, packets per second). The script works correctly when tested on a small subset of devices, but when run against all 500 devices, it takes too long (over 2 hours) and sometimes fails due to SSH connection timeouts. The team needs to reduce the execution time and improve reliability. Which approach should they take?

Question 15hardmultiple choice
Read the full REST/YANG explanation →

A service provider uses Cisco IOS XE routers with NETCONF/YANG for configuration management. They have a centralized automation system that pushes configuration changes via NETCONF. Recently, after a maintenance window, several routers lost connectivity to the NETCONF server. The automation system can still SSH to the routers and execute CLI commands. The engineer suspects that the NETCONF server's SSH key changed, causing the routers to reject the connection. However, checking the routers' configuration, the engineer finds that the 'netconf ssh' command is present and the SSH server is enabled. The engineer also notices that the routers have an 'ip ssh server algorithm publickey' configuration specifying a list of allowed public keys. What is the most likely cause of the NETCONF connectivity loss?

Question 16mediummultiple choice
Open the full VLAN trunking answer →

A network engineer is automating the deployment of VLANs across multiple switches using Ansible. The playbook runs successfully on most switches, but one switch fails with an error indicating that the VLAN configuration command is not recognized. What is the most likely cause?

Question 17hardmultiple choice
Read the full Automation explanation →

A DevOps team is implementing a CI/CD pipeline that automates network configuration changes. Which design principle is most important to ensure that a failed deployment does not cause prolonged outages?

Question 18easymultiple choice
Review the full OSPF breakdown →

A network engineer is troubleshooting an automated configuration change that caused a routing loop. The change was pushed via an Ansible playbook that modified OSPF cost values on multiple routers simultaneously. What is the most likely reason for the loop?

Question 19mediummultiple choice
Read the full network assurance explanation →

An organization uses Chef to manage network device configurations. A cookbook that configures SNMP community strings is applied to a group of routers. After the run, one router loses SNMP access. The cookbook uses the following resource: snmp_community 'public' do action :remove end. What is the most likely cause of the issue?

Question 20hardmulti select
Read the full REST/YANG explanation →

Which TWO statements about NETCONF and YANG are true?

Continue with 20-question session →

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Frequently asked questions

What does the 350-401 exam test about Automation?
Automation questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.
How should I use these practice questions?
Select your answer before revealing the explanation. Then read why each option is right or wrong — this active recall approach builds retention far faster than re-reading notes.
Can I practise just Automation questions in a focused session?
Yes — the session launcher on this page draws every question from the Automation domain. Use a 10-question session first to gauge your baseline, then move to 20 or 30 once the weak spots are clear.
Where can I practise other 350-401 topics?
Use the topic links above to move to related areas, or go back to the 350-401 question bank to see all topics.
Are these real exam questions or dumps?
These are original practice questions written to test the same concepts the 350-401 exam covers. They are not copied from any real exam or dump site.