350-601 Storage Network Practice Question
A storage administrator needs to monitor traffic between two specific storage arrays without causing any disruption. Which approach should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between diagnostic tools (FC ping, traceroute) and monitoring tools (SPAN), leading candidates to confuse connectivity verification with traffic capture.
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
✓
Configure a SPAN session on the MDS switch to copy traffic between the storage ports.
A SPAN (Switched Port Analyzer) session on an MDS switch copies traffic from source ports to a destination port without affecting the original traffic flow. This allows the administrator to monitor the traffic between the two storage arrays non-disruptively, as SPAN does not introduce latency or packet loss on the monitored ports.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure a SPAN session on the MDS switch to copy traffic between the storage ports.
Why this is correct
SPAN (Switched Port Analyzer) copies traffic to a monitor port for analysis without disruption.
- ✗
Use FC traceroute to identify the path.
Why it's wrong here
Traceroute only shows the path, not the traffic content.
- ✗
Enable FC ping between arrays.
Why it's wrong here
FC ping tests connectivity but does not capture traffic.
- ✗
Use IVR to route traffic through a monitoring zone.
Why it's wrong here
IVR is for inter-VSAN routing, not traffic monitoring.
- ✗
Configure port channel between arrays.
Why it's wrong here
Port channels increase bandwidth, not monitoring capability.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-601 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 350-601 exam.