350-601 Compute Practice Question
A UCS administrator notices that a server in a UCS domain is not booting from SAN after a firmware upgrade. The service profile shows the correct WWPN and boot policy. The SAN switch sees the initiator login. However, the storage array does not see any initiator attempts. What is the most likely issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between fabric-level visibility (FLOGI success) and zone-level communication (PLOGI/PRLI failure) to trick candidates into assuming the issue is with the boot policy or VSAN membership rather than zoning.
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
✓
The zone alias on the SAN switch does not match the initiator WWPN
The SAN switch sees the initiator login, but the storage array does not see any initiator attempts. This indicates that the Fibre Channel fabric is blocking the initiator's WWPN from reaching the storage target, typically because the zone configuration on the SAN switch does not include the initiator's WWPN or the zone alias does not match the actual WWPN. Since the service profile and boot policy are correct, and the VSAN membership is functional (the switch sees the login), the most likely issue is a zoning mismatch on the SAN switch.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The boot policy is missing the primary SAN target
Why it's wrong here
The boot policy is verified correct, so this is not the issue.
- ✗
The WWPN is duplicated on another initiator
Why it's wrong here
Duplication would cause a login failure on the SAN switch, not the storage array.
- ✓
The zone alias on the SAN switch does not match the initiator WWPN
Why this is correct
The zone alias mismatch would allow login (since zoning is based on WWPN) but the storage may not see the initiator if zones are misconfigured.
- ✗
The VSAN membership is incorrect on the fabric interconnect
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect VSAN would prevent the SAN switch from seeing the initiator at all.
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