350-601 Storage Network Practice Question
An engineer notices that the CPU utilization on a Cisco Nexus 5548UP switch is consistently above 80%. The switch is used for FCoE storage traffic. Which action is most likely to reduce CPU utilization?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that disabling FIP snooping or changing DCBx modes will reduce CPU load, but the actual root cause is the number of FCoE VLANs generating excessive FIP keepalive processing.
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
✓
Reduce the number of FCoE VLANs
High CPU utilization on a Cisco Nexus switch handling FCoE storage traffic is often caused by excessive FCoE Initialization Protocol (FIP) keepalive processing. Reducing the number of FCoE VLANs directly decreases the number of FIP sessions and associated control-plane overhead, lowering CPU load. This is the most effective action because each FCoE VLAN requires separate FIP keepalive handling, and consolidating storage traffic into fewer VLANs reduces the control-plane burden.
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 DCBx will-say mode
Why it's wrong here
DCBx negotiation does not directly impact CPU utilization.
- ✗
Enable FCoE NPV mode
Why it's wrong here
NPV offloads FLOGI processing but does not significantly reduce CPU from FIP snooping.
- ✗
Disable FIP snooping
Why it's wrong here
FIP snooping is required for FCoE; disabling it would break connectivity.
- ✓
Reduce the number of FCoE VLANs
Why this is correct
Fewer VLANs means less FIP snooping processing, reducing CPU load.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 350-601 question is part of Courseiva's 984-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.