350-601 Compute Practice Question
During a UCS firmware upgrade, the upgrade fails on a few servers in a chassis. The administrators notice that the management plane is still responsive, but the data plane is disrupted. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that a failed upgrade always results in a complete loss of connectivity, but the trap here is that the management plane can remain operational even when the data plane is disrupted due to a firmware synchronization failure on the secondary Fabric Interconnect.
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 secondary Fabric Interconnect did not synchronize the firmware image before the upgrade.
The most likely cause is that the secondary Fabric Interconnect did not synchronize the firmware image before the upgrade. In a UCS domain, firmware upgrades are typically performed in a hitless manner by first upgrading the secondary Fabric Interconnect, which requires the firmware image to be synchronized from the primary. If synchronization fails, the secondary may boot with an incompatible or missing firmware, causing data plane disruption while the management plane remains responsive because the primary still handles management traffic.
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 secondary Fabric Interconnect did not synchronize the firmware image before the upgrade.
Why this is correct
Incomplete sync causes differing firmware versions between FIs, leading to data plane issues.
- ✗
The boot policy was changed during maintenance.
Why it's wrong here
Boot policy changes are independent of firmware upgrade.
- ✗
The server memory is exhausted due to high traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Memory exhaustion is not related to firmware upgrade failure.
- ✗
The service profiles were not updated after the upgrade.
Why it's wrong here
Service profiles do not affect the upgrade process itself.
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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.