This 350-601 practice question tests your understanding of automation. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
In an ACI fabric, an automation engineer needs to deploy tenant policies in an idempotent manner. Which approach is most aligned with best practices?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Ansible with state: present in the cisco.aci collections
Option B is correct because Ansible's `state: present` in the `cisco.aci` collection inherently provides idempotency: it checks the current state of the ACI object and only applies changes if the desired state differs, ensuring no duplicate or conflicting configurations. This aligns with best practices for automation, as it avoids manual error handling and guarantees consistent policy deployment without side effects.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Use the REST API with POST method for each creation
Why it's wrong here
POST without idempotency checks can create duplicate objects.
✓
Use Ansible with state: present in the cisco.aci collections
Why this is correct
Ansible modules are idempotent and widely used in ACI automation.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Write CLI scripts using expect or pexpect
Why it's wrong here
CLI scripts lack idempotency and are error-prone.
✗
Use Python SDK with a check-and-create loop
Why it's wrong here
This is less reliable than using Ansible's built-in idempotency.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume any API-based approach (like REST POST or Python SDK) is inherently idempotent, but Cisco tests the understanding that true idempotency requires a declarative or state-checking mechanism, which Ansible's `state: present` provides out-of-the-box.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the `cisco.aci` Ansible collection uses the ACI REST API with HTTP methods (GET for read, POST/PUT for create/update) but wraps them in a declarative model: `state: present` triggers a GET to verify existence, then uses POST (for new objects) or PUT (for updates) only if needed, leveraging the object's distinguished name (DN) for idempotency. In real-world scenarios, this prevents race conditions in CI/CD pipelines where multiple runs might otherwise create duplicate tenant policies, and it integrates seamlessly with version control for infrastructure-as-code.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the 350-601 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Automation — This question tests Automation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Ansible with state: present in the cisco.aci collections — Option B is correct because Ansible's `state: present` in the `cisco.aci` collection inherently provides idempotency: it checks the current state of the ACI object and only applies changes if the desired state differs, ensuring no duplicate or conflicting configurations. This aligns with best practices for automation, as it avoids manual error handling and guarantees consistent policy deployment without side effects.
What should I do if I get this 350-601 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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