350-601 Security Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are valid methods to secure the control plane on a Cisco Nexus 9000 switch?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between control plane security (CoPP, management ACLs, disabling services) and other security features like BFD or routing authentication, which protect different planes or functions.
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
✓
Enable control plane policing (CoPP) to rate-limit control plane traffic.
Control plane policing (CoPP) is a valid method to secure the control plane on a Cisco Nexus 9000 switch. CoPP uses a policy map applied to the control plane to rate-limit or drop traffic destined to the supervisor module, protecting the CPU from excessive or malicious traffic. This is a direct control plane security mechanism defined in Cisco NX-OS.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable control plane policing (CoPP) to rate-limit control plane traffic.
Why this is correct
CoPP protects the control plane from DoS attacks.
- ✓
Configure management access lists to restrict SSH/SNMP access.
Why this is correct
Management ACLs limit who can access the switch.
- ✓
Disable unused services such as HTTP/HTTPS server.
Why this is correct
Reducing attack surface by disabling unnecessary services.
- ✗
Enable Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) on all interfaces.
Why it's wrong here
BFD is for fast convergence, not security.
- ✗
Implement routing protocol authentication (e.g., OSPF MD5).
Why it's wrong here
Routing protocol auth secures routing updates, not the control plane itself.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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