This 350-601 practice question tests your understanding of automation. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Which tool provides a programmatic HTTP-based interface to execute CLI commands on Cisco Nexus switches and returns structured JSON data?
Ansible
Why wrong: Ansible is an automation tool, not an HTTP interface; it uses modules that may invoke NX-API.
pyATS
Why wrong: pyATS is a testing framework, not an HTTP interface.
Netmiko
Why wrong: Netmiko is an SSH library, not HTTP-based.
NX-API
NX-API is the HTTP/HTTPS interface that accepts CLI commands and returns JSON/XML.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
NX-API
NX-API (Option D) is the correct answer because it provides a programmatic HTTP/HTTPS-based interface that allows you to send CLI commands to Cisco Nexus switches and receive structured JSON (or XML) responses. This enables automation and integration without requiring an SSH session, directly fulfilling the question's requirement for an HTTP-based interface with structured JSON output.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the distinction between tools that provide a direct HTTP-based API (like NX-API) versus automation or scripting libraries (like Ansible, pyATS, or Netmiko) that use other protocols (SSH) or are higher-level frameworks, leading candidates to confuse the interface layer with the tool that consumes it.
Detailed technical explanation
NX-API exposes a REST-like interface over HTTP/HTTPS, typically on port 80/443, and accepts CLI commands in a JSON-RPC payload. The switch processes the commands and returns the output as structured JSON, which is ideal for programmatic consumption in automation scripts. A subtle behavior is that NX-API supports both 'cli_show' and 'cli_show_asis' message types, where 'cli_show' parses the output into structured JSON, while 'cli_show_asis' returns raw text, giving developers flexibility based on their parsing needs.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Automation — This question tests Automation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: NX-API — NX-API (Option D) is the correct answer because it provides a programmatic HTTP/HTTPS-based interface that allows you to send CLI commands to Cisco Nexus switches and receive structured JSON (or XML) responses. This enables automation and integration without requiring an SSH session, directly fulfilling the question's requirement for an HTTP-based interface with structured JSON output.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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