350-601 Storage Network Practice Question
Which TWO benefits does NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization) provide in a Fibre Channel SAN? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests NPIV alongside VSAN trunking and port channels, so the trap here is confusing NPIV's ability to assign multiple FCIDs per port with VSAN trunking or bandwidth aggregation, leading candidates to incorrectly select options about multiple VSANs or increased throughput.
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
✓
Enables Fibre Channel connectivity for virtual machines
NPIV allows a single physical N_Port to register multiple N_Port IDs (FCIDs) with the Fibre Channel fabric. This enables each virtual machine on a virtualized server to have its own unique WWN and FCID, providing direct Fibre Channel connectivity to storage without requiring a dedicated physical HBA per VM. By sharing a single physical port among multiple VMs, NPIV reduces the number of physical ports and HBAs needed in virtualized environments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enhances security by isolating traffic at the port level
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Security is provided by zoning, not NPIV.
- ✓
Enables Fibre Channel connectivity for virtual machines
Why this is correct
Correct: VMs can have dedicated WWPNs.
- ✗
Increases throughput by aggregating bandwidth
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Bandwidth aggregation requires port channels.
- ✗
Allows multiple VSANs on a single link
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Trunking enables multiple VSANs.
- ✓
Reduces the number of physical ports needed for virtualized servers
Why this is correct
Correct: Each virtual machine can have its own WWPN via NPIV.
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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.