350-701 Practice Question: Secure Network Access, Visibility and Enforcement
A network engineer configures ISE for 802.1X with PEAP-MSCHAPv2. Users report intermittent authentication failures on certain switches. The engineer checks ISE logs and sees 'Authentication failed' with reason 'User not found in identity store'. What is the most likely issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between authentication failures caused by credential/identity store issues versus RADIUS communication or certificate problems, and the trap here is that candidates confuse PEAP-MSCHAPv2 (which relies on AD credentials) with EAP-TLS (which relies on client certificates), leading them to incorrectly select an expired certificate option.
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 user is not in the Active Directory group that ISE is configured to query.
The error 'User not found in identity store' indicates that ISE queried its configured identity sources (e.g., Active Directory) and could not locate the user account. Since PEAP-MSCHAPv2 authenticates users against a backend identity store (not certificates), the most likely cause is that the user is not a member of the specific AD group that ISE is configured to query, or the user object does not exist in the joined domain. This is a common misconfiguration when ISE uses group-based filtering or restricted identity stores.
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 switch port is configured with 'authentication periodic'.
Why it's wrong here
Periodic reauthentication does not cause authentication failures; it triggers reauthentication after a timer.
- ✓
The user is not in the Active Directory group that ISE is configured to query.
Why this is correct
ISE cannot find the user in the identity store, likely due to group membership or search base issues.
- ✗
The switch is not configured with the correct shared secret.
Why it's wrong here
A shared secret mismatch would cause a different error in ISE logs.
- ✗
The user's certificate is expired.
Why it's wrong here
Certificate errors appear separate from identity store issues.
Quick reference
AAA Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port(s) | Encryption | Transport | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RADIUS | 1812 / 1813 | Password only | UDP | Network access control |
| TACACS+ | 49 | Full packet | TCP | Device administration |
| Diameter | 3868 | Full session | TCP / SCTP | Carrier / mobile networks |
| 802.1X | — | EAP-based | Layer 2 | Port-based access control |
TACACS+ encrypts the entire packet; RADIUS only encrypts the password field — a key exam distinction.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-701 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 350-701 exam.