This 350-701 practice question tests your understanding of security concepts. 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.
An organization wants to enforce micro-segmentation in a data center to isolate application tiers. Which Cisco technology allows defining security policies based on endpoint groups rather than IP addresses?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cisco TrustSec with Security Group Tags (SGTs)
Cisco TrustSec uses Security Group Tags (SGTs) to classify traffic based on endpoint groups (e.g., application tiers) rather than IP addresses. This allows micro-segmentation by enforcing policies that follow the traffic regardless of IP changes, using SGTs carried in the packet via Cisco Metadata (CMD) or inline tagging.
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.
✗
Cisco ASA with access-lists
Why it's wrong here
Traditional ACLs are IP-based and do not provide dynamic group-based segmentation.
✓
Cisco TrustSec with Security Group Tags (SGTs)
Why this is correct
TrustSec uses SGTs for group-based policy enforcement, ideal for micro-segmentation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Cisco ISE with guest services
Why it's wrong here
ISE provides authentication and policy, but guest services are not for micro-segmentation.
✗
Cisco Firepower NGFW with URL filtering
Why it's wrong here
URL filtering is used for web traffic control, not for network micro-segmentation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between IP-based ACLs (ASA) and identity-based segmentation (TrustSec), so the trap here is assuming that any firewall or NGFW can achieve micro-segmentation without understanding that TrustSec's SGTs are specifically designed for endpoint-group policies independent of IP addresses.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
TrustSec uses SGTs (16-bit values) assigned by Cisco ISE based on endpoint identity (e.g., user, device, or application role). These tags are propagated via SXP (SGT Exchange Protocol) or inline tagging in the Ethernet header (Cisco MetaData), allowing firewalls and switches to enforce policies like 'Web tier can only talk to App tier' without relying on IP addresses. In a real-world data center, this enables seamless micro-segmentation even when containers or VMs change IPs due to scaling or migration.
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 security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
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.
Security Concepts — This question tests Security Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cisco TrustSec with Security Group Tags (SGTs) — Cisco TrustSec uses Security Group Tags (SGTs) to classify traffic based on endpoint groups (e.g., application tiers) rather than IP addresses. This allows micro-segmentation by enforcing policies that follow the traffic regardless of IP changes, using SGTs carried in the packet via Cisco Metadata (CMD) or inline tagging.
What should I do if I get this 350-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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