350-501 Services Practice Question
A service provider is migrating its MPLS core from LDP to Segment Routing with MPLS data plane (SR-MPLS). The network currently uses TE tunnels with RSVP-TE for traffic engineering. Which technology can the provider use to continue performing traffic engineering after the migration without requiring RSVP-TE?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that BGP-LU can replace RSVP-TE for traffic engineering, but BGP-LU only provides label distribution for inter-domain reachability, not explicit path control within a single domain.
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
✓
SR-TE
C is correct because Segment Routing Traffic Engineering (SR-TE) allows the service provider to perform traffic engineering without RSVP-TE by using segment lists (label stacks) to steer traffic along explicit paths. SR-TE leverages the IGP (OSPF or IS-IS) to distribute segment IDs (SIDs) and uses a centralized controller or headend node to compute and enforce TE policies, eliminating the need for RSVP-TE's per-flow signaling and state maintenance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
LDP
Why it's wrong here
LDP does not support traffic engineering.
- ✗
MPLS-TE (RSVP-TE)
Why it's wrong here
RSVP-TE is the protocol being migrated away from.
- ✓
SR-TE
Why this is correct
SR-TE policies enable traffic engineering with Segment Routing.
- ✗
BGP-LU
Why it's wrong here
BGP-LU only provides label distribution for LSPs, not TE.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-501 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 350-501 exam.