Quick Answer
The answer is police, because policing enforces a hard rate limit of 95 Mbps while allowing bursts up to 100 Mbps by dropping or remarking excess traffic without buffering. Shaping, in contrast, would queue excess bursts and introduce delay, which fails the requirement for a strict egress limit with burst allowance. On the Cisco SPCOR 350-501 exam, this distinction tests your understanding of how policing versus shaping handles bursty traffic at the egress interface—a common trap is assuming shaping is needed for bursts, but policing inherently permits bursts up to the configured peak rate before taking action. Remember the memory tip: “Police punishes, shaping smooths”; policing drops or marks to enforce a ceiling, while shaping delays to conform to a floor.
This 350-501 practice question tests your understanding of automation and quality of service. 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.
A customer has a 100 Mbps access link and wants to limit traffic to 95 Mbps with burst allowance up to 100 Mbps. Which QoS action should be applied on the egress interface?
shape
Why wrong: Shaping buffers traffic, not suitable for strict rate limiting with burst allowance.
priority
Why wrong: Priority provides strict priority, not rate limiting.
bandwidth
Why wrong: Bandwidth command only allocates minimum bandwidth, not a limit.
police
Policing limits the rate and can drop or remark exceeding traffic, allowing bursts.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
police
Police is the correct QoS action because it allows you to enforce a maximum traffic rate (95 Mbps) while permitting bursts up to 100 Mbps, dropping or remarking excess traffic. Unlike shaping, policing does not buffer traffic, so it can enforce a hard limit on egress without introducing delay, which matches the requirement to limit traffic with a burst allowance.
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.
shape
Why it's wrong here
Shaping buffers traffic, not suitable for strict rate limiting with burst allowance.
priority
Why it's wrong here
Priority provides strict priority, not rate limiting.
bandwidth
Why it's wrong here
Bandwidth command only allocates minimum bandwidth, not a limit.
police
Why this is correct
Policing limits the rate and can drop or remark exceeding traffic, allowing bursts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the distinction between policing and shaping, where the trap is that candidates assume shaping is always the answer for rate-limiting on egress, but policing is required when the goal is to enforce a hard burst limit without buffering.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Bandwidth command only allocates minimum bandwidth, not a limit.
Detailed technical explanation
Policing uses a token bucket algorithm with configurable committed information rate (CIR) and committed burst (Bc) or peak burst (Be) sizes; in this scenario, CIR=95 Mbps and Bc is set to allow bursts up to 100 Mbps. Excess traffic is typically dropped (or remarked) immediately, making policing ideal for egress where you want to enforce a strict ceiling without queuing delay. A real-world example is an ISP enforcing a subscriber's contracted rate on a shared uplink, where shaping would add unacceptable jitter for real-time traffic.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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Automation and Quality of Service — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Automation and Quality of Service — This question tests Automation and Quality of Service — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: police — Police is the correct QoS action because it allows you to enforce a maximum traffic rate (95 Mbps) while permitting bursts up to 100 Mbps, dropping or remarking excess traffic. Unlike shaping, policing does not buffer traffic, so it can enforce a hard limit on egress without introducing delay, which matches the requirement to limit traffic with a burst allowance.
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 25, 2026
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.
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