350-501 Architecture Practice Question
Exhibit
segment-routing
mpls
segment-list SID_LIST
index 10 mpls label 16000
index 20 mpls label 16001
!
adjacency SID
!
traffic-engineering
policy SR_POLICY
color 100
candidate-path priority 100
segment-list SID_LIST
!
!
!Refer to the exhibit. An engineer has configured an SR-TE policy. What is required for this policy to be used for traffic steering?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that IGP segment routing alone is sufficient for SR-TE policy steering, but the color extended community is exclusively carried by BGP, not by the IGP.
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
✓
BGP with color extended community
An SR-TE policy uses a color extended community to identify the policy's color and its associated endpoint. BGP distributes these color extended communities, enabling headend routers to match traffic to the correct SR-TE policy for steering. Without BGP carrying the color extended community, the policy cannot be dynamically selected for traffic engineering.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Static routing
Why it's wrong here
Static routing does not interact with SR-TE policies.
- ✗
IGP with segment routing
Why it's wrong here
IGP SR is used for label distribution, not to activate a specific TE policy.
- ✓
BGP with color extended community
Why this is correct
BGP routes with a color community matching the policy's color will steer traffic onto that policy.
- ✗
OSPF with opaque LSA
Why it's wrong here
Opaque LSAs carry TE information but do not directly activate an SR-TE policy.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 350-501 question from scratch — 971 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.