350-501 Automation and Quality of Services Practice Question
What is the main difference between traffic shaping and traffic policing?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that shaping and policing are interchangeable or that shaping drops traffic, when in fact the core difference is buffering versus immediate action (drop/re-mark).
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
✓
Shaping buffers excess traffic; policing drops or re-marks
Traffic shaping buffers excess traffic that exceeds the configured rate, smoothing bursts and delaying packets to conform to the desired rate. Traffic policing, on the other hand, immediately drops or re-marks packets that exceed the rate limit, without buffering. This fundamental difference in handling excess traffic—buffering versus dropping/re-marking—is the key distinction between the two QoS mechanisms.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Shaping buffers excess traffic; policing drops or re-marks
Why this is correct
Correct; shaping buffers, policing drops.
- ✗
Shaping is only for ingress; policing for egress
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; both can be applied in either direction.
- ✗
Shaping drops excess traffic; policing buffers it
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; opposite.
- ✗
Both perform the same function
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; they are different.
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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.