350-501 Automation and Quality of Service Practice Question
Which THREE QoS mechanisms can be used for traffic policing?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between policing and shaping, where candidates mistakenly select shaping as a policing mechanism because both control traffic rates, but shaping buffers while policing drops/re-marks.
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
✓
dual-rate three-color
Traffic policing uses token bucket mechanisms to measure and enforce traffic rates. Dual-rate three-color (RFC 2698) uses two token buckets (CIR/PIR) to mark packets as green, yellow, or red, allowing separate policing of committed and peak rates. Single-rate two-color (RFC 2697) uses one token bucket to mark packets as either conforming (green) or exceeding (red). Both are standard policing implementations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
dual-rate three-color
Why this is correct
This is another common policing implementation.
- ✓
token bucket
Why this is correct
Token bucket is the underlying algorithm for policing.
- ✓
single-rate two-color
Why this is correct
This is a common policing implementation.
- ✗
WRED
Why it's wrong here
WRED is congestion avoidance, not policing.
- ✗
shaping
Why it's wrong here
Shaping buffers traffic, not policing.
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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.