350-501 Automation and Quality of Service Practice Question
Which TWO conditions cause a router to drop packets when a police action is configured?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between 'exceed' and 'violate' actions in policing, where candidates mistakenly think only 'violate' can drop packets, but 'exceed' can also be configured to drop, and both are valid conditions for packet loss.
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
✓
exceed action is drop
When a police action is configured, the router uses a token bucket model to meter traffic. If traffic exceeds the committed information rate (CIR) and burst size, it falls into the 'exceed' or 'violate' category depending on the configured conform and exceed burst parameters. The 'drop' action for exceed or violate conditions explicitly instructs the router to discard those packets, enforcing traffic shaping or policing at the hardware or software level.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
exceed action is drop
Why this is correct
When a packet exceeds the rate, it can be dropped if configured.
- ✗
conform action is drop
Why it's wrong here
Conform action is normally transmit, not drop.
- ✗
no bandwidth is reserved
Why it's wrong here
Bandwidth reservation is for scheduling, not policing.
- ✓
violate action is drop
Why this is correct
The violate action is used for dual-rate policing and can also drop.
- ✗
queue is full
Why it's wrong here
Queue fullness causes tail drop, 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.