- A
Stage gates
Stage gates control progression based on conditions.
- B
Rolling update
Why wrong: Rolling update is a deployment strategy.
- C
Container orchestration
Why wrong: Container orchestration manages containers, not pipeline flow.
- D
Artifact management
Why wrong: Artifact management stores build outputs.
Question 381 of 1,000
200-901 Application Deployment and Security Practice Question
This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of application deployment and security. 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 CI/CD pipeline for a microservice application includes stages: code commit, build Docker image, push to registry, deploy to staging, run integration tests, and deploy to production. The team wants to ensure that if integration tests fail, the pipeline stops and does not proceed to production. Which CI/CD concept is used to enforce this behavior?
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
✓
Stage gates
Stage gates are conditional checkpoints in a CI/CD pipeline that evaluate predefined criteria before allowing the pipeline to proceed to the next stage. In this scenario, the integration test stage acts as a gate: if the tests fail, the gate blocks the pipeline from advancing to the production deployment stage, ensuring only validated code reaches production.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Stage gates
Why this is correct
Stage gates control progression based on conditions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Rolling update
Why it's wrong here
Rolling update is a deployment strategy.
- ✗
Container orchestration
Why it's wrong here
Container orchestration manages containers, not pipeline flow.
- ✗
Artifact management
Why it's wrong here
Artifact management stores build outputs.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between pipeline control mechanisms (stage gates) and deployment strategies (rolling updates), so candidates mistakenly choose a deployment method when the question is about conditional pipeline flow.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Artifact management stores build outputs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, stage gates are often implemented using pipeline DSL features such as Jenkins' `input` step, GitLab CI's `rules:when`, or AWS CodePipeline's `stage actions` with `onFailure` conditions. A subtle behavior is that gates can also require manual approval (e.g., a human clicking 'Approve' in a UI) or automated checks like code coverage thresholds, not just pass/fail of tests. In a real-world scenario, a team might combine a test gate with a security scan gate to enforce both quality and compliance before production.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the 200-901 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Application Deployment and Security — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 200-901 question test?
Application Deployment and Security — This question tests Application Deployment and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Stage gates — Stage gates are conditional checkpoints in a CI/CD pipeline that evaluate predefined criteria before allowing the pipeline to proceed to the next stage. In this scenario, the integration test stage acts as a gate: if the tests fail, the gate blocks the pipeline from advancing to the production deployment stage, ensuring only validated code reaches production.
What should I do if I get this 200-901 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This 200-901 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 200-901 exam.
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