200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Question
A CI/CD pipeline for network automation includes stages for linting, unit testing, and deployment. Which stage typically validates the syntax of Ansible playbooks?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between linting (syntax/style checks) and unit testing (functional correctness of code), leading candidates to mistakenly choose unit testing for syntax validation.
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
✓
Linting stage
Linting is the stage that validates syntax and style for code or configuration files. In a CI/CD pipeline for network automation, the linting stage uses tools like `ansible-lint` to check Ansible playbooks for syntax errors, best practices, and idempotency issues before any testing or deployment occurs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Integration testing stage
Why it's wrong here
Integration tests verify end-to-end behavior after deployment.
- ✗
Deployment stage
Why it's wrong here
Deployment applies changes; syntax should be checked earlier.
- ✗
Unit testing stage
Why it's wrong here
Unit tests verify logic, not syntax.
- ✓
Linting stage
Why this is correct
Linting tools like ansible-lint validate playbook syntax and best practices.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.