200-901 SSH timeout Practice Question
A company uses Ansible to automate configuration of its Cisco IOS XE routers. The network team recently upgraded the routers' software from IOS 15.x to IOS XE 17.x. Since the upgrade, the Ansible playbook fails intermittently with the message: 'Failed to connect to the host via ssh: timed out'. However, the team can SSH manually to the routers from the Ansible control node without issues. The playbook uses the 'cisco.ios.ios_config' module with default SSH options. The routers have been configured with SSH version 2 and local authentication. The Ansible control node runs Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. Which action should the network engineer take to resolve the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may think SSH timeout is always due to network latency or firewall drops, but it can be caused by slower cryptographic handshakes in newer IOS XE versions. Increasing SSH timeout is a simple fix.
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
✓
Increase the SSH timeout in the Ansible configuration file (ansible.cfg) to 60 seconds.
The intermittent SSH timeout after upgrading to IOS XE 17.x is likely due to slower key exchange algorithms (e.g., diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256) that increase connection setup time. Increasing the SSH timeout in ansible.cfg (e.g., setting timeout=60) gives the SSH handshake enough time to complete, avoiding the timeout. Forcing SSHv1 is not recommended as it is deprecated and may not be supported. Host key checking (option C) does not affect timeout, and using a different module (option D) does not solve the underlying connectivity issue.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Increase the SSH timeout in the Ansible configuration file (ansible.cfg) to 60 seconds.
Why this is correct
IOS XE 17.x introduces slower SSH negotiation, so Ansible's default connection timeout expires before authentication completes, while manual SSH succeeds because it waits longer. Raising the timeout in ansible.cfg lets the cisco.ios.ios_config module complete the handshake.
- ✗
Configure the routers to use SSH version 1 only.
Why it's wrong here
IOS XE 17.x supports SSH version 2 only, so forcing version 1 breaks connectivity entirely rather than fixing timeouts. Version 1 is relevant only for legacy devices that cannot negotiate version 2; here the intermittent timeout points to SSH session limits or control-persistence settings instead.
- ✗
Set the 'host_key_checking' option to False in ansible.cfg.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling host_key_checking suppresses SSH host key verification failures; it does not address the intermittent connection timeout, which occurs after authentication. It is tempting as a quick fix for key mismatch errors, and would be correct if the playbook failed with a host key verification warning rather than a timeout.
- ✗
Use the 'ios_command' module instead of 'ios_config' to perform the tasks.
Why it's wrong here
The ios_command module only issues show commands and returns their output; it cannot push configuration changes, so it fails the playbook's configuration task entirely. It is tempting because it shares the same SSH connection plugin, but the timeout stems from the connection layer, not the module choice.
Visual reference
Quick reference
Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Exchange | Signatures | Equivalent Security Key | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSA-3072 | Yes | Yes | 128-bit | Widely deployed; slow for bulk data |
| ECDSA P-256 | No | Yes | 128-bit | Fast signatures; standard TLS certs |
| ECDH / ECDHE | Yes | No | 128-bit | Perfect forward secrecy in TLS 1.3 |
| DH / DHE | Yes | No | 128-bit (3072-bit key) | Replaced by ECDHE in modern TLS |
| Ed25519 | No | Yes | ~128-bit | SSH keys, modern PKI |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 200-901 question is part of Courseiva's 975-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.