200-901 Cisco Platforms and Development Practice Question
A developer is using the Cisco Meraki Dashboard API to update the VLAN configuration on a switch port. The API call returns a 404 Not Found error. The developer has verified that the API key is valid and the organization ID and network ID are correct. What is the most likely cause of the 404 error?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 404 with permission or authentication errors, which have different status codes (403 and 401 respectively).
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
✓
The API endpoint URL is incorrect or the resource does not exist.
A 404 Not Found error means the server cannot locate the requested resource. Common causes include an incorrect endpoint URL, a non-existent resource ID (such as a port that does not exist on the switch), or a typo in the path. Authentication issues yield 401, permission issues yield 403, bad request bodies yield 400, and rate limits yield 429. Therefore, the developer should verify the URL and resource identifiers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The API key does not have write permissions for the network.
Why it's wrong here
Insufficient permissions typically result in a 403 Forbidden, not 404. Meraki API keys are scoped to organizations, and if the key lacks write access, the server would deny the request with 403. A 404 suggests the resource itself is not found, so permissions are not the primary issue here.
- ✗
The request body is missing required parameters.
Why it's wrong here
Missing required parameters in the request body usually cause a 400 Bad Request, not 404. The server would indicate which fields are missing. A 404 means the endpoint or resource is not found, so the body content is not the cause of this specific error code.
- ✓
The API endpoint URL is incorrect or the resource does not exist.
Why this is correct
A 404 Not Found indicates that the server cannot find the requested resource. Even with valid IDs, if the endpoint path is wrong (e.g., misspelled 'vlans' or wrong API version) or the specific port does not exist, the server returns 404. The developer should double-check the URL structure and ensure the port identifier is valid for that switch.
- ✗
The Meraki Dashboard API rate limit has been exceeded.
Why it's wrong here
Rate limiting returns a 429 Too Many Requests status, often with a Retry-After header. A 404 is unrelated to rate limits. The developer should check for 429 if requests are throttled, but here the error clearly points to a missing resource or incorrect URL.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
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.