200-901 Cisco Platforms and Development Practice Question
A developer is using the Meraki Dashboard API and receives an HTTP 429 status code with a Retry-After header. What is the correct interpretation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between HTTP 429 (rate limiting) and 503 (server unavailable), and candidates may confuse Retry-After with a suggestion rather than a mandatory wait period.
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 rate limit has been exceeded; the client should wait the number of seconds specified in Retry-After before retrying.
HTTP 429 status code indicates 'Too Many Requests', meaning the client has exceeded the rate limit imposed by the Meraki Dashboard API. The Retry-After header specifies the number of seconds the client must wait before sending a new request to avoid further throttling. This is a standard rate-limiting mechanism defined in RFC 6585.
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 is invalid and the request should be re-authenticated.
Why it's wrong here
Invalid API key returns 401.
- ✓
The rate limit has been exceeded; the client should wait the number of seconds specified in Retry-After before retrying.
Why this is correct
This is the standard rate limiting response.
- ✗
The server is temporarily unavailable; the client should retry immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Retry-After indicates a wait time, not immediate retry.
- ✗
The request was successful but the response is too large.
Why it's wrong here
429 is not a success code.
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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.