hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
200-901 Practice Question: A DevOps engineer is automating network device…
A DevOps engineer is automating network device configuration using Ansible. The playbook must retrieve the MAC address table from a Cisco switch. Which protocol should the engineer use to fetch this data?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse NETCONF (a configuration protocol) with SNMP (a monitoring protocol), or assume REST API is universally available on all network devices, when in fact SNMP remains the standard for reading operational tables like MAC addresses on traditional Cisco switches.
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
✓
SNMP
E is correct because SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is specifically designed for reading operational data like MAC address tables from network devices. The engineer can use SNMP GET requests to query the dot1dTpFdbTable (RFC 1493) or the BRIDGE-MIB to retrieve MAC address entries from a Cisco switch efficiently without requiring CLI parsing or web interfaces.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SSH with CLI scraping
Why it's wrong here
While possible, it is brittle and not best practice for automation.
- ✗
HTTPS with Web UI
Why it's wrong here
Web UI is for human interaction, not automation.
- ✗
REST API
Why it's wrong here
Not all switches expose MAC table via REST; SNMP is universal.
- ✗
NETCONF
Why it's wrong here
NETCONF can retrieve operational data but is not the simplest for this common task.
- ✓
SNMP
Why this is correct
SNMP is a standard protocol for retrieving MIB data like MAC tables.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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