200-901 Cisco Platforms and Development Practice Question
A network automation engineer is using Cisco NX-OS with NX-API enabled. The engineer wants to send a JSON-RPC request to the device to retrieve the running configuration. Which URL format and HTTP method should be used to send the request to the NX-API endpoint?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse NX-API's JSON-RPC endpoint with RESTCONF or generic REST patterns, leading to incorrect URL and HTTP method choices.
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
✓
POST to https://<device-ip>/ins with a JSON body containing the RPC parameters.
NX-API provides a JSON-RPC interface at the /ins endpoint over HTTPS. To run show commands and retrieve the running configuration, the client sends an HTTP POST with a JSON body specifying the command and parameters. Other endpoints such as RESTCONF or form-encoded requests are not part of the NX-API JSON-RPC mechanism.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
POST to https://<device-ip>/ins with form-encoded parameters and a Content-Type of application/x-www-form-urlencoded.
Why it's wrong here
NX-API expects JSON or XML payloads, not form-encoded data. The Content-Type must be application/json or application/xml for the request to be parsed correctly. Form encoding would cause the device to reject or misinterpret the request, so this approach fails.
- ✗
GET to https://<device-ip>/api/v1/config with query parameters for the command.
Why it's wrong here
NX-API does not use a /api/v1/config endpoint; that pattern resembles other REST APIs but not NX-OS. NX-API requests are sent to /ins (or /ins for JSON-RPC) using POST, not GET with query parameters. Using this URL would result in a 404 or unsupported method error.
- ✗
PUT to https://<device-ip>/restconf/data/Cisco-NX-OS-device:config
Why it's wrong here
While NX-OS supports RESTCONF on some platforms, the question specifies NX-API JSON-RPC. The /restconf path is for RESTCONF/YANG models, not NX-API. Using PUT to modify configuration also does not match a read operation, and the URL is not the NX-API endpoint.
- ✓
POST to https://<device-ip>/ins with a JSON body containing the RPC parameters.
Why this is correct
NX-API exposes an /ins endpoint that accepts JSON-RPC or XML requests over HTTPS for CLI-based commands. Sending a POST with the proper JSON body containing the command and parameters is the documented way to retrieve configuration. This endpoint is specifically designed for programmatic access to NX-OS CLI.
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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
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