easyMultiple Choice
200-901 Practice Question: Runs an Ansible playbook to backup a Cisco router…
A network engineer runs an Ansible playbook to backup a Cisco router configuration. The playbook fails with the error: 'ssh: connect to host 192.168.1.1 port 22: Connection timed out'. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between 'Connection timed out' (network unreachable) and 'Connection refused' (service not listening) to trap candidates who confuse SSH service availability with network connectivity.
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 router's IP address is unreachable from the control node.
The error 'Connection timed out' indicates that the control node sent a TCP SYN to 192.168.1.1 on port 22 but never received a SYN-ACK response. This occurs when the destination IP is unreachable due to routing issues, a firewall dropping packets, or the host being offline. Since Ansible uses SSH to connect to network devices, a timeout at the transport layer points directly to network reachability problems, not authentication or service configuration.
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 router's IP address is unreachable from the control node.
Why this is correct
A connection timeout on port 22 means no TCP response arrived, indicating the router's IP is unreachable from the control node. SSH credential or key errors would surface as authentication failures, not timeouts, so reachability is the actual fault.
- ✗
The playbook uses the incorrect gather_facts setting.
Why it's wrong here
gather_facts controls whether Ansible collects device facts before running tasks; it has no bearing on TCP connectivity to port 22. It is tempting because fact gathering failures do abort playbooks, making it the right suspect when a play connects successfully but then errors while collecting or templating facts.
- ✗
The SSH key is not authorized on the router.
Why it's wrong here
An unauthorized SSH key produces an authentication failure or permission-denied message after the TCP handshake completes, not a connection timeout. It is tempting because key authorization is a common Ansible-to-network-device problem, and it would be the correct diagnosis if the error read 'Permission denied (publickey)'.
- ✗
The router does not have SSH enabled.
Why it's wrong here
A router without SSH enabled refuses the connection immediately, returning 'connection refused', whereas a timeout means no response arrived at all. It is tempting because missing SSH is a frequent cause of Ansible network failures, and it would be correct if the error indicated refusal rather than silence.
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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.