200-901 Application Deployment and Security Practice Question
This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of application deployment and security. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
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?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 typically means the host is not reachable, often due to network issues or incorrect IP.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The playbook uses the incorrect gather_facts setting.
Why it's wrong here
gather_facts is a playbook-level directive that does not affect the ability to establish an SSH connection.
✗
The SSH key is not authorized on the router.
Why it's wrong here
Key authorization issues lead to 'Permission denied' errors, not timeout.
✗
The router does not have SSH enabled.
Why it's wrong here
If SSH is disabled, the router would likely refuse the connection, resulting in 'Connection refused', not timeout.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
TCP connection timeout occurs when the client sends a SYN and waits for a SYN-ACK until the kernel's tcp_syn_retries (default 6 on Linux, ~127 seconds) are exhausted. In Ansible, the SSH transport layer relies on the underlying OS socket; a timeout means the network path is broken at Layer 3 (routing) or Layer 4 (firewall dropping SYN packets). Real-world scenarios include misconfigured ACLs on intermediate routers or the target device being powered off.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Application Deployment and Security — This question tests Application Deployment and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: 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.
What should I do if I get this 200-901 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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