easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
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 typically means the host is not reachable, often due to network issues or incorrect IP.
- ✗
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.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 200-901 question is part of Courseiva's 989-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.