200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. Router# show ip interface brief Interface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol GigabitEthernet0/0 192.168.1.1 YES NVRAM up up GigabitEthernet0/1 unassigned YES NVRAM administratively down down
An automation script using Ansible tries to configure IP address 192.168.1.2 on GigabitEthernet0/1. After running, the interface remains administratively down. What is the first thing to check?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between interface configuration (IP address, VLAN) and interface state (shutdown/no shutdown), trapping candidates who assume that assigning an IP address automatically enables the interface.
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 'no shutdown' command was not included in the configuration
The 'no shutdown' command is required to administratively enable an interface on Cisco IOS devices. Without it, the interface remains in an administratively down state regardless of IP configuration. Ansible automation scripts must include this command in the task or playbook to bring the interface up.
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 VLAN configuration
Why it's wrong here
VLAN assignment affects Layer 2 forwarding and the operational state, not the administrative state; a shutdown interface stays down regardless of VLAN membership. Checking VLAN configuration is right when an up interface cannot pass traffic in the intended broadcast domain.
- ✗
The IP address is a duplicate
Why it's wrong here
A duplicate IP address would trigger an address-conflict log entry, not leave the interface in an administratively down state, which reflects the shutdown command. Duplicate detection is what you check when connectivity fails despite the interface being up.
- ✗
The interface is faulty
Why it's wrong here
Hardware failure would normally surface as an err-disabled or down state with interface error counters, not the deliberate administratively down status produced by a shutdown command. Faulty hardware is the diagnosis when a no-shutdown interface still fails to come up.
- ✓
The 'no shutdown' command was not included in the configuration
Why this is correct
Cisco IOS interfaces default to administratively down, so an IP address alone leaves the port disabled. Adding 'no shutdown' transitions it to up/up, which is precisely the state the stem reports as missing after the playbook run.
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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.