200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Question
An engineer is tasked with automating the backup of running configurations from 50 routers. Which approach is most scalable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that SNMP can be used for configuration backup, but SNMP is designed for read-only monitoring of OIDs, not for retrieving or storing entire configuration files, which requires a file transfer or CLI-based method.
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
✓
Use an Ansible playbook with ios_config backup
An Ansible playbook with the ios_config module's backup option is the most scalable approach because it uses a push-based automation model that can manage all 50 routers from a single control node, leveraging SSH for secure transport and idempotent configuration management without requiring any agent on the routers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SSH manually to each router and copy config
Why it's wrong here
Manual SSH to each device requires an interactive session per router, so effort scales linearly with 50 devices and cannot be scheduled or parallelised. It is tempting as the direct method for a handful of routers, where ad-hoc copying is acceptable, but it lacks the orchestration automation demands.
- ✗
Schedule a cron job on each router to SCP config
Why it's wrong here
A per-router cron job pushes configs outward but requires configuring and maintaining 50 separate schedules, with no central control or credential rotation. It is tempting because cron with SCP is a genuine automated push mechanism, and would suit a small, static set of devices rather than fleet-wide orchestration.
- ✗
Use SNMP to capture config
Why it's wrong here
SNMP exposes operational counters and status via MIB objects; it does not transfer full running-configuration text, so the backup content cannot be captured. It is tempting because SNMP polling scales well for monitoring many devices, and would be correct for collecting interface statistics or device health rather than configuration files.
- ✓
Use an Ansible playbook with ios_config backup
Why this is correct
Ansible's ios_config module with the backup parameter retrieves running configurations from each device and stores them locally, using SSH rather than screen-scraping. Executing one playbook against a 50-router inventory satisfies the scalability constraint, since parallel host execution replaces 50 manual sessions, and Microsoft Entra ID integration is unnecessary for device-level CLI automation.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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