Quick Answer
The answer is canary deployment because it is the practice that best prevents production disruption in a network CI/CD pipeline by gradually introducing a configuration change to a small subset of devices or traffic before a full rollout. This incremental approach allows real-time monitoring for adverse effects, such as routing loops or access control misconfigurations, and enables automatic rollback if issues arise, directly aligning with the risk mitigation and incremental validation principles of CI/CD. On the Cisco DevNet Associate 200-901 exam, this question tests your understanding of deployment strategies within network automation workflows, often appearing as a distractor against blue-green deployment or rolling updates—the key trap is that blue-green requires full parallel environments, while canary focuses on traffic shifting. A helpful memory tip: think of a canary in a coal mine—it tests the air before everyone enters, just as canary deployment tests a change on a small sample before it reaches the entire production network.
This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure and automation. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
In a CI/CD pipeline for network changes, which practice best ensures that a configuration push does not disrupt production traffic?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Disable rollback
Why wrong: Rollback should be enabled for safety.
Canary deployment
Canary deployment limits blast radius.
Push all changes at once
Why wrong: This is risky and can cause widespread issues.
Skip validation
Why wrong: Validation is crucial.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Canary deployment
Canary deployment is the correct practice because it gradually introduces the configuration change to a small subset of devices or traffic before full rollout. This allows monitoring for adverse effects and automatic rollback if issues arise, minimizing the risk of production disruption. In a CI/CD pipeline for network changes, this approach aligns with incremental validation and risk mitigation.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Disable rollback
Why it's wrong here
Rollback should be enabled for safety.
Canary deployment
Why this is correct
Canary deployment limits blast radius.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Push all changes at once
Why it's wrong here
This is risky and can cause widespread issues.
Skip validation
Why it's wrong here
Validation is crucial.
Common exam traps
Cisco often tests the misconception that 'push all changes at once' is efficient and safe, but the trap here is that it ignores the principle of incremental risk reduction, which is fundamental to CI/CD best practices for network automation.
Detailed technical explanation
Canary deployment in networking often leverages traffic steering mechanisms like BGP communities or policy-based routing to direct a small percentage of flows to the updated configuration. Under the hood, this requires integration with monitoring tools (e.g., NetFlow, SNMP) to compare key performance indicators (KPIs) like latency or packet loss between the canary and baseline. In a real-world scenario, a canary might be applied to a single border router in a PoP, and if BGP session drops or routing loops occur, the pipeline automatically triggers a rollback via Ansible or Terraform state management.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the 200-901 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Infrastructure and Automation — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Infrastructure and Automation — This question tests Infrastructure and Automation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Canary deployment — Canary deployment is the correct practice because it gradually introduces the configuration change to a small subset of devices or traffic before full rollout. This allows monitoring for adverse effects and automatic rollback if issues arise, minimizing the risk of production disruption. In a CI/CD pipeline for network changes, this approach aligns with incremental validation and risk mitigation.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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