mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
200-901 Practice Question: When making API calls to Cisco DNA Center, a…
When making API calls to Cisco DNA Center, a developer receives a 401 Unauthorized error. The token was obtained using the token API endpoint. What is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between authentication errors (401) and other HTTP errors (400, 404, 406) to see if candidates understand that a valid but expired token still returns 401, not a different status code.
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 token has expired
A 401 Unauthorized error when using a token obtained from the token API endpoint most commonly indicates that the token has expired. Cisco DNA Center tokens have a configurable Time-To-Live (TTL), typically defaulting to 1 hour, after which the token becomes invalid and must be refreshed via the /dna/system/api/v1/auth/token endpoint.
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 request body contains invalid JSON
Why it's wrong here
Invalid JSON causes 400 Bad Request.
- ✓
The token has expired
Why this is correct
Tokens have an expiration time; expired tokens cause 401.
- ✗
The API base URL is incorrect
Why it's wrong here
Wrong base URL results in connection errors.
- ✗
The HTTP header for Accept is missing
Why it's wrong here
Missing Accept header leads to 400 Bad Request.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 989 original 200-901 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.