200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Question
When using NETCONF to edit the configuration of a Cisco IOS XE device, an engineer receives an <rpc-error> with error-tag 'in-use' and error-app-tag 'data-exists'. What does this error indicate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between NETCONF <edit-config> operations (create vs. merge vs. replace) and their corresponding error tags, leading candidates to confuse 'in-use' with permission or syntax errors.
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 configuration being added already exists on the device.
The error-tag 'in-use' combined with the error-app-tag 'data-exists' in NETCONF indicates that the configuration operation (e.g., <edit-config> with operation 'create') attempted to add a configuration element that already exists in the running datastore. NETCONF uses these standardized error tags per RFC 6241 to signal that the requested operation cannot be completed because the target data node is already present, preventing duplicate configuration entries.
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 NETCONF session was closed due to a timeout.
Why it's wrong here
Timeout would be 'session-terminated'.
- ✗
The RPC message was malformed.
Why it's wrong here
Malformed RPC gives 'malformed-message'.
- ✓
The configuration being added already exists on the device.
Why this is correct
data-exists indicates duplicate data.
- ✗
The device does not have the required user permissions.
Why it's wrong here
Permission errors have 'access-denied'.
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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.