200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are valid methods to handle API rate limiting in a Python automation script? (Select exactly 3.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between a fixed sleep (which is naive and not adaptive) versus dynamic methods like parsing Retry-After or using exponential backoff, and candidates mistakenly think a static delay is sufficient for rate limiting.
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
✓
Parse the Retry-After header from the response
The Retry-After header is a standard HTTP mechanism (defined in RFC 7231) that explicitly tells the client how long to wait before making the next request. Parsing this header allows your Python script to respect the server's rate limit dynamically, rather than using a fixed or arbitrary delay. This is a common pattern when interacting with REST APIs that enforce rate limiting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Parse the Retry-After header from the response
Why this is correct
Respects server-specified wait time.
- ✓
Use a token bucket algorithm to control request rate
Why this is correct
Token bucket limits request rate client-side.
- ✗
Sleep for a fixed amount of time between requests
Why it's wrong here
Fixed sleep may not adapt to dynamic limits.
- ✗
Ignore the limit and send requests faster
Why it's wrong here
Will cause more blocks.
- ✓
Implement retry logic with exponential backoff
Why this is correct
Standard approach to handle rate limits.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 200-901 question from scratch — 989 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. 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.