200-901 Understanding and Using APIs Practice Question
Which TWO authentication mechanisms are commonly used with Cisco REST APIs? (Choose two.)
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
✓
API key
API key and OAuth 2.0 are the most common. Basic auth is less common now. Token-based is a subset of OAuth. Certificate-based is not typical for REST APIs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
API key
Why this is correct
Used by Meraki and others.
- ✗
Basic authentication (base64 encoded)
Why it's wrong here
Less common, deprecated in many APIs.
- ✗
Certificate-based authentication
Why it's wrong here
Not typical for REST APIs.
- ✗
Token-based authentication (self-issued)
Why it's wrong here
Token-based is often OAuth.
- ✓
OAuth 2.0
Why this is correct
Used by Webex and Catalyst Center.
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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.