200-901 Infrastructure and Automation Practice Question
Which TWO tools are commonly used for automated network compliance checking against a desired state? (Select two)
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between monitoring tools (like SolarWinds) and automation/compliance tools (like Ansible and pyATS), trapping candidates who confuse network monitoring with automated state enforcement.
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
✓
Ansible
B is correct because Ansible is an automation tool that uses playbooks (YAML-based) to define a desired network state and can enforce compliance by comparing the current device configuration against the defined state using modules like `ios_config` or `nxos_config`. It is widely used for network compliance checking due to its agentless architecture and idempotent behavior.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SolarWinds
Why it's wrong here
SolarWinds is for monitoring, not automated compliance checking.
- ✓
Ansible
Why this is correct
Ansible can compare current config to a desired state and report differences.
- ✗
Microsoft Visio
Why it's wrong here
Visio is a diagramming tool, not for compliance checking.
- ✓
pyATS (with Genie)
Why this is correct
pyATS with Genie provides operational state validation and compliance.
- ✗
Chef
Why it's wrong here
Chef is mainly for server automation, not network compliance.
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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.