350-401 Network Assurance Practice Question
A network administrator is analyzing traffic flows using Cisco DNA Center Assurance. The administrator wants to see which applications are consuming the most bandwidth on a specific interface of a Catalyst 9500 switch. Which feature should be enabled on the switch to provide this level of granularity?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse SNMP interface counters with application-level flow analysis; SNMP shows total bytes but not which applications are responsible.
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
✓
NetFlow
NetFlow is the appropriate feature to enable on the switch to gain application-level visibility into bandwidth consumption. It exports flow records that include application identification through NBAR2, allowing Cisco DNA Center to present detailed bandwidth usage per application. Without NetFlow, the administrator would only see aggregate interface statistics.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Syslog
Why it's wrong here
Syslog is used for event logging and does not provide traffic flow analysis. It can alert about interface up/down events or errors, but it does not capture bandwidth consumption by application. Enabling syslog would not help the administrator determine which applications are using the most bandwidth.
- ✗
IP SLA
Why it's wrong here
IP SLA is used for active monitoring of network performance metrics such as latency, jitter, and packet loss. It does not provide passive traffic flow analysis or application identification. While IP SLA can measure performance between devices, it cannot show which applications are consuming bandwidth on an interface.
- ✗
SNMP
Why it's wrong here
SNMP provides device-level statistics such as interface counters, CPU, and memory, but it does not provide application-level flow details. While SNMP can show total bandwidth utilization on an interface, it cannot break down traffic by application. Therefore, it is not sufficient for the granular analysis required in this scenario.
- ✓
NetFlow
Why this is correct
NetFlow provides detailed information about IP traffic flows, including source and destination IP addresses, ports, protocol, and byte counts. When enabled on an interface and exported to Cisco DNA Center, it allows the administrator to identify which applications are consuming the most bandwidth. This is the correct feature for application visibility and bandwidth analysis.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
SDN Controllers and Cisco ACI
Key term
Cisco DNA Center Assurance
Cisco DNA Center Assurance is a network monitoring and analytics tool within Cisco's DNA Center platform that provides real-time visibility, proactive alerts, and historical insights into network health, performance, and user experience.
Key term
NetFlow
NetFlow is a network protocol developed by Cisco that collects and monitors IP traffic data to provide visibility into network usage, performance, and security.
About these practice questions
This 350-401 question is part of Courseiva's 1,923-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 350-401 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 350-401 exam.