350-401 Infrastructure Practice Question
A network engineer is configuring a Cisco IOS XE router to support NETCONF over SSH for automated configuration. The management application requires that the router expose a standards-based data model and that configuration changes be applied as complete, atomic transactions. Which action must the engineer take?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse model-driven programmability transports, assuming that enabling RESTCONF or the guest shell provides the same atomic NETCONF transaction behavior over SSH.
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
✓
Enable the NETCONF-YANG feature with the netconf-yang command and use the candidate datastore with the commit operation
NETCONF over SSH is enabled on Cisco IOS XE with the netconf-yang command, which starts the NETCONF server on TCP 830 and loads the YANG models. The candidate datastore plus commit gives transactional behavior: changes are staged, validated, and applied atomically, with rollback possible on failure. This is the standards-based, model-driven approach the automation application requires.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure SNMPv3 with authPriv and use SET operations to push the configuration
Why it's wrong here
SNMPv3 with authPriv provides authentication and encryption for SNMP, but SNMP MIBs are not YANG models and SNMP SET operations are not atomic transactions. A partial failure during a series of SET requests can leave the device in an inconsistent state, and the MIB structure is not the standards-based YANG data model the application expects. SNMP is also generally discouraged for bulk configuration management.
- ✓
Enable the NETCONF-YANG feature with the netconf-yang command and use the candidate datastore with the commit operation
Why this is correct
The netconf-yang command enables NETCONF over SSH on port 830 and activates the Cisco IOS XE YANG data models. Using the candidate datastore allows a client to stage edits and then apply them with a commit, which provides atomic transaction semantics: either all changes apply or none do. This directly satisfies the standards-based model and atomic commit requirements described.
- ✗
Enable the guest shell and run Python scripts that call the CLI parser for configuration
Why it's wrong here
The guest shell provides a Linux container for running scripts on the device, but invoking the CLI parser is not a standards-based, transactional configuration interface. CLI parsing is screen-scraping style automation that lacks YANG models and does not provide atomic commit or rollback across multiple changes. It may work for simple tasks, but it fails the requirement for a standards-based model with transactional semantics.
- ✗
Enable the RESTCONF API with the ip http secure-server command and use the YANG models exposed there
Why it's wrong here
RESTCONF uses HTTP methods and runs over HTTPS, not SSH, and enabling the secure HTTP server provides a different transport and API style. The requirement specifically calls for NETCONF over SSH, so RESTCONF does not meet the transport requirement even though it also uses YANG models. Additionally, the question asks for atomic transaction semantics tied to NETCONF, which RESTCONF does not provide in the same way.
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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.