350-401 Architecture Practice Question
A network engineer is deploying a new branch office that connects to the headquarters via a Cisco SD-WAN solution. The branch has two WAN transports: an MPLS circuit and a broadband internet link. The engineer wants to ensure that business-critical traffic uses the MPLS circuit while guest traffic uses the broadband link, and that failover occurs automatically if the MPLS circuit degrades. Which Cisco SD-WAN feature should be configured to meet these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse QoS or PBR with application-aware routing, which is the SD-WAN feature that actually monitors SLA and performs dynamic path selection.
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
✓
Application-aware routing policy with SLA classes and path preference.
Cisco SD-WAN application-aware routing uses SLA classes to continuously monitor path performance and select the best path per application. By mapping business-critical traffic to an SLA class that prefers MPLS and falls back to broadband, and guest traffic to a policy that prefers broadband, the engineer achieves both path separation and automatic failover on degradation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Policy-based routing (PBR) using route maps that match on source subnet.
Why it's wrong here
PBR can direct traffic based on source subnet, but it does not monitor path quality or provide automatic failover when the MPLS circuit degrades. It also lacks application awareness. While it could separate guest and business traffic, it would not meet the SLA-driven failover requirement.
- ✗
Static routes with administrative distance manipulation on the branch router.
Why it's wrong here
Static routes can influence path selection, but they do not react dynamically to degradation in latency, jitter, or loss. They also cannot distinguish application traffic types. This approach would not provide automatic failover based on SLA degradation, so it fails the requirement for dynamic path selection.
- ✓
Application-aware routing policy with SLA classes and path preference.
Why this is correct
Application-aware routing policies in Cisco SD-WAN use SLA classes to monitor path characteristics such as latency, jitter, and loss. By associating business-critical traffic with an SLA class that prefers MPLS and configuring a fallback to broadband, the engineer ensures preferred path selection and automatic failover when the MPLS circuit degrades.
- ✗
Per-VPN QoS trust boundaries on the branch edge interfaces.
Why it's wrong here
QoS trust boundaries classify and mark traffic but do not select paths or provide failover. They are used for congestion management, not for directing business-critical traffic over MPLS and guest traffic over broadband with automatic degradation-based failover. This feature alone does not satisfy the design goals.
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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.