350-401 Virtualization Practice Question
A network engineer is troubleshooting a Cisco ACI environment where a tenant's application is experiencing intermittent connectivity issues. The engineer suspects that the issue is related to the ACI fabric's forwarding behavior. Which tool can be used to verify the end-to-end path and policy enforcement for a specific flow within the ACI fabric?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that a monitoring tool like Nexus Dashboard Insights can provide the same real-time path tracing as the dedicated Tenant Traceroute tool.
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
✓
Cisco APIC Tenant Traceroute
The Cisco APIC Tenant Traceroute tool is designed to trace the end-to-end path of a specific flow within the ACI fabric. It simulates the flow and shows each hop, including policy enforcement and any drops. This makes it the best choice for troubleshooting intermittent connectivity issues. The Contract Viewer only shows policy configuration, the AVE CLI is limited to virtual edge troubleshooting, and Nexus Dashboard Insights is more for analytics than on-demand path tracing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Cisco APIC Tenant Traceroute
Why this is correct
The Cisco APIC Tenant Traceroute tool allows engineers to trace the path of a specific flow through the ACI fabric, from source to destination. It simulates the flow and shows each step, including policy enforcement points, leaf and spine switches, and any drop or redirect actions. This is ideal for troubleshooting intermittent connectivity issues because it provides visibility into the actual forwarding path and policy application. It helps identify where packets may be dropped or misrouted within the fabric.
- ✗
Cisco APIC Contract Viewer
Why it's wrong here
The Cisco APIC Contract Viewer displays the contracts configured between endpoint groups (EPGs). It shows the rules and filters that define allowed traffic, but it does not provide end-to-end path verification or real-time flow analysis. It is useful for checking policy configuration, but it cannot trace the actual path of a packet through the fabric. For intermittent connectivity issues, a more dynamic tool is needed to observe flow behavior and policy enforcement.
- ✗
Cisco ACI Virtual Edge (AVE) CLI
Why it's wrong here
The Cisco ACI Virtual Edge (AVE) CLI is used to manage and troubleshoot the AVE, which is a virtual switch for hypervisors. It provides commands for checking virtual switch status, interface statistics, and OpFlex connectivity. However, it does not offer end-to-end path verification across the entire ACI fabric. It is limited to the virtual edge and does not trace flows through physical leaf and spine switches. Therefore, it is not the best tool for this scenario.
- ✗
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights
Why it's wrong here
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights is a powerful analytics and assurance platform for data center networks, including ACI. It provides telemetry, flow analysis, and anomaly detection. While it can help identify issues, it is not a direct tool for tracing a specific flow's path and policy enforcement in real time. It collects and analyzes data over time, which may not provide the immediate end-to-end path verification needed for intermittent issues. The APIC Tenant Traceroute is more specific for on-demand path tracing.
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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
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