350-401 Practice Question: Examine this IP SLA configuration on Router R1:…

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  A 'track' object that references the IP SLA operation is missing.

  Why this is correct

  An IP SLA operation on its own only generates probe results; it has no effect on routing, redundancy, or other services until those results are consumed by a tracking object. The missing piece is a command like 'track 1 ip sla 7389dc reachability' (or 'track 1 ip sla 7389dc' on some software versions) that polls the operation's return code and exposes it as an up/down state. Without a track object, nothing references the IP SLA, so the router never acts on the probe failure—hence the correct answer.

• ✗

  The 'frequency' command is missing; it should be set to 60 seconds.

  Why it's wrong here

  The 'frequency' is not missing; the configuration explicitly sets it to 10 seconds, which is a valid value under the default range (1–60 seconds for most IP SLA operations). The default frequency is actually 60 seconds, but since 10 seconds is already configured, changing it to 60 would only slow down probes and would not address the real issue. There is no requirement that frequency be a specific number, and certainly not 60 seconds, to make the IP SLA operation effective.

• ✗

  The 'ip sla responder' must be configured on the target router.

  Why it's wrong here

  An IP SLA responder is only necessary for operations that require a control channel between source and target—for example, UDP jitter, TCP connect, or UDP echo—where the target must run the 'ip sla responder' and listen on a designated UDP port. ICMP echo, however, relies on the target's normal ICMP echo reply mechanism, which is enabled on virtually every IP device without any special configuration. Therefore, the target router does not need to be configured as an IP SLA responder for this particular operation.

• ✗

  The 'life' parameter should be set to a specific number of repetitions.

  Why it's wrong here

  The 'life' parameter is already set to 'forever,' which means the IP SLA operation will run indefinitely until manually disabled or until the router restarts. Setting 'life' to a specific repetition count or a finite number of seconds would actually make the operation stop at that point, potentially leaving the network without monitoring. The use of 'life forever' is a deliberate and valid choice for continuous availability tracking, so it is incorrect to say the parameter should be changed to a specific number of repetitions.

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