hardMultiple Choice
350-401 Practice Question: Runs the following command on Router R7: R7# show…
A network engineer runs the following command on Router R7:
R7# show ip sla monitor statistics 6
Round Trip Time (RTT) for Index 6 Latest RTT: NoConnection/Busy/Timeout Latest Operation Start Time: 18:00:00.000 UTC Mon Mar 1 2021 Latest Operation Return Code: Timeout Number of successes: 0 Number of failures: 15 Over thresholds: 0
Based on this output, what is the status of the IP SLA operation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between 'timeout' (no response) and 'high latency' (slow but successful responses), so candidates may incorrectly assume timeouts indicate latency rather than unreachability.
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
✓
The target is unreachable, as all probes have timed out.
The output shows 15 failures with a 'Timeout' return code and no successes, indicating that every probe sent has timed out. In IP SLA, a 'NoConnection/Busy/Timeout' RTT and a 'Timeout' return code mean the target is not responding to the probe, confirming unreachability. Option C correctly states the target is unreachable because all probes have failed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The operation is functioning normally with occasional timeouts.
Why it's wrong here
The claim of 'occasional timeouts' is contradicted by the statistics: all 15 probes have failed, meaning the packet loss rate is 100%, not a sporadic mix of successes and failures. In a normally functioning IP SLA operation, you would see a majority of return codes 'OK' with only an occasional 'Timeout', but 15 consecutive timeouts indicate a persistent outage rather than normal behavior.
- ✗
The target is reachable but with high latency.
Why it's wrong here
High latency would still result in a successful probe, with the return code 'OK' and an RTT value that exceeds a configured threshold. Here, the return code is explicitly 'Timeout', which means no response was received at all within the timeout period — not merely a late response. A timeout is fundamentally different from a delayed response, so the target being reachable but with high latency cannot be inferred from this output.
- ✓
The target is unreachable, as all probes have timed out.
Why this is correct
The IP SLA statistics show 15 probes sent and 15 failures, all with a return code of 'Timeout'. A 100% loss rate with timeout return codes is conclusive evidence that the target is not responding to the probe traffic, meaning it is unreachable from the source device. This could be due to the target being down, a routing issue, or an ACL dropping the probes, but the operational conclusion is that the target is not reachable.
- ✗
The operation has been configured but not started.
Why it's wrong here
If the IP SLA operation had been configured but never started, its counters would be at zero and there would be no return codes or failure statistics in the output. The presence of 15 failures and a 'Timeout' return code proves that the operation has been actively sending probes in accordance with its schedule. A non-started operation would not accumulate any probe attempts, so the displayed failure count definitively rules out this option.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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