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350-401 Practice Question: Is configuring model-driven telemetry on a Cisco…
A network engineer is configuring model-driven telemetry on a Cisco IOS-XE router to stream BGP route updates to a collector using gRPC dial-out. The engineer wants to ensure that the telemetry data is encrypted in transit. Which additional configuration is required to secure the gRPC telemetry stream?
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 TLS on the gRPC connection by configuring a trustpoint and using the 'transport grpc tls' command
To configure TLS on the gRPC connection. gRPC supports TLS for encryption, and on IOS-XE, this requires configuring a trustpoint and enabling TLS under the telemetry receiver. The other options are incorrect because IPsec is not directly integrated with gRPC telemetry; SSH is used for NETCONF, not gRPC; and DTLS is used for UDP-based telemetry, not gRPC.
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 IPsec between the router and the collector
Why it's wrong here
IPsec is a separate security layer and not natively supported for gRPC telemetry on IOS-XE.
- ✓
Enable TLS on the gRPC connection by configuring a trustpoint and using the 'transport grpc tls' command
Why this is correct
TLS provides encryption for gRPC telemetry, and IOS-XE supports it with proper trustpoint configuration.
- ✗
Use SSH tunneling for the gRPC connection
Why it's wrong here
SSH tunneling is not a standard method for securing gRPC telemetry; gRPC uses TLS natively.
- ✗
Configure DTLS on the telemetry receiver
Why it's wrong here
DTLS is used for UDP-based telemetry, not for gRPC which uses TCP.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.