hardMultiple Choice
350-401 Practice Question: Is implementing model-driven telemetry on a Cisco…
A network engineer is implementing model-driven telemetry on a Cisco Nexus 9000 switch to monitor VLAN and STP changes. The engineer wants to use the native telemetry protocol with UDP as the transport. After configuring the telemetry subscription with the 'destination-group' and 'sensor-group', the engineer notices that the collector is not receiving any data. The collector is reachable and the UDP port is open. What is the most likely missing configuration?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is stopping configuration after defining destination-group and sensor-group — candidates forget that the subscription policy is the mandatory binding step that actually activates telemetry.
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 engineer did not create a 'policy' that binds the sensor-group and destination-group
On Nexus 9000 model-driven telemetry, a subscription requires three components: a destination-group (collector address/port), a sensor-group (YANG paths), and a subscription policy that binds them together. Without the policy, the sensor-group and destination-group are defined but never associated, so no data is exported.
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 engineer forgot to configure a 'source-interface' under the destination-group
Why it's wrong here
The source-interface sets the origin address of telemetry packets; it is optional and its absence does not stop UDP export. It matters when the collector filters by source address. The missing subscription-level association between sensor-group and destination-group prevents any data being sent.
- ✓
The engineer did not create a 'policy' that binds the sensor-group and destination-group
Why this is correct
The subscription remains incomplete without a policy that binds the sensor-group to the destination-group. Cisco's telemetry configuration requires this association before data streams; without it, the switch has sensors and destinations defined but no instruction to send one to the other, so nothing reaches the collector despite reachability.
- ✗
The YANG models for VLAN and STP are not supported in the native telemetry protocol
Why it's wrong here
Native telemetry on Nexus 9000 supports VLAN and STP YANG models, so model support is not the fault. This would be the answer if the sensor path referenced an unsupported model. The actual gap is the subscription linking sensor-group to destination-group.
- ✗
The engineer used GPB encoding instead of JSON, and the collector only accepts JSON
Why it's wrong here
GPB encoding is supported and a JSON-only collector would silently discard packets, but the stem states nothing is received at all. Encoding mismatch is plausible only when some data arrives malformed. The missing subscription association halts export entirely.
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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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