220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician is implementing a change to update the firmware on all network switches in a data center. The change has been approved by the Change Advisory Board (CAB). During the implementation on the first switch, the firmware update fails, and the switch becomes unresponsive. According to change management best practices, what should the technician do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse the urgency of restoring service with the need for additional approvals, but change management best practices mandate executing the pre-approved backout plan first, not seeking new authorization.
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
✓
Immediately implement the backout plan
Change management best practices require that when a change fails and causes an outage, the immediate priority is to restore service by executing the pre-approved backout plan. The backout plan is a mandatory component of any change request, designed to revert the system to its previous stable state. In this scenario, the switch is unresponsive, so the technician must follow the documented rollback procedure to minimize downtime before any further actions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Proceed with updating the remaining switches
Why it's wrong here
Continuing to update the remaining switches after one has failed is unsafe because the root cause of the failure is still unknown. The same defect in the firmware image or the upgrade procedure could affect the other devices, multiplying the outage scope. Change management best practice requires stopping the rollout at the first sign of failure to limit blast radius. Proceeding increases risk and contradicts the principle of 'fail fast, fail safe'.
- ✗
Contact the CAB for an emergency change
Why it's wrong here
Contacting the CAB for an emergency change would delay the immediate restoration of service, which should be the top priority. An emergency change is intended for introducing a new change under urgent circumstances, but here an approved change already exists and its backout plan is part of that approval. Executing the backout is historically an authorized action that does not require further CAB approval. Escalating to the CAB first would unnecessarily extend downtime and could be seen as procedural bypassing.
- ✓
Immediately implement the backout plan
Why this is correct
The backout plan is the predefined, tested procedure designed to revert the system to its last known-good state when an implementation fails. Acting on it immediately minimizes downtime and prevents the failed change from causing continued degradation or data loss. Delaying to troubleshoot or seek counsel increases business impact and violates the change plan's own contingency measures. This response is the correct first step in any failed change scenario.
- ✗
Reboot the switch and try the update again
Why it's wrong here
Rebooting the switch and attempting the same firmware update again is a dangerous gamble because the device may have partially written firmware, and a reboot could leave it in a bricked or unstable state. Without diagnosing why the first update failed, retrying will likely reproduce the same error and could corrupt the switch's configuration. The backout plan is the safer, documented method to restore service before any further updates are attempted. Guessing rather than following the plan increases risk without providing valuable troubleshooting data.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshoot: Network Issues from OS
Key term
Firmware update
A firmware update is a process that replaces or patches the permanent software programmed into a hardware device to fix bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, or add new features.
Key term
Change management
Change management is the structured process of planning, approving, implementing, and reviewing changes to IT systems to minimize risk and disruption.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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