NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting SD-WAN and runs the following CLI command: 'execute sdwan-health-check status' The output shows that one SD-WAN member has a status of 'dead'. What does this indicate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'dead' (probe failure) with 'SLA violation' (performance threshold breach), as candidates often assume a dead member means it failed SLA metrics, but the health check status is binary—alive or dead—based solely on probe reachability, not on latency or jitter thresholds.
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 member has failed the health check probe to the target server
The 'execute sdwan-health-check status' command displays the results of active health-check probes sent to configured target servers. A status of 'dead' means that the SD-WAN member has failed to receive a successful response from the target server within the configured probe interval and retry count, indicating a loss of connectivity or reachability to that target. This is distinct from interface administrative status or SLA compliance, as the health check specifically tests end-to-end reachability to the probe target.
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 member interface is administratively down
Why it's wrong here
Administratively down would show as 'down' at the interface level, not necessarily health check status.
- ✗
The member is not meeting the performance SLA thresholds
Why it's wrong here
Not meeting SLA thresholds would show as 'degraded', not 'dead'.
- ✗
The SD-WAN member is not included in any SD-WAN rule
Why it's wrong here
Not being in a rule does not affect health check status.
- ✓
The member has failed the health check probe to the target server
Why this is correct
'Dead' indicates that the health check has failed, meaning no response from the target.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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