Free Implementing and Operating Cisco Data Center Core Technologies Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Implementing and Operating Cisco Data Center Core Technologies practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1On a Nexus 9000 switch running NX-OS 10.5(x), OSPF is enabled and instance 201 exists. Ethernet1/2 already has a valid IPv4 address. Which interface command places that interface in backbone area 0 of instance 201?

   1. A. ip router ospf 201 area 0
   2. B. ipv6 router ospfv3 201 area 0
   3. C. ip ospf authentication message-digest
   4. D. ip router ospf 201 area 15

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Cisco states, "You can configure a network to OSPFv2 by associating it through the interface that the router uses to connect to that network". The documented interface command is ip router ospf followed by the instance tag and area. Area 0 is the backbone; the IPv6 command, authentication command, and area 15 assignment do not make the required IPv4 area assignment.

   Reference: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 10.5(x) — OSPFv2 — Configure networks in OSPFv2, pp. 116–117

2. 2A standalone UCS C-Series server supports the IMC NIC modes Dedicated, Cisco Card, Shared LOM, and Shared LOM Extended. Management must use the dedicated management connector. Which mode should be selected?

   1. A. Shared LOM
   2. B. Dedicated
   3. C. Cisco Card
   4. D. Shared LOM Extended

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Cisco defines Dedicated as "The management port that is used to access the Cisco IMC." Shared LOM uses motherboard ports, Cisco Card uses an NCSI-capable adapter, and Shared LOM Extended can use LOM or adapter ports. Dedicated selects the requested connector.

   Reference: Cisco UCS C-Series Integrated Management Controller GUI Configuration Guide, Release 4.3 — Configuring Network-Related Settings — Server NICs — NIC Mode, p. 157

3. 3Two SAN groups share physical MDS switches and links but require separate Fibre Channel address spaces and fabric-service instances. Which configuration construct provides that separation?

   1. A. Two zones within one VSAN
   2. B. Two aliases for each host pWWN
   3. C. Two port channels within one VSAN
   4. D. Two distinct VSANs on the shared fabric

   Answer: D

   Explanation: Cisco states, "Every instance of a VSAN runs all required protocols such as FSPF, domain manager, and zoning." VSANs provide separate logical SANs and independent address spaces over shared infrastructure. Zones segment communication inside a VSAN, while aliases and port channels do not create independent fabric-service instances.

   Reference: Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration Guide, Release 9.x — Configuring and Managing VSANs — About VSANs — additional features

4. 4An NX-OS EEM applet must match the text LINK_DOWN in syslog messages. Which event statement supplies the required message-text match?

   1. A. event syslog priority warnings
   2. B. event syslog occurs 10
   3. C. event syslog period 60
   4. D. event syslog pattern "LINK_DOWN"

   Answer: D

   Explanation: Cisco states, "The pattern msg-text keyword-argument pair specifies the matching regular expression." The pattern clause matches the requested message text. Priority, occurrence count, and period configure other event conditions and do not themselves specify LINK_DOWN as the text to match.

   Reference: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, Release 10.5(x) — Configuring the Embedded Event Manager — syslog event configuration, p. 314, step 3

5. 5A Nexus 9000 account needs built-in access for basic operational monitoring without configuration-write privileges. Which assignment meets that permission boundary?

   1. A. network-operator only
   2. B. network-admin only
   3. C. network-operator plus network-admin
   4. D. vdc-admin only

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Cisco describes network-operator as providing "Complete read access to the entire Cisco NX-OS device", subject to documented command restrictions. network-admin grants read-and-write access, and vdc-admin has equivalent administrator privileges on Nexus 9000. Adding an administrator role would therefore exceed the requested write boundary.

   Reference: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide, Release 10.5(x) — Configuring User Accounts and RBAC — About user accounts and RBAC — User roles; Default accounts and role restrictions

6. 6An NX-OS iBGP deployment must distribute routes between clients without a full mesh of client-to-client sessions. The central router already has the required BGP address families and neighbors configured. Which neighbor address-family command makes a neighbor its route-reflector client?

   1. A. next-hop-self
   2. B. route-reflector-client
   3. C. send-community extended
   4. D. default-originate

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The guide describes route-reflector-client: "Configures the device as a BGP route reflector and configures the neighbor as its client." This enables reflection to that client. Changing next-hop handling, sending extended communities, or originating a default route does not establish the client relationship.

   Reference: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 10.5(x) — BGP — Configure Route Reflector, p. 368, step 9

7. 7A UCS C-Series server uses a supported shared IMC NIC mode with active-standby redundancy. All associated management ports are connected to the same subnet. What happens if the active management port fails?

   1. A. The IMC switches to the dedicated connector regardless of NIC mode
   2. B. The operating system must restart before management can resume
   3. C. Management traffic fails over to another port in the configured NIC mode
   4. D. The IMC changes to active-active operation on all adapter ports

   Answer: C

   Explanation: For active-standby, Cisco states, "If a port that is associated with the configured NIC mode fails, traffic fails over to one of the other ports associated with the NIC mode." This does not imply a host restart, an automatic NIC-mode change, or activation of unrelated ports.

   Reference: Cisco UCS C-Series Integrated Management Controller GUI Configuration Guide, Release 4.3 — Configuring Network-Related Settings — Server NICs — NIC Redundancy, p. 158

8. 8A SAN design adds supported edge switches while avoiding a Fibre Channel domain ID for each new edge switch. The upstream core supports NPIV. Which edge operating mode meets this requirement?

   1. A. NPV mode forwarding end-device logins to the core
   2. B. Full fabric-switch mode using E-port interswitch links
   3. C. Principal-switch mode with a preferred domain ID
   4. D. Full fabric-switch mode using static domain IDs

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Cisco states, "Switches operating in the Cisco NPV mode do not join a fabric which eliminates the need for domain IDs for these switches." Such switches rely on an upstream NPIV-enabled core. The full-fabric alternatives still participate in the fabric and consume domain IDs.

   Reference: Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 9.x — Configuring N Port Virtualization — Information About N Port Virtualization — N Port Virtualization Overview

9. 9An NX-OS scheduler job contains the required backup commands. The job must run automatically every day at 01:00. Which additional configuration associates that job with its execution time?

   1. A. Associate the backup job with a daily schedule set to 01:00
   2. B. Associate the backup job with a weekly schedule set to 01:00
   3. C. Associate the backup job with a one-time schedule set to 01:00
   4. D. Create a daily 01:00 schedule without associating the backup job

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Cisco defines a schedule as "The timetable for completing a job." Its example associates job name backup-cfg with time daily 1:00. A daily schedule referencing the backup job supplies the recurring trigger. Weekly and one-time schedules have the wrong recurrence, and a schedule without the job association does not run that job.

   Reference: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide, Release 10.5(x) — Scheduler — Jobs, p. 217; Configuration Examples — Schedule a Scheduler Job, p. 226

10. 10In an ACI contract, the Web EPG is the consumer and the App EPG is the provider. Web clients initiate HTTP requests to TCP port 80 on App servers. Which directional port match permits those requests?

    1. A. Consumer-to-provider traffic with TCP source port 80
    2. B. Consumer-to-provider traffic with TCP destination port 80
    3. C. Provider-to-consumer traffic with TCP destination port 80
    4. D. Provider-to-consumer traffic with TCP source port 80

    Answer: B

    Explanation: Cisco's matching example allows "HTTP port 80 as a destination in the consumer-to-provider direction and as a source in the provider-to-consumer direction." Initial client requests go from the consuming Web EPG to the providing App EPG with destination port 80. A source-port match or the reverse direction describes a different packet flow.

    Reference: Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Design Guide — Contracts Design Considerations — provider/consumer direction and HTTP filter example