Cisco 200-301 Practice Test 44
Question 430
Two offices need confidential communication between internal LANs across a public provider network. Which IPsec deployment pattern fits?
- Site-to-site IPsec tunnel between authorized edge gateways
- A common SSID alone without WAN encryption
- Static DNS A records for the remote internal hosts only
- A Bluetooth personal-area connection between all office PCs
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A site-to-site IPsec VPN terminates on authorized gateways at the two offices and can protect defined subnet-to-subnet traffic while it traverses an untrusted provider or the Internet. The gateways negotiate security associations and use IPsec encryption and integrity mechanisms as configured, so ordinary internal hosts need not each start an individual remote-access tunnel. Routing, matching traffic selectors and firewall policies must also be correct. The tunnel protects the WAN segment but does not replace endpoint security inside either LAN.
Incorrect Answers
B:An SSID names a wireless LAN and does not provide encryption for packets travelling between offices across a public WAN. Even a strongly protected Wi-Fi SSID secures only the appropriate wireless access segment, not necessarily the routed provider path between two sites. The use case demands gateway-to-gateway protection of intersite traffic rather than a common radio network label.
C:DNS A records map names to IPv4 addresses but do not encrypt or authenticate traffic between office LANs. Correct name resolution might help applications locate remote servers once a secure connection exists, but it cannot establish a confidential site-to-site tunnel. Translation of hostnames and protection of packets in transit are separate functions.
D:Bluetooth is designed for short-range personal-area device connections, not a routable encrypted WAN spanning two offices over a public provider network. Requiring every office PC to use Bluetooth would fail the geographic reach and gateway-based subnet requirement. IPsec gateways are built for this routed intersite transport scenario.
Question 431
An IPv6 router has a next hop 2001:db8:dd::1 and no specific remote prefix for many destinations. Which configuration installs a default?
- ipv6 route ::/0 2001:db8:dd::1
- ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 2001:db8:dd::1
- ipv6 route ff02::1/128 2001:db8:dd::1
- ipv6 address 2001:db8:dd::1/0
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The IPv6 default route destination is ::/0, meaning zero significant prefix bits and therefore a fallback match for IPv6 addresses without a longer installed route. The command ipv6 route ::/0 2001:db8:dd::1 configures the stated next hop for that default, subject to reachability and proper IPv6 forwarding setup. It does not change the router's local interface address. Confirm route installation and neighbor resolution before depending on it for production traffic.
Incorrect Answers
B:The ip route form using 0.0.0.0 is for IPv4, and it cannot accept an IPv6 next-hop literal in place of an IPv4 address. Dual-stack routers maintain distinct address-family route tables. An IPv6 destination needs the ipv6 route command and IPv6 prefix syntax, not an IPv4 default statement containing an incompatible next hop.
C:The address ff02::1 is the IPv6 link-local all-nodes multicast group rather than an all-destinations default prefix. A /128 route to that specific group does not provide general off-subnet IPv6 forwarding. The default route uses ::/0; replacing it with a multicast destination would fail to match ordinary remote unicast hosts.
D:ipv6 address assigns IPv6 addressing under an interface configuration context; it does not enter a static destination route into the router's forwarding table. Applying the upstream next-hop address as a local interface address is also conceptually wrong: the neighbor owns it. The required function is a default static route pointing toward that already reachable neighbor.
Question 432
A controller-managed AP gets PoE but cannot reach its WLC across the routed campus. What forwarding dependency should be checked?
- IP reachability and any required discovery path from the AP management network to its WLC
- A configured local printer's static DNS record
- A NAT translation for every wireless client before the AP joins
- The root bridge election of an unrelated access VLAN
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A controller-managed lightweight AP normally needs an operational management IP path and successful discovery/communication with its WLC before it can join and receive supported configuration. Verify VLAN membership, IP address, gateway, reachability, controller discovery and applicable CAPWAP connectivity between the AP network and WLC. Receiving PoE only proves the AP has electrical power, not that its management packets can reach a different routed subnet. Security policies and firewall rules can also interrupt the control path.
Incorrect Answers
B:A printer's static DNS record is unrelated to how the AP locates and connects to its wireless controller. The AP may use DNS for controller discovery in some designs, but a record for a local printer does not help. The requirement is management-plane reachability and the AP-to-WLC discovery path, not arbitrary name resolution for an unrelated endpoint.
C:Client data-plane NAT policy is distinct from the AP's initial control connection to the WLC. A lightweight AP can join over ordinary routed IP reachability without first translating every wireless client, especially in centrally switched configurations. The problem happens before client service is established, so inspect the AP management address and controller path rather than per-client translations.
D:Spanning-tree root election can affect connectivity if it blocks a relevant bridge link, but the prompt refers to an unrelated access VLAN's root. Changing that election would not establish reachability from the AP management network to the WLC. Troubleshoot the actual VLAN, routing and controller discovery path before modifying independent Layer 2 topology.
Question 433
A host receives 172.31.244.12 from a local address plan. Which RFC1918 block contains it?
- 169.254.0.0/16
- 192.168.0.0/16
- 172.0.0.0/8
- 172.16.0.0/12
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:RFC1918 designates 172.16.0.0/12 as private IPv4 space, covering 172.16.0.0 through 172.31.255.255. The client address 172.31.244.12 lies near the upper end of that range and is therefore within the /12 allocation. It is suitable for internal addressing but is not normally advertised as a globally routed public host. The other RFC1918 parent blocks are 10.0.0.0/8 and 192.168.0.0/16, neither of which contains this address.
Incorrect Answers
A:The 169.254.0.0/16 range is IPv4 link-local addressing, often used when a host cannot obtain normal configured address parameters. It is not the RFC1918 block containing a 172.31 address. Both can occur in private environments, but their assignments and purposes are distinct. A numerical prefix comparison immediately excludes 169.254 from the given 172.31.244.12 value.
B:RFC1918 192.168.0.0/16 reserves a separate private IPv4 address family beginning with octets 192.168. It does not contain any address whose first octet is 172. A site can use both ranges internally, but the requested test asks which parent allocation numerically encloses this particular client IP.
C:Although the address begins with 172, RFC1918 does not reserve the entire 172.0.0.0/8 family for private use. Only second-octet values from 16 through 31 are included in its private /12 block. Treating every 172.x.x.x as private can misclassify globally assigned or special-use ranges, so the /8 description is too broad.
Question 434
An OSPF neighbor stays DOWN because one side has hello interval 10 seconds and the other 5 seconds on the same network type. What is required?
- Increase the DNS MX record priority for both router hostnames
- Match hello and dead interval expectations between OSPF neighbors
- Change the routers' management usernames to the same string
- Configure all ports as access VLAN 1 without checking topology
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:OSPF neighbors on a compatible network type need matching hello/dead timing expectations for stable adjacency formation. With one router sending 10-second hellos and the other configured for 5 seconds, their hello packet parameters disagree and neighbor formation can fail. Align the configured hello and dead intervals on the relevant interfaces, then verify the updated values and state with OSPF operational commands. Matching area, network type and authentication parameters also matter, but those are not identified as different here.
Incorrect Answers
A:DNS MX records identify mail exchangers for a domain and do not govern OSPF hello timers or routing-protocol neighbor state. Changing mail priority cannot make two directly connected routers accept one another's OSPF hello messages. The mismatch is in interface-level routing parameters, so investigate OSPF timers rather than unrelated DNS configuration.
C:Management usernames govern administrator login and may be checked by AAA or local account configuration. OSPF does not use the same management username string as a neighbor-selection rule. The routers can have entirely different administrative identities while participating in the same area, so matching usernames would not repair the timer mismatch.
D:Changing every port to access VLAN 1 disregards the topology and could disrupt existing trunk or routed links. OSPF neighbor timers are protocol settings on the pertinent routed interfaces; switching access mode cannot compensate for inconsistent 5- versus 10-second hello intervals. Preserve intended VLAN boundaries and correct the routing configuration directly.
Question 435
A monitoring model predicts next week's likely interface congestion from months of measured utilization. Which AI category best describes it?
- Predictive machine learning using historical telemetry
- A static MAC address lookup table as a prediction model
- Generative image synthesis of switch chassis diagrams
- Ordinary DHCP lease allocation with no analytical model
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Predictive machine learning uses historical measurements to estimate future states, such as interface utilization, likely congestion intervals or failure risk. Here months of telemetry form the observations from which a model forecasts the following week's workload trend. The model's utility should be evaluated against subsequent real outcomes and false positives rather than accepted as guaranteed. Such forecasting differs from generating creative media or simply looking up an existing switch table entry.
Incorrect Answers
B:A MAC address forwarding table maps observed Layer 2 source and destination identities to switch ports for current frame delivery. It does not fit a temporal forecasting model or estimate next week's interface congestion from months of utilization samples. MAC learning is a deterministic operational mechanism, not the predictive analytics requested.
C:Generative image models can create visual representations or diagrams but that is not equivalent to forecasting numeric network utilization from time-series telemetry. A chassis illustration might help documentation, yet it does not measure or predict bandwidth demand. The scenario describes data-driven operational forecasting, not artistic or diagrammatic content generation.
D:DHCP allocates network address leases and options to clients; it does not ordinarily derive congestion forecasts from historical interface counters. Lease patterns may be one input to a separate analytical model, but plain DHCP service itself does not perform such prediction. The measured utilization sequence and explicit future trend are the distinctive elements here.
Question 436
A central operations platform polls interface octet counters from a switch every five minutes. Which network management function is being used?
- ARP replies carrying every interface traffic total
- NTP exchanging hardware packet counters as timestamps
- SNMP manager querying device data from the SNMP agent
- FTP transferring a complete IOS image on each counter request
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:An SNMP manager sends queries for managed object identifiers and the device's SNMP agent returns supported counter values, such as octets received and transmitted by an interface. Repeating those polls every five minutes lets the operations platform compute usage rates and identify trends. The agent exposes management information subject to authentication and access policy; SNMPv3 protection should be preferred where supported. Counter resets or wraparound must be considered when interpreting successive samples.
Incorrect Answers
A:ARP provides IPv4-to-Ethernet MAC neighbor resolution within a local broadcast domain. It does not carry every interface's cumulative octet counters to a monitoring manager. A switch may answer ARP while the monitoring platform uses an unrelated management protocol to retrieve device statistics; address resolution alone cannot supply the requested five-minute telemetry.
B:NTP exchanges timing information for clock synchronization, not switch interface byte counters as a timestamp field. Accurate clocks help correlate samples from multiple devices, but they are a supporting function. The question asks how the manager actually polls the managed objects recording traffic volumes, which is the SNMP role rather than time sync.
D:FTP transfers files such as software images or configuration backups and is not the normal per-counter polling mechanism. Downloading an entire IOS image every five minutes would be wasteful and would not directly report a concise interface octet object. The monitoring tool needs targeted managed-object retrieval rather than repeated large file transfers.
Question 437
An extended IPv4 ACL must deny HTTPS traffic from 10.40.12.0/24 to 198.51.100.10 while permitting other traffic later. Which match is correct?
- deny tcp 10.40.12.0 0.0.0.255 host 198.51.100.10 eq 443
- permit ip any any as the only entry
- deny tcp host 198.51.100.10 10.40.12.0 0.0.0.255 eq 443
- deny udp 10.40.12.0 0.0.0.255 host 198.51.100.10 eq 53
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:An extended IOS IPv4 ACL can match protocol, source subnet and wildcard, destination host and destination TCP port. This ACE denies TCP from 10.40.12.0/24 (0.0.0.255) to host 198.51.100.10 when the destination port is 443, matching ordinary HTTPS service traffic. Place it before subsequent broader permits and attach the ACL to the appropriate interface and direction. The line alone does not filter traffic until applied, and other HTTPS transports such as QUIC use different protocol/port combinations.
Incorrect Answers
B:An ACL containing only permit ip any any allows general IPv4 traffic and provides no targeted HTTPS denial. Even when used after other entries, this permit can admit traffic not previously matched; order is essential. The task explicitly needs the specified source-to-server service blocked while other traffic may be allowed later, so a broad permit alone fails.
C:The proposed source and destination are reversed: it identifies the server as the packet source and the client subnet as the destination. Extended ACLs inspect directionally ordered packet fields, so swapping them can protect the wrong flow. To deny client-initiated HTTPS to 198.51.100.10, place the client /24 first and the destination host second.
D:UDP destination port 53 is conventionally associated with DNS queries, not TCP HTTPS on port 443. This entry also targets an entirely different transport and service. An ACL can contain multiple protocol-specific entries, but a UDP DNS denial cannot substitute for the requested TCP server restriction. Verify the application's actual protocol before choosing an ACE.
Question 438
A company uses Telnet to manage access switches across a shared infrastructure network. Which alternative better protects administrator login credentials?
- UDP broadcast messages containing the console password
- SSH with authenticated encrypted sessions
- TFTP for interactive CLI username/password prompts
- HTTP without TLS on the same management subnet
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:SSH provides an encrypted interactive management transport and supports server identity verification and authenticated operator access, unlike cleartext Telnet. Replacing Telnet on the VTY lines with supported SSH operation protects credentials and command traffic against passive observers on the shared infrastructure. Configure device keys, supported protocol versions, AAA or local accounts, and appropriate line access restrictions. SSH transport security does not by itself grant the user authorization to perform privileged configuration changes.
Incorrect Answers
A:A UDP broadcast message containing console credentials would expose the secret to multiple devices and observers on the broadcast domain rather than establish an authenticated protected session. UDP alone supplies neither remote terminal semantics nor encryption. This is the opposite of protecting management authentication on shared infrastructure.
C:TFTP is a simple file transfer protocol and does not establish a protected interactive CLI session with terminal prompts and user authorization. It also lacks the encryption needed to protect credentials on an untrusted management path. TFTP may serve narrow image or configuration transfer tasks on a protected network, but it cannot replace Telnet's remote shell with a secure interactive login.
D:Plain HTTP offers application request and response exchange without TLS encryption, so login credentials and management commands could be observed or altered in transit. Some devices provide a web UI over HTTPS, but the option explicitly excludes TLS. For an encrypted interactive IOS CLI replacement, SSH is the direct standard solution.
Question 439
A Cisco router has the IPv6 address 2001:db8:31:8::1/64 on Gi0/0 but must route IPv6 packets between its LANs. Which global IOS setting is required?
- Change the interface prefix from /64 to /32 without validating routing
- Disable IPv6 neighbor discovery on every LAN interface
- Enable ipv6 unicast-routing in global configuration
- Configure only an IPv4 default gateway on each local client
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:On Cisco IOS platforms requiring an explicit global IPv6 routing enablement, ipv6 unicast-routing allows the router to forward IPv6 unicast packets between suitably configured interfaces. Simply assigning 2001:db8:31:8::1/64 on Gi0/0 supports local IPv6 participation but does not necessarily activate transit forwarding. Check the global setting, active routes and connected interface state, then verify reachability between the LANs. The address uses documentation space for the lab and is not a public Internet allocation.
Incorrect Answers
A:Changing the interface's /64 IPv6 prefix to /32 would alter its local addressing plan and is not a substitute for enabling transit forwarding. The given IPv6 address may be valid on the LAN for local communication even while the router refuses to forward IPv6 packets between interfaces. Prefix length and global IPv6 routing enablement solve different problems.
B:IPv6 Neighbor Discovery resolves link-layer neighbors, discovers routers and supports reachability checks on attached links. Disabling it on LAN interfaces would make ordinary IPv6 operation difficult or impossible rather than enable routing. The user asks for forwarding between already numbered LANs, so preserve proper neighbor discovery and configure the router's global forwarding behavior.
D:An IPv4 default gateway on a client influences that client's IPv4 routing decisions, not the Cisco router's ability to forward IPv6 packets between its interfaces. IPv6 hosts use IPv6 routing information and neighbor discovery for first-hop selection. The missing function resides in the router's global IPv6 unicast forwarding setup, not an IPv4 gateway line.
Question 440
A branch has HSRP routers R1 active and R2 standby. R1 fails completely. What function should R2 provide?
- Change every client address from IPv4 to IPv6 by itself
- Rewrite all WAN routing protocol metrics without being configured
- Become the root bridge for every switching VLAN
- Take over the virtual first-hop gateway role after failure detection
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:When HSRP active router R1 fails and peer R2 detects its loss, R2 can become active and assume forwarding for the shared virtual default-gateway identity. Hosts retain the configured virtual IP instead of being assigned R2's physical interface address, though a brief convergence interval may occur. Priority, authentication, tracking and preemption settings affect role selection and subsequent behavior; the described active/standby pair already has the relevant configuration. The surviving router must also retain upstream reachability to provide real service continuity.
Incorrect Answers
A:An HSRP takeover preserves a stable virtual IPv4 gateway for hosts; it does not automatically renumber every client into IPv6. IPv4 and IPv6 addressing remain separate technologies and require their own configuration and first-hop design. The scenario needs continuity of an existing virtual gateway after one router fails, not a protocol migration.
B:HSRP determines the active owner of a shared first-hop gateway address and does not unconditionally rewrite all WAN routing metrics. A surviving router may already have dynamic routing protocols configured, and those control-plane processes can react separately to failures. The requested HSRP function is maintaining local client gateway service, not changing every remote route's cost without policy.
C:STP root bridge election controls Layer 2 forwarding loops and is independent of HSRP active/standby router ownership. R2 could become HSRP active without being the root switch for any VLAN, depending on network design. Treating a spanning-tree role as the automatic failure response would confuse two redundancy mechanisms with different responsibilities.