Nexus Dashboard Roles and Permissions

Data Center Foundation

 

What is the role of the control plane in the Cisco Nexus switch?

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• Controls switch management.
• Controls access to the console.
• Controls access to the remote console.
• Runs network protocols like OSPF and Spanning Tree.

The network administrator wants to create a Layer 3 isolated segment for the marketing department on a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switch. It will be under the complete administration of the marketing system administrator. Which option accomplishes this goal?

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• Create a VRF instance.
• Create a VLAN.
• Create a subnet for the marketing department in the management VRF instance.
• Create a subnet for the marketing department in the default VRF instance.

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What are three software components of vSphere environment? (Choose three.)

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• ESXi hypervisor
• VMware Workstation
• vCenter Server
• Hyper-V Server
• Active Directory Server
• vSphere Web Client

 

Which two characteristics apply to virtual machine virtual disk images? (Choose two.)

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• They are just regular files that can be copied and moved like any other file.
• The changes that are made in a virtual machine are not saved between hypervisor restarts.
• The images can be replicated on another host system, but only if it is running on the same physical hardware.
• Virtual disk images are contained in two files that have a .vmdk extension in the datastore.
• The virtual images have .vmdk and .vmdd extensions: one is for data, and the other is for virtual machine configuration.

 

Which feature does the VMware hypervisor use to connect virtual machines in the same hypervisor?

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• VRF
• virtual router
• virtual center
• virtual switch
• virtual LAN

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Which technique does VXLAN encapsulation use?

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• Mac-in-TCP
• Mac-in-UDP
• Mac-in-Mac
• IPsec
• Mac-in-GRE

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In VXLAN unicast Layer 3 packet forwarding, when a virtual machine sends traffic to a local VTEP, what is the destination MAC of the encapsulated packet?

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• the MAC address of the distributed IP anycast gateway
• the burned MAC address of the Ethernet port of the local VTEP
• the MAC address of the ESXi NIC adapter
• MAC address FFFF.FFFF.FFFF

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In which two of the following cases will an OSPFv2 graceful restart will work? (Choose two.)

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• Cisco Nexus switch reload
• supervisor switchover
• OSFPv2 process failure
• misconfigured OSPF neighbor
• misconfigured OSPF on the switch

What is the function of the datastore?

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• It is the physical storage that contains the ESXi operating system.
• It is dedicated storage where only virtual machines are contained.
• It is a logical container that is used by ESXi hypervisors and contains virtual machines and other files that you upload.
• It is local storage that exists on the ESXi machine, but does not contain the ESXi system.
• It is a storage system that virtual machines can access to share files between themselves.

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 In which situation would you be forced to assign several vNICs to a single virtual machine?

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• when trying to achieve better stability if the hypervisor fails
• when more than one virtual machine exists in the virtual environment
• when connecting a single virtual machine to two vSwitches
• when trying to decrease network latency under high-load scenarios
• when connecting the virtual machine to the internet

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Which statement about VXLAN forwarding is true?

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• When the destination MAC address in the original packet header does not belong to the local VTEP, the originating VTEP performs a Layer 2 lookup and bridges the packet to the destination VTEP.
• If the destination MAC address in the original packet header matches the anycast gateway MAC address, VXLAN bridging must occur.
• When building BGP updates for EVPN routes, MP-BGP uses the unicast VTEP address as the next hop.
• When a VTEP switch originates MP-BGP EVPN routes for its locally learned end hosts, it uses the anycast VTEP address as the BGP next hop.

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Which two options are features of a VMware standard switch? (Choose two.)

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• Cisco Discovery Protocol support
• network traffic flow visibility
• access list support
• port channel and virtual guest tagging support
• QoS
• up to 48 network ports for assignment
• STP participation

 

What is the purpose of CoPP?

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• It prevents packets that are destined for the control plane from entering the data plane.
• It prevents overloading of the control module CPU by disconnecting denial of service attackers.
• It monitors traffic that is destined for the control plane and limits the traffic flow, which prevents control module CPU overload.
• It monitors the control module usage and alerts the administrator when it is close to overloading.

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What are two characteristics of the management VRF instance? (Choose two.)

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• The management VRF instance is not present by default and must be enabled.
• The management interface, which is called the mgmt0, is always assigned to the management VRF instance.
• The management VRF instance is the default routing context for show commands.
• EIGRP is supported on the management VRF instance.
• You can create static routing rules on the management VRF instance.
• OSPF is supported on the management VRF instance.

 

How do you specify a VRF instance for a service?

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• You must create routing rules in the default VRF instance that point to other VRF instances to properly route the command.
• Service commands are VRF-aware and detect the correct VRF instance automatically.
• You must always state the VRF instance at the end of a VRF-aware command or it will fail.
• Because the default VRF instance has access to all other VRF instances, the command always executes in the default VRF instance, which correctly routes the command.
• You must state the VRF instance at the end of a VRF-aware command, otherwise it executes in the default VRF instance.

 

What are three benefits of virtualization? (Choose three.)

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• It uses fewer total resources at the same load across several servers.
• It is easier and less disruptive to upgrade physical hardware on the machine.
• It provides better resource management and fewer unused resources.
• There are fewer guest operating system problems with unsupported hardware.
• No licensing is required.
• It is easier to transport virtual machine physical hardware.
• Self-contained virtual disk images can be reproduced in another location.
• The operating system within a virtual machine is completely independent from physical hardware resources.

What would happen if you moved a virtual machine between ESXi hosts in the same group and DPM was not enabled while all other features were enabled?

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• The virtual machine would be unavailable until it restarts on the destination ESXi host.
• The virtual machine would be moved without any interruption in operations of the virtual machine, and the ESXi host would shut down to conserve power.
• The virtual machine on the source host would be isolated, and fault tolerance switchover would be performed.
• The virtual machine would be moved without interruption in the operations of its services.

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What does an overlay network do?

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• It uses the physical network and rearranges its address spaces and routing tables to accommodate a virtual environment.
• It uses virtual configurations, such as virtual MAC addresses and virtual IP addresses of physical hardware, to configure overlay interfaces that an overlay network needs.
• It uses physical infrastructure to transport traffic between virtual nodes within the infrastructure.
• Virtual networks exist only within a VMware vSphere ESXi installation and can span several ESXi physical servers.

What happens when you encapsulate traffic in Layer 3 encapsulation?

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• It transports packets without changing them over a network.
• It transports packets over a network and changes their source MAC address.
• It takes packets, adds a header to them, and sends them over an IP network.
• It creates a Layer 2 tunnel between local and remote nodes and forwards traffic through the tunnel.
• It creates a virtual overlay within a data center that allows Layer 2 devices to communicate with Layer 3 devices.
• Which statement about the distributed anycast gateway in MP-BGP EVPN is true?
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• All VTEPs will have the same virtual gateway IP address but a different virtual gateway MAC address.
• The distributed anycast gateway prevents transparent host mobility in the VXLAN overlay network.
• With the distributed anycast gateway feature, when an end host moves from one VTEP to another VTEP, the end host must send another ARP request to relearn the new gateway MAC address.
• All VTEPs will have the same virtual gateway IP address and virtual gateway MAC address.
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Which two options are characteristics of a VDS switch? (Choose two.)

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• The VDS switch must be created and managed from the vCenter management server.
• The VDS switch can have virtual machine vNICs assigned to allow virtual machine networking.
• The VDS switch cannot span across several ESXi hypervisors.
• The VDS switch requires vMotion for operation.
• The VDS switch unlike a vSwitch does participate in the STP.
• No uplink ports can be assigned to a VDS.

vSphere DRS is used to load-balance virtual machines across the available hosts to provide optimum performance. Which function is needed for vSphere operation?

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• vSphere Fault Tolerance
• vSphere High Availability
• vSphere vMotion
• vSphere DPM

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HSRP Vs VRRP

 

Overview of VRRP and HSRP

Feature	VRRP	HSRP
Standard	Open standard (RFC 5798)	Cisco proprietary
Router Roles	One primary router, multiple backups	One active router, one standby, others in listening state
IP Address Usage	Uses router interface IP or virtual IP	Uses a virtual IP address
Election Criteria	Highest priority or highest IP address	Highest priority or highest IP address
Pre-emption	Enabled by default	Disabled by default
Timers	Advertisements every 1 second	Hello messages every 3 seconds
Tracking Support	Yes	Yes
Load Balancing	Supported	Supported
Multicast Address	224.0.0.18	224.0.0.2 (v1), 224.0.0.102 (v2)
Virtual MAC Format	0000.5E00.01XX (XX = VRID)	0000.0c07.acXX (XX = HSRP group)

Breaking Down the NX-OS Image Filename

Breaking Down the NX-OS Image Filename

Let’s take a closer look at a sample image filename:

nxos64-cs.10.5.1.F.bin

Here’s what each part means:

• nxos64-cs: Indicates a 64-bit NX-OS image for specific platforms (e.g., Nexus 9000-EX, -FX, -GX, -GX2).
• 10: Major release version.
• 5: Minor release version.
• 1: Maintenance release.
• F: Release designation.
• bin: Binary file extension.

This structured naming helps administrators quickly identify the right image for their hardware and software needs.

Understanding Image Prefixes

Cisco NX-OS images come in different formats based on platform architecture:

• 32-bit images: Start with nxos (e.g., nxos.10.1.1.bin)
• 64-bit images: Start with nxos64 (e.g., nxos64.10.1.1.bin)

Starting with Release 10.2(2)F, Cisco introduced two distinct 64-bit image types:

1. nxos64-cs: For Nexus 9000-EX, -FX, -GX, -GX2 modular switches and fixed switches.
2. nxos64-msll: For Nexus 9000-R, -R2 modular switches, Nexus 3600 fixed switches, and Nexus 3500-XL switches.

Release Designations Explained

Cisco uses specific letters to indicate the nature of a release:

• F (Feature Release): Includes new features, platform support, and bug fixes.
• M (Maintenance Release): Focuses on bug fixes and security patches, including PSIRT updates.

Each image ends with a .bin extension, confirming it’s a compressed binary file ready for deployment.

Conclusion

Understanding Cisco NX-OS coding is more than just decoding filenames—it’s about ensuring operational continuity, compatibility, and performance. As your infrastructure grows, especially in mission-critical environments like banking, being fluent in NX-OS versioning and image types will help you make informed decisions and maintain a resilient network.

Data Center Foundation Exam -1

 Q1 - Which two devices would you choose to be a part of the core layer in the three-tier network design? (Choose two.)

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• Cisco Nexus 9500 Series Switch
• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Switch
• Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnect
• hypervisor
• Cisco Nexus 9300 Series Switch

Ans – Cisco Nexus 9500 Series Switch and Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Switch

 

Q2 - Which option lists the three tiers of a three-tier architecture?

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• core, aggregation, and access
• core, spine, and leaf
• base, spine, and leaf
• physical, data link, and networkBottom of Form

Ans - core, aggregation, and access

 

Q3 - Cisco Unified Data Center is based on which three pillars of Cisco innovation? (Choose three.)

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• Cisco Unified Computing System
• Cisco Unified Fabric
• Cisco Unified Access
• Cisco Unified Communications
• Cisco Unified Management
• Cisco Overlay Transport Virtualization
• Cisco FabricPath

Ans  - Cisco Unified Management, Cisco Unified Computing System and Cisco Unified Fabric

 

Q3- Which device would you choose to be a part of the core layer in a three-tier network design?

·       Cisco UCS 6400 Series Fabric Interconnect

·       Cisco Nexus 9500, Cisco Catalyst 6800, or Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switch

·       hypervisor

·       Cisco ASA security appliance

Ans - Cisco Nexus 9500, Cisco Catalyst 6800, or Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switch

 

Note - It is estimated that a spine-and-leaf model allows for 25 percent greater scalability over a three-tier model when used for data center designs.

·       Scalability - If oversubscription of a link occurs, the process for expanding capacity is straightforward. You can add an extra spine switch and extend uplinks to every leaf switch, resulting in the addition of interlayer bandwidth and reduction of the oversubscription. If device port capacity becomes a concern, you can add a new leaf switch by connecting it to every spine switch and adding the network configuration to the switch.

·       Low Latency - With a spine-and-leaf architecture, the traffic crosses the same number of devices to get to another server, regardless of the server to which the leaf switch is connected. This approach keeps latency at a predictable level because a payload only must hop to a spine switch and another leaf switch to reach its destination.

 

Q4 - Which option describes the topology design in a spine-and-leaf network?

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• The design uses a partial mesh of links at the leaf layer.
• The design uses a full mesh of links between the leaf and aggregation layers.
• The design uses a full mesh of links between the spine and leaf layers.
• The design uses a full mesh of links at the leaf layer.Bottom of Form

Ans - The design uses a full mesh of links between the spine and leaf layers.

 

Note - Converged solutions on the market:

• FlexPod (Cisco and NetApp)
• FlashStack (Cisco and Pure Storage)
• Hitachi Adaptive Solutions for CI (Cisco and Hitachi)

 

Q5 - What are three benefits of the two-tier storage network design? (Choose three.)

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• It is recommended for larger storage environments.
• It is elastic in case of failures.
• It is recommended for small-to-medium–sized environments.
• It is redundant through dual-fabric design.
• It is very expensive.
• It is a single point of failure.
• It is optimum for IP storage.

Ans – A. It is recommended for larger storage environments. B. It is elastic in case of failures. C. It is redundant through dual-fabric design.

 

Note - In most hyperconverged solutions, the minimum size group is three servers (commonly referred to as nodes).

Nutanix - Each server appliance contains three software layers:

• Server firmware: Cisco UCS
• Hypervisor: Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) or vSphere ESXi
• Hyperconverged storage software: Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS)

Q6 - Which statement about Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix is correct?

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• It provides network connectivity with the Cisco Nexus 9500 series switches.
• Hardware compute platforms used in Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix are Cisco UCS blade servers.
• The Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix solution is a combination of hardware and software.
• It uses SAN protocols like Fibre Channel and iSCSI for server addition and retiringBottom of Form.

 

Ans - The Cisco Compute Hyperconverged with Nutanix solution is a combination of hardware and software.

Q7 - Cisco Unified Data Center infrastructure eliminates tiered silos and allows consolidation of which option?

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• LAN and WAN
• LAN and SAN
• LAN and WLAN
• performance and security management

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Ans – LAN and SAN

 

Q8 - In a spine-and-leaf topology, what is the minimum number of spines if redundancy is taken into consideration?

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• one
• two
• four
• six

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Ans -Two

 

Q9 - Top of Form

What are two benefits of the SAN storage network design? (Choose two.)

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• Allows for easier maintenance of servers.
• It is redundant through dual-fabric design.
• It is very affordable.
• It is a single point of failure.
• It is optimum for IP storage.

Ans – A. Allows for easier maintenance of servers. B. It is redundant through dual-fabric design.

Q10 - Which are the three characteristics of a hyperconverged storage system? (Choose three.)

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• easy expansion
• no SAN network
• usage of multiple storage arrays
• usage of redundant SAN switches
• easy deployment and maintenance
• fast convergence

Ans – A. easy expansion B. no SAN network C. easy deployment and maintenance

 

Q11 - Which option lists the two tiers of a Clos-collapsed core architecture?

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• aggregation and access
• spine and leaf
• spine and access
• collapsed core and leaf

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Ans – Spine and LeafQqBottom of Form

 

 

Q12 - You are working in the IT department of a small banking company that needs a new storage solution. The IT infrastructure consists of a single Cisco UCS server that hosts five VMs. Soon, the company will expand, a new server will be added, and a centralized storage array will be needed. Which network design approach is required in this case?

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• cloud storage solution
• three-tier network with Cisco MDS multilayer switches
• directly attached network
• storage area network

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Ans –

 

Q13 - If you are running out of physical ports, which action should you take to increase physical connectivity for end devices?

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• Add an additional core switch and directly connect it to each leaf switch.
• Add an additional core switch and directly connect it to each core switch.
• Add an additional leaf switch and directly connect it to each core switch.
• Add an additional leaf switch and directly connect it to each leaf switch.

Ans- Add an additional leaf switch and directly connect it to each core switch.