Important Questions - Network Automation

 

Which enterprise platform type can be used to receive real-time notifications from automation tools to alert a given individual or team?

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• dashboards
• orchestration
• ITSM
• chat

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Ans – Chat

  What does CALMS stand for?

·       coding, automation, lean, measurement, sharing

·       culture, automation, logging, measurement, sharing

·       culture, automation, lean, management, sharing

·       culture, automation, lean, measurement, sharing

Ans - The correct answer is:

✅ Culture, Automation, Lean, Measurement, Sharing

 

Which two options are common trends in the network industry in the context of automation? (Choose two.)

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·       implementing DevOps processes and principles

·       actively testing automation in production

·       adoption of open source

·       increasing the rate and use of the CLI

·       hiring more engineers to scale network management

Ans The two correct options that are common trends in the network industry in the context of automation are:

✅ Implementing DevOps processes and principles

✅ Adoption of open source

 

Which two of the following options are the main data encoding formats that are commonly used in Application Programming Interfaces? (Choose two.)

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·       HTML

·       JSON

·       PDF

·       XML

·       DOCX

Submit

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The two main data encoding formats commonly used in Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are:

✅ JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

✅ XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

 

What is the main reason to learn how to interact with JSON objects?

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·       JSON is a simple data object.

·       The Python programming language supports it.

·       JSON is one of the encoding formats that is commonly used in APIs.

·       JSON is an XML-based data exchange format for HTTP requests.

 

The correct answer is:

✅ JSON is one of the encoding formats that is commonly used in APIs.

 

Assuming that there are three devices in the inventory, what is wrong with the following YAML data?

inventory: csr1kv1: ios-xe csr1kv2: nx-os csr1kv3: ios-xe

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·       Everything looks correct.

·       The line csr1kv2: nx-os cannot have nx-os as a value.

·       The indentation is invalid.

·       The text “- sign” is absent at the beginning of each line.

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 The correct answer is:

✅ The indentation is invalid.

 

Which command is used to locate a Python package that is stored on the Python Package Index?

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·       pip find <PACKAGE>

·       pip lookup <PACKAGE>

·       pip search <PACKAGE>

·       pip locate <PACKAGE>

 The correct answer is:

✅ pip search <PACKAGE>

 

A module that is named inventory has a variable that is called devices. After successfully importing the module using import inventory, what is the proper syntax to print the contents of the variable?

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·       print(devices)

·       print(inventory.devices())

·       print(inventory["devices"])

·       print(inventory.devices)

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The correct answer is:

✅ print(inventory.devices)

 

A variable of a dictionary data type named inventory has the following value: {"csr1kv1":{"vendor":"cisco"}}. Which Python command will print the value of the "vendor" key?

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·       print(inventory ["vendor"])

·       print(inventory [0]["vendor"])

·       print(inventory ["csr1kv1"]["vendor"])

·       print(inventory ["csr1kv1"])

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 The correct answer is:

✅ print(inventory["csr1kv1"]["vendor"])

 

Match the correct options:

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Derivatives include CentOS and Fedora.

Select Match

The most popular derivative is Ubuntu.

Select Match

Focused on penetration and security testing.

Select Match

Focused on home router functionality.

Select Match

 Here’s the correct matching for each description:

1.      Derivatives include CentOS and Fedora.
→ Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

2.      The most popular derivative is Ubuntu.
→ Debian

3.      Focused on penetration and security testing.
→ Kali Linux

4.      Focused on home router functionality.
→ OpenWrt

 

What does the grep command allow a user to do?

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·       search the contents of a file for a specified value

·       display the first 10 lines of a file

·       stream the entire contents of a file without pausing

·       navigate to another directory

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The correct answer is:

✅ search the contents of a file for a specified value

 

Which command-line command is used for package management in Debian distributions including Ubuntu?

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·       .rpm

·       yum

·       .deb

·       apt-get

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The correct answer is:

✅ apt-get

 

Match the HTTP response code on the left with its description on the right.

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Client Error

Select Match

Success

Select Match

Redirection

Select Match

Submit

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Here’s the correct matching of HTTP response codes with their descriptions:

1.      Client Error
→ 4xx (e.g., 404 Not Found, 403 Forbidden)

2.      Success
→ 2xx (e.g., 200 OK, 201 Created)

3.      Redirection
→ 3xx (e.g., 301 Moved Permanently, 302 Found)

 

Why are API health checks useful?

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·       to prevent you from creating requests that will fail

·       to make sure the API endpoint has no viruses

·       to prevent memory leaks in the API code

·       to make it harder for malicious users to exploit the API

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The correct answer is:

✅ to prevent you from creating requests that will fail

 

Which option is a command-line tool for consuming REST APIs?

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·       Postman

·       Firefox

·       cURL

·       Python requests

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The correct answer is:

✅ cURL

 

Match the Git architecture components to their respective descriptions.

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A repository where the files of the project reside, and also from where all other local copies are pulled.

Select Match

A repository where snapshots, or commits, are stored on the local machine of each person.

Select Match

The area where all the changes are placed before committing to the local repository.

Select Match

A directory that a git clone command created.

Select Match

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Here’s the correct matching of Git architecture components with their descriptions:

1.      A repository where the files of the project reside, and also from where all other local copies are pulled.
→ ✅ Remote repository

2.      A repository where snapshots, or commits, are stored on the local machine of each person.
→ ✅ Local repository

3.      The area where all the changes are placed before committing to the local repository.
→ ✅ Staging area (or index)

4.      A directory that a git clone command created.
→ ✅ Working directory

 

Which Git feature allows creation of a full replica of a repository and experiments on the source code without affecting the original repository?

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·       clone

·       pull

·       fork

·       merge

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The correct answer is:

✅ fork

 

Which two activities does the git add command perform? (Choose two.)

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·       adds files to a remote

·       starts tracking files

·       adds files to the local directory

·       adds files to the staging area

 

The two correct activities that the git add command performs are:

✅ Starts tracking files

✅ Adds files to the staging area

 

 

 

 

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Comparison Between CDP and LLDP in Cisco ACI

 Comparison Between CDP and LLDP in Cisco ACI 

Note :- Both CDP and LLDP can be enabled at the same time.

Feature	CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol)	LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol)
Vendor Support	Cisco proprietary	Vendor-neutral (IEEE 802.1ab standard)
Protocol Layer	Data Link Layer	Data Link Layer
Device Discovery Scope	Cisco devices only	Cisco and non-Cisco devices
Communication Type	Periodic advertisements (multicast)	One-way advertisements
Information Shared	Protocol addresses, platform, SNMP address, hold-time	Device capabilities, identity, configuration via TLVs
TLV Support	Limited to Cisco-defined TLVs	Standardized TLVs (Type-Length-Value)
Max Neighbors per Port	Up to 256	One device per port
ACI Support (from Release 4.2(1))	Supported on leaf/spine management interfaces	Supported on leaf/spine management interfaces
ACI Configuration Scope	Can be enabled globally across fabric	Can be enabled globally across fabric
ACI Use Case	Troubleshooting cabling issues, especially in unstaffed sites	Same as CDP
ACI Interface Support	Physical interfaces and port channels only	Same, but not supported on FEX interfaces
ACI VLAN TLV Limitations	Not applicable	Only 25 VLANs advertised; name TLV limited to 32 characters
ACI Infra-VLAN Advertisement	Not specified	Not advertised even if enabled
ACI Routed Sub-interface VLANs	Not specified	Not advertised
Default Behavior on Fabric Ports	Not supported between fabric-connected interfaces	Enabled by default on fabric ports

ACI BFD Support Overview

 ACI BFD Support Overview

• Supported Protocols: BFD is supported for BGP external routed networks.
• Purpose: BFD provides sub-second failure detection between ACI leaf switches and external routers, improving convergence and reliability.
• Multihop BFD: Supported from APIC Release 5.0(1) onward.
• C-bit-aware BFD: ACI supports control-plane-aware BFD, allowing you to configure whether BFD sessions are dependent or independent of the control plane

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🔧 Configuration Guidelines

To configure BFD in ACI:

1. Create or Edit a BGP Peer Connectivity Profile:
• Navigate to L3Out > Node Profile > BGP Peer Connectivity Profile
• Enable BFD under the peer settings.
2. Ensure Loopback Interfaces:
• For multihop BFD, loopback interfaces are required.
• Each L3Out should have a unique loopback IP for BGP peering.
3. MTU Considerations:
• ACI does not support IP fragmentation, so ensure MTU is properly configured on both ends.
• Recommended: Test MTU using CLI tools like ping df-bit packet-size.
4. Platform Compatibility:
• BFD support may vary slightly depending on the ACI hardware model (e.g., N9K-C9336PQ, N9K-C93180YC-EX).
• Always verify compatibility in the release notes or hardware documentation.

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⚠️ Limitations

• BFD is not supported for OSPF or EIGRP in ACI.
• BFD configuration is only applicable to external routed networks (L3Out), not internal fabric routing.

 

ACI Leaf as Ethernet Hub - Spanning tree handing in ACI

 

🔁 ACI Leaf as Ethernet Hub (Behavioral Analogy)

• ACI leaf switches forward BPDUs transparently between connected devices.
• This behavior mimics a hub, where multiple devices share the same broadcast domain.
• Therefore, STP decisions and transitions are influenced by how the connected switch interprets the topology.

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⚡ P2P Mode (Rapid Convergence)

• When a switch receives a Proposal BPDU on a P2P link:
• It can immediately respond with an Agreement BPDU.
• This allows the sender to transition from Blocking to Forwarding without waiting for timers.
• This is ideal for RSTP-enabled switch-to-switch links.

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🕒 Shared Mode (Delayed Convergence)

• On a Shared link, the receiving switch cannot send an Agreement immediately.
• The sender must wait for the Forward Delay timer to expire before transitioning.
• This introduces latency in STP convergence.

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🔄 Impact Across All ACI Versions

• This behavior is consistent across all ACI firmware versions.
• It’s crucial to explicitly configure STP link-type on external switches connected to ACI leafs to ensure optimal convergence.

 ACI Port Configuration Best Practices for External Switches

1. Determine the Nature of the Connection

Connection Type	Recommended STP Link-Type	Reason
Switch-to-Switch (Trunk or Access)	Point-to-Point (P2P)	Enables rapid STP convergence via RSTP
Switch-to-Hub or Shared Media	Shared	Prevents premature forwarding; slower convergence
Legacy or non-RSTP switch	Shared	Ensures compatibility with older STP implementations

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2. ACI Interface Policy Configuration

In ACI, configure the following under Access Policies:

• Interface Policy Group:
• Enable STP Interface Policy
• Set Link Type to either point-to-point or shared based on the external device
• Attach the Interface Policy Group to the appropriate Leaf Interface Profile

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4. Avoid STP Misconfigurations

• Ensure BPDU Guard is disabled on ACI ports connected to switches.
• Avoid enabling PortFast on external switch ports facing ACI unless it's an edge port.
• Monitor STP topology changes to detect misbehaving devices.

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5. Use LLDP/CDP for Visibility

Enable LLDP/CDP on both ACI and external switches to:

• Verify connectivity
• Identify misconfigured ports
• Assist in troubleshooting