10 beginner questions on the ENCOR 350-401 v1.2 exam topics: architecture (QoS marking), virtualization (hypervisors, VXLAN), infrastructure (OSPF DR election, BGP best path, LACP), network assurance (SPAN, RESTCONF), security (AAA) and automation and AI (REST API response codes).

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  1. A network engineer is marking voice traffic for low-latency treatment. Which DSCP value is the standard Expedited Forwarding (EF) codepoint?

    • A. DSCP 0
    • B. DSCP 26
    • C. DSCP 46 ✔ correct
    • D. DSCP 10

    Answer: C. The EF per-hop behavior uses the codepoint 101110, which is DSCP 46, and is the usual marking for voice. DSCP 0 is default best effort, while 26 (AF31) and 10 (AF11) are Assured Forwarding classes.

    Source: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3246 · Domain: Architecture

  2. What is the defining feature of a type 1 hypervisor?

    • A. It runs as an application on top of a desktop operating system
    • B. It runs directly on the host hardware without a host operating system ✔ correct
    • C. It can run containers only, not virtual machines
    • D. It must be installed inside a virtual machine

    Answer: B. A type 1 (native or bare-metal) hypervisor runs directly on the physical hardware and manages guest operating systems. A type 2 (hosted) hypervisor runs as software on top of a conventional host operating system.

    Source: www.redhat.com/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-hypervisor · Domain: Virtualization

  3. A data center team chooses VXLAN because 4094 VLANs are not enough. How large is the VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) that identifies each segment?

    • A. 12 bits, the same as a VLAN ID
    • B. 16 bits
    • C. 32 bits
    • D. 24 bits, allowing about 16 million segments ✔ correct

    Answer: D. The VNI is a 24-bit field, so up to about 16 million VXLAN segments can exist, compared with the 12-bit VLAN ID (4094 usable VLANs). VXLAN carries Layer 2 frames inside UDP over a Layer 3 network.

    Source: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7348 · Domain: Virtualization

  4. An engineer configures ip ospf priority 0 on a router's Ethernet interface in a broadcast OSPF segment. What is the effect?

    • A. The router never becomes the DR or BDR on that segment ✔ correct
    • B. The router always becomes the DR on that segment
    • C. OSPF is disabled on the interface
    • D. The interface cost is set to zero

    Answer: A. A router with OSPF priority 0 is not eligible to become the designated router (DR) or backup designated router (BDR), but it still forms adjacencies with them. The highest priority wins the election; the default priority is 1.

    Source: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2328 · Domain: Infrastructure

  5. A Cisco router has two valid BGP paths to the same prefix. Which attribute does it compare first in the best path selection algorithm?

    • A. Shortest AS_PATH
    • B. Lowest MED
    • C. Lowest origin type
    • D. Highest weight ✔ correct

    Answer: D. On Cisco routers the first step is to prefer the path with the highest weight, a Cisco-specific value that is local to the router. Local preference, locally originated routes and AS_PATH length are compared later, then origin and MED.

    Source: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/border-gateway-protocol-bgp/13753-25.html · Domain: Infrastructure

  6. An LACP EtherChannel forms when one switch uses channel-group 1 mode active and the other uses channel-group 1 mode passive.

    • A. True ✔ correct
    • B. False

    Answer: A. True. An active port starts LACP negotiation and a passive port responds, so active with active or active with passive forms a channel. Passive with passive does not form an EtherChannel, because neither side starts negotiation.

    Source: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst9300/software/release/17-13/c · Domain: Infrastructure

  7. An engineer must send a copy of all traffic on one switch port to a packet analyzer connected to another port on the same switch. Which feature should be configured?

    • A. Flexible NetFlow
    • B. Local SPAN ✔ correct
    • C. IP SLA
    • D. Syslog

    Answer: B. Local SPAN copies traffic from source ports or VLANs to a destination port on the same switch for analysis. RSPAN carries the copy across switches in a dedicated VLAN; NetFlow exports flow records, not full packets.

    Source: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst9400/software/release/17-14/c · Domain: Network Assurance

  8. Which two statements about RESTCONF are true? (Select TWO)

    • A. It is an HTTP-based protocol that runs over TLS (HTTPS) ✔ correct
    • B. It gives programmatic access to data defined in YANG models ✔ correct
    • C. It requires Telnet to be enabled on the device
    • D. It authenticates clients with SNMP community strings
    • E. It can exchange data only as comma-separated values

    Answer: A, B. RESTCONF is an HTTP-based protocol, secured with TLS, that provides an interface to YANG-defined data using NETCONF datastore concepts, with XML or JSON encoding. It does not use Telnet, SNMP communities or CSV.

    Source: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8040 · Domain: Network Assurance

  9. An administrator wants to configure AAA login authentication with a method list on a Cisco IOS XE router. Which command must be entered first to enable AAA?

    • A. aaa authentication login default local
    • B. login local
    • C. aaa new-model ✔ correct
    • D. enable secret

    Answer: C. AAA features are not available until AAA is enabled globally with aaa new-model. After that you define method lists such as aaa authentication login default local and apply them to lines.

    Source: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/ios/config/17-x/sec-vpn/b-security-vpn/m_s · Domain: Security

  10. A developer's script sends a RESTCONF POST request that successfully creates a new resource on a device. Which HTTP status code should the script expect?

    • A. 201 Created ✔ correct
    • B. 204 No Content
    • C. 404 Not Found
    • D. 301 Moved Permanently

    Answer: A. When a RESTCONF POST creates a resource, the server returns "201 Created" with a Location header for the new resource. 204 is typical for a successful update that returns no body, and 404 means the target was not found.

    Source: www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8040 · Domain: Automation and Artificial Intelligence

Original practice questions written by xOps School (DevOpsSchool Private Limited) from the public Cisco exam objectives (ENCOR 350-401 v1.2 exam topics (CCNP Enterprise core exam)), checked 2026-10-25. They are not actual exam questions. xOps School is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cisco; exam names are trademarks of their owners. Official exam page: www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/training-certifications/exams/encor.htm.

Last modified: Sunday, 25 October 2026, 9:57 PM