Cisco 350-101 Exam Questions

For Cisco Catalyst 9176 APs deployed at remote sites without DHCP option 43, automatic WLC discovery can be accomplished using DNS-based CAPWAP controller discovery. By creating a DNS A record named cisco-capwap-controller.<domain> that resolves to the WLC management IP address, APs can query DNS and locate their centralized controller automatically, eliminating the need for site visits or manual configuration. This method is preferred for large-scale or satellite deployments where APs may exist on different subnets and traditional DHCP-based discovery is unavailable. Option A is impractical because manually assigning static IPs to hundreds of APs is operationally complex and error-prone. Option B, using a multicast group, is not supported for cross-subnet controller discovery in CAPWAP; multicast is limited to local subnets. Option D (ap-discovery) is not a recognized standard for WLC discovery; Cisco specifically documents cisco-capwap-controller as the required DNS entry for CAPWAP-based automatic discovery. This approach ensures zero-touch provisioning, simplifies network operations, and guarantees that APs join the correct controller, supporting centralized management and consistent configuration across multiple campuses. Reference topics: Wireless Network Implementation --- CAPWAP discovery, DNS-based controller discovery, Catalyst 9800 WLC onboarding, zero-touch provisioning.

Dynamic endpoint profiling in Cisco wireless networks is used to classify devices based on type, behavior, and attributes, enabling policy enforcement that adapts to device posture. In a deployment integrated with Cisco ISE, profiling groups are created to define rules and categories for device types such as smartphones, laptops, printers, and IoT devices. These profiling groups allow the wireless controller to map devices to the correct ISE policy sets dynamically, ensuring that security policies, VLAN assignments, and access controls are applied according to the device profile. Option A (device-type groups) is a generic categorization that does not fully leverage ISE dynamic profiling capabilities. Option C (user ID groups) focuses on user identity rather than device characteristics. Option D (endpoint group mapping) is typically applied after device profiling and classification, but initial enforcement requires creating profiling groups. By configuring profiling groups, the IT team ensures that the network can classify endpoints automatically, enforce access policies consistently, and integrate with ISE for context-aware security and compliance monitoring. Reference topics: Wireless Monitoring and Management --- Dynamic endpoint profiling, Cisco ISE policy integration, profiling groups, device classification for secure access.

Wi-Fi antenna gain is measured in dBi, meaning decibels referenced to an isotropic radiator. Cisco's Wireless RF Reference Guide states that antennas have gain measured in decibels relative to isotropic gain, or dBi, and further explains that antenna gain is a ratio comparing the gain of a specific antenna to a theoretical isotropic antenna. Cisco's RF design documentation also defines dBi as the power gain rating of antennas, where real antennas are compared to an isotropic antenna that radiates the same power density equally in all directions.

Option B is therefore the correct selection, although the technically precise phrase is decibels relative to isotropic, abbreviated dBi. Antenna length can influence resonance and design, but it is not the measurement unit for gain. Voltage against dBm is incorrect because dBm references absolute power relative to 1 milliwatt, not antenna gain. Analog/digital signal blending is unrelated to RF antenna performance. Reference topics: RF Fundamentals --- antenna gain, dBi, isotropic radiator, EIRP, antenna patterns, and WLAN RF design.

SNMP monitoring provides centralized visibility and event notification for Cisco wireless infrastructure. On Cisco Catalyst 9800 wireless controllers, SNMP traps are used to send alert messages from SNMP-enabled devices to an SNMP manager, and Cisco specifically documents wireless trap support for access points, clients, mesh, RF, rogue, mobility, RRM, and controller events. Cisco also states that AP-related traps such as crash, register, and no-radio-card events are enabled by default, and that configuring AP traps helps monitor AP status and troubleshoot issues.

Therefore, the direct operational benefit is alerts on access point status. SNMP is not limited to hardware-only metrics; it can expose client counts, joined AP counts, processor usage, memory usage, and wireless event notifications through supported OIDs and traps. Manual log review is the opposite of SNMP's purpose because traps automate notification to a network management system. Fragmented statistics are also incorrect because SNMP enables centralized polling and trap collection across managed devices. Reference topics: Wireless Monitoring and Management --- SNMP, MIB/OID monitoring, Catalyst 9800 wireless traps, AP status monitoring, and NMS integration.

The correct expression is accessPoints[0].interfaces[1].macAddress. The JSON object contains a top-level key named accessPoints, whose value is an array. Array indexing begins at zero, so accessPoints[0] selects the first access point object, ap-west-1. Inside that object, the interfaces key also contains an array. Therefore, interfaces[1] selects the second interface object, which has slot: 1, status: 'down', and macAddress: 'CC:FA:00:11:22:34'. The final selector, .macAddress, returns that MAC address value.

This structure is directly aligned with Cisco automation workflows, where RESTCONF and Catalyst Center APIs exchange structured data in JSON. Cisco documents that Catalyst Center REST API payloads are JSON-formatted, and its example describes JSON as key-value data separated by colons. Cisco also states that Catalyst 9800 RESTCONF uses structured XML or JSON with YANG models for programmatic device access. Option B selects ap-east-2. Option C selects the first interface on ap-west-1. Option D references a non-existent second interface on ap-east-2. Reference topics: Automation and AI --- JSON parsing, REST APIs, Catalyst Center programmability, RESTCONF, and wireless telemetry data structures.