🤖 Automation & Programmability - ENCOR Practice Questions

ENCOR Automation Question Bank (7 Questions)

Browse all 7 practice questions covering Automation & Programmability for the ENCOR certification exam. Each question includes the full answer and a detailed explanation to help you understand the concepts.

1. Question 1Automation

   What types of APIs does Cisco DNA Center (Catalyst Center) expose?

   AOnly SNMP

   BIntent APIs (simplified, business-oriented), Integration APIs (event notifications, webhooks), and Multi-vendor APIs for southbound device management✓

   COnly CLI-based APIs

   DOnly NETCONF
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: B

   Explanation:

   DNA Center APIs: Intent APIs (REST — high-level operations: 'provision a device', 'create a site'), Integration APIs (webhooks, ITSM integration, event notifications), Multivendor SDK (manage non-Cisco devices), and know-your-network APIs (assurance, path trace). All RESTful with JSON, authenticated via token.

2. Question 2Automation

   How can Terraform be used for network infrastructure automation?

   ATerraform only works with cloud

   BTerraform providers exist for Cisco ACI, Meraki, ISE, and cloud platforms, enabling declarative infrastructure provisioning with state management✓

   CTerraform replaces Ansible

   DTerraform only manages VMs
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: B

   Explanation:

   Terraform for networking: ACI provider (provision tenants, EPGs, contracts), Meraki provider (manage networks, SSIDs, VLANs), ISE provider (manage policies), cloud providers (AWS VPC, Azure VNet). Declarative HCL files, state tracking, plan/apply workflow, and drift detection. Complements Ansible (Terraform provisions, Ansible configures).

3. Question 3Automation

   How does RESTCONF differ from NETCONF for device management?

   ARESTCONF uses XML over SSH

   BRESTCONF uses HTTP/HTTPS with JSON or XML, providing REST-style access to YANG data models — simpler than NETCONF's XML/SSH RPC model✓

   CNETCONF is REST-based

   DRESTCONF doesn't use YANG models
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: B

   Explanation:

   RESTCONF (RFC 8040): HTTP/HTTPS transport, JSON or XML encoding, YANG data models, standard HTTP methods (GET/POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE). NETCONF: SSH transport, XML only, RPC operations (<get-config>, <edit-config>), transaction support (commit/rollback). RESTCONF is simpler/familiar for web developers.

4. Question 4Automation

   What Python library is commonly used to interact with Cisco device APIs?

   Anumpy

   Brequests — for REST API calls to DNA Center, Meraki, etc.; also netmiko/paramiko for SSH-based device management✓

   Cmatplotlib

   Ddjango
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: B

   Explanation:

   Python networking libraries: 'requests' (REST API calls to DNAC, Meraki, vManage, ISE), 'netmiko' (SSH to IOS/NX-OS/etc. — simplified paramiko wrapper), 'ncclient' (NETCONF), 'pyATS/Genie' (testing/parsing), 'napalm' (multi-vendor abstraction). Python is the de facto language for network automation.

5. Question 5Automation

   What are the main types of YANG models used in network automation?

   AOnly vendor-specific models exist

   BIETF models (standard), OpenConfig models (vendor-neutral), and native/vendor models (e.g., Cisco IOS-XE YANG — most feature-complete)✓

   CYANG models are deprecated

   DOnly IETF models are used
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: B

   Explanation:

   YANG model types: IETF (standards-based, RFC-defined — ietf-interfaces, ietf-routing), OpenConfig (vendor-neutral, operator-driven — openconfig-interfaces, openconfig-bgp), Native/Vendor (Cisco-IOS-XE-*, NX-OS, XR — most features but vendor-specific). Tools: pyang (validate/convert), YANG Explorer, NETCONF/RESTCONF to interact.

6. Question 6Automation

   Which Python library is commonly used to interact with network device REST APIs by sending HTTP requests?

   Aparamiko

   Brequests✓

   Cnetmiko

   Dscapy
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: B

   Explanation:

   The Python 'requests' library is the standard tool for making HTTP/HTTPS calls to REST APIs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). It's used with DNA Center, Meraki, SD-WAN (vManage), and other Cisco APIs. Paramiko and Netmiko are SSH libraries for CLI automation. Scapy is a packet crafting/analysis tool.

7. Question 7Automation

   Which Cisco DNA Center API allows you to discover and retrieve information about all network devices managed by the controller?

   AIntent API – Network Device endpoint✓

   BIntegration API

   CEvents API

   DMultivendor SDK API
   Show Answer & Explanation

   Correct Answer: A

   Explanation:

   DNA Center's Intent APIs provide high-level abstractions for common network operations. The Network Device endpoint (GET /dna/intent/api/v1/network-device) retrieves device inventory. Intent APIs abstract complex operations into simple REST calls. Integration APIs connect to third-party systems. Events APIs provide webhooks for notifications.