Selected 400-007 CCDE Questions Answers

C (Untrusted VLAN): In out-of-band NAC Real-IP Gateway mode, unauthenticated clients are placed into the untrusted VLAN. The Clean Access Server handles traffic from these clients until authentication is complete.

Why other options are incorrect:

A: Authentication VLAN applies to some inline modes but not Real-IP Gateway.

B: User VLAN is assigned after successful authentication.

D: Management VLAN is used for administration, not for client onboarding.

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C (Lack of visibility and tracking): In cloud-native environments, organizations often struggle with monitoring and tracking workloads across dynamic, distributed, and multi-tenant architectures. Traditional visibility tools may not fully cover cloud-native assets like containers, serverless functions, or microservices, making it harder to detect threats and enforce policies.

D (Increased attack surface): Cloud-native architectures introduce many additional components—APIs, microservices, third-party integrations, and distributed data—which all expand the organization's overall attack surface. More entry points for attackers create additional security challenges compared to traditional on-prem environments.

Other options explained:

A: User roles can be managed with proper IAM systems.

B: Polymorphism refers to code behavior in programming, not a core security challenge in cloud-native design.

E: Credential validation is part of basic access control but not a top cloud-native challenge compared to visibility and attack surface expansion.

B (Proactive network management):Network optimization involves ongoing monitoring, trend analysis, and proactive maintenance to prevent issues before they impact performance.

D (Network health maintenance):Optimization focuses on ensuring consistent network performance, reducing bottlenecks, and maintaining network integrity through regular health checks and adjustments.

Other options explained:

A: High availability is a design goal but not optimization itself.

C: Redesign suggests a major rearchitecture, not part of ongoing optimization.

E: Requirement identification happens during initial design phases.

In the Cisco three-layer hierarchical design model (Access, Distribution, Core), the access layer is primarily responsible for:

Providing user/device connectivity.

Enforcing policy boundaries.

Performing QoS classification and marking at ingress.

The access layer is the optimal point to classify and mark traffic for QoS because:

It is the first point of entry into the network for end-user devices.

Markings can then be trusted by upstream devices (distribution and core).

This minimizes trust boundaries throughout the network and ensures consistent policy enforcement.

This design principle ensures end-to-end QoS consistency, a key objective emphasized in CCDE v3.1 for scalable and maintainable enterprise designs.

Why other options are incorrect:

A (Fault isolation): Typically handled at distribution/core layers.

C (Reliability): A general network-wide requirement, not specific to access.

D (Fast transport): Primarily a core layer function.

E (Redundancy and load balancing): Managed primarily at distribution and core layers.