350-401 cheat sheet

Exam at a glance

Domain weightings

How much of the exam each domain covers. Spend your study time in proportion — the heavier the domain, the more questions you'll see.

Key terms

SD-Access

SD-Access is Cisco's intent-based campus fabric that uses LISP for control, VXLAN for the data plane, and Cisco TrustSec for policy. ENCOR covers its control and data plane elements and coexistence with traditional campus networks.

SD-WAN

SD-WAN (Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN) is an overlay WAN architecture that separates control and data planes to centrally manage transport-independent connectivity. ENCOR covers its components, benefits, and limitations.

VXLAN

VXLAN is a MAC-in-UDP encapsulation that extends Layer 2 segments over a Layer 3 network using a 24-bit VNID for scale. ENCOR covers VXLAN as the SD-Access fabric data plane and a network virtualization technology.

LISP

LISP (Locator/ID Separation Protocol) separates endpoint identity (EID) from location (RLOC) so the fabric can map and forward traffic dynamically. ENCOR covers LISP as the SD-Access control plane.

OSPF

OSPF is a link-state interior gateway protocol that builds a topology map and runs SPF to select paths, organized into areas. ENCOR covers configuring OSPFv2/v3 with multiple areas, summarization, and network types.

EIGRP

EIGRP is Cisco's advanced distance-vector routing protocol that uses DUAL for loop-free path selection and composite metrics. ENCOR compares its concepts against OSPF's link-state approach.

eBGP

External BGP (eBGP) exchanges routing information between different autonomous systems using a path-vector best-path algorithm. ENCOR covers configuring and verifying eBGP between directly connected neighbors.

Spanning Tree Protocol

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) prevents Layer 2 loops by blocking redundant paths, with RSTP and MST as modern variants. ENCOR covers configuring RSTP/MST and enhancements such as root guard and BPDU guard.

EtherChannel

EtherChannel bundles multiple physical links into one logical link for bandwidth and redundancy, negotiated with LACP or PAgP. ENCOR covers troubleshooting static and dynamic EtherChannels.

QoS

Quality of Service (QoS) classifies, marks, queues, and polices traffic so latency-sensitive applications get priority. ENCOR covers interpreting QoS configurations including classification, marking, and queuing.

NetFlow

NetFlow and Flexible NetFlow export metadata about IP flows for visibility, capacity planning, and security analysis. ENCOR covers configuring and verifying Flexible NetFlow under Network Assurance.

Catalyst Center

Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) is the controller for automating, monitoring, and assuring enterprise networks, increasingly with AI-driven insights. ENCOR covers its APIs and its role in configuration and assurance.

RESTCONF

RESTCONF is an HTTP-based protocol that exposes YANG-modeled configuration and state data as REST resources. ENCOR covers configuring and verifying NETCONF and RESTCONF for programmatic management.

YANG

YANG is a data modeling language that defines the structure of configuration and state data used by NETCONF and RESTCONF. ENCOR covers YANG's principles and benefits in network automation.

EEM

Embedded Event Manager (EEM) is a Cisco IOS subsystem that runs applets or scripts automatically in response to defined events. ENCOR covers constructing an EEM applet to automate configuration, troubleshooting, or data collection.