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100+ Free Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Practice Questions

Pass your Automating Cisco Data Center Solutions v1.1 (DCAUTO 300-635) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

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In the ACI policy model, which managed object represents a group of endpoints that share a common policy and is the unit of contract attachment?

A
B
C
D
to track
2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Exam

$300

Exam Fee

Cisco Learning Network (USD per attempt)

90 min

Time Limit

DCAUTO v1.1 official exam topics

55-65

Item Count

Cisco-published exam structure

10/30/30/30

Domain Weighting

Foundation / ACI / NX-OS / Compute

3 yrs

Certification Validity

Cisco professional/specialist policy

Pearson VUE

Test Delivery

In-person or OnVUE online proctored

Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 is a 90-minute concentration exam that costs $300 USD and contains roughly 55-65 items covering data center automation. Cisco does not publish a fixed passing score; the score is scaled per delivery. The official v1.1 blueprint splits the exam 10/30/30/30 across Programmability Foundation, Controller Based Networking (ACI), Device-centric Networking (NX-OS), and Data Center Compute (UCS, Intersight, NDFC). Passing earns the DevNet Specialist - Data Center Automation and Programmability credential and counts toward both CCNP Data Center and DevNet Professional. The certification is valid for 3 years.

Sample Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which Git command moves a commit from one branch onto the tip of another branch without merging the entire source branch?
A.git merge --squash
B.git rebase --onto
C.git cherry-pick
D.git reset --hard
Explanation: git cherry-pick applies the changes introduced by an existing commit onto the current branch as a new commit. It is the canonical way to take a single commit from one branch and replay it on another without bringing along the rest of the source branch's history.
2An engineer runs `git merge feature` and receives a conflict marker block in `playbook.yml`. After editing the file to keep the desired changes, which two commands finalize the merge in the correct order?
A.git commit, then git add playbook.yml
B.git add playbook.yml, then git commit
C.git push, then git merge --continue
D.git stash, then git merge --abort
Explanation: After resolving conflicts inside the working file, you must stage the resolved file with git add and then run git commit (with no message argument the editor opens with the default merge commit message). This tells Git the conflict is resolved and records the merge commit.
3Which characteristic best distinguishes a REST API from a typical RPC API such as gRPC?
A.REST always uses Protocol Buffers as its wire format
B.REST is resource-oriented and identifies resources via URIs and HTTP verbs, whereas RPC exposes remote procedures (methods) called by name
C.RPC APIs are always stateless and REST APIs are always stateful
D.REST cannot operate over TLS but RPC can
Explanation: REST is a resource-oriented architectural style: each URI represents a resource, and HTTP verbs (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE) act on it. RPC styles such as gRPC instead expose named procedures the client invokes; the focus is on actions, not addressable resources.
4A Python automation script must call a slow REST endpoint 200 times. Which pattern best mitigates the latency without violating server rate limits?
A.Replace HTTPS with HTTP to reduce TLS handshake time
B.Issue requests asynchronously with a bounded concurrency limit using aiohttp or a worker pool
C.Disable response validation on the client
D.Increase the requests library timeout to 600 seconds
Explanation: Asynchronous calls with bounded concurrency overlap I/O wait time across many requests while keeping the in-flight request count under the server's rate limit. This is the standard pattern for consuming slow APIs and is explicitly called out in the DCAUTO blueprint.
5Given the Python snippet `data = {'leaf1': 'on', 'leaf2': 'off'}`, which expression returns a list of keys whose value is the string 'on'?
A.[k for k, v in data.items() if v == 'on']
B.data.values('on')
C.filter(data, lambda k: 'on')
D.data.keys() if 'on'
Explanation: A list comprehension over data.items() with the condition v == 'on' iterates each key/value tuple and emits the key when the value matches. This is idiomatic Python for filtering a dict by value.
6Which Python data structure is unordered, mutable, and stores only unique elements with O(1) average membership testing?
A.list
B.tuple
C.set
D.dict
Explanation: A set is an unordered, mutable collection of unique hashable elements. Membership testing (`x in s`) is on average O(1), which is why sets are preferred for de-duplication and fast lookups in network automation scripts.
7A Python script imports `requests` and calls `r = requests.get(url)`. Which call returns the response body parsed as a Python dictionary when the server returns JSON?
A.r.text()
B.r.json()
C.r.content.decode()
D.json.loads(r)
Explanation: The Response object's json() method calls json.loads on the response body and returns a Python object (typically a dict for JSON objects). It is the standard idiom for REST responses in the requests library.
8Why are Python virtual environments (venv) recommended for data center automation projects?
A.They isolate per-project package versions so a script's dependencies do not conflict with the system Python or other projects
B.They are required to import the json module
C.They encrypt the Python interpreter
D.They make Python scripts run on hardware without a Python interpreter
Explanation: venv creates a directory with its own Python interpreter and site-packages, so a project's `pip install` does not pollute the system Python or clash with other projects. Cisco lists this benefit explicitly in DCAUTO blueprint topic 1.5.
9An engineer must apply identical NX-OS interface configuration to 200 switches and roll back automatically if any host fails. Which automation tool best fits this declarative, idempotent use case?
A.Ad-hoc Bash scripts with expect
B.Ansible with the cisco.nxos collection
C.A single Python script using paramiko
D.Manual CLI on each device
Explanation: Ansible is declarative and idempotent and ships an officially supported cisco.nxos collection that talks to NX-OS over NETCONF, NX-API, or SSH. Playbooks scale to large host inventories with built-in rollback and serial/throttled execution patterns.
10What is a key benefit of using Terraform with the Cisco Intersight or ACI provider compared to writing imperative API scripts?
A.Terraform compiles directly to NX-OS machine code
B.Terraform tracks desired state in a state file and applies only the diff needed to reach that state
C.Terraform replaces Git for version control
D.Terraform requires no provider plugins for Cisco platforms
Explanation: Terraform is declarative: you describe desired infrastructure, Terraform stores last-known state in terraform.tfstate, and `terraform plan/apply` computes and applies only the necessary changes. This is fundamentally different from imperative scripts that always re-execute every step.

About the Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Exam

The Cisco 300-635 DCAUTO exam (Automating Cisco Data Center Solutions v1.1) validates the ability to implement automated data center solutions across Cisco ACI, NX-OS Nexus, UCS, and Intersight. It is a concentration exam for both the CCNP Data Center and the Cisco Certified DevNet Professional certifications, and on its own it earns the Cisco Certified DevNet Specialist - Data Center Automation and Programmability credential. Passing requires hands-on knowledge of Python, Git, Ansible, Terraform, ACI APIC REST and Cobra SDK, NX-API REST/CLI, NETCONF/RESTCONF with YANG, gRPC streaming telemetry, UCS XML API, and the Cisco Intersight REST API.

Assessment

55-65 multiple-choice and performance-based items covering Network Programmability Foundation, Controller Based Data Center Networking (ACI), Data Center Device-centric Networking (NX-OS), and Data Center Compute (UCS, Intersight, NDFC)

Time Limit

90 minutes

Passing Score

Cisco does not publish a fixed passing score (variable, scaled)

Exam Fee

$300 USD (Cisco / Pearson VUE)

Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Exam Content Outline

10%

Network Programmability Foundation

Git (add, clone, push, commit, diff, branching, merge conflicts), REST vs RPC API styles, sync/async API consumption, Python data types/functions/classes/conditions/loops, Python virtual environments, Ansible and Terraform value for data-center automation

30%

Controller Based Data Center Networking

ACI target policy, application hosting and ACI Apps Center, APIC API Inspector, ACI REST API (aaaLogin, /api/mo, /api/class), Cobra SDK and ACI Toolkit, Ansible cisco.aci, ACI CNI for Kubernetes, Terraform ciscodevnet/aci, Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller

30%

Data Center Device-centric Networking

NX-OS Day-0 (POAP, iPXE), on-box automation (Bash, LXC/Docker, Guest Shell, EEM, on-box Python), model-driven telemetry (YANG Push, gRPC, gNMI) vs SNMP/NetFlow/Syslog, NX-API REST, NX-API CLI, NETCONF with native and OpenConfig YANG, Ansible cisco.nxos

30%

Data Center Compute

Cisco UCS Manager XML API (configResolveDn, configConfMo) via UCS PowerTool, ucsmsdk Python SDK, and Ansible cisco.ucs; NDFC API capabilities for LAN/SAN; Intersight API HTTP signature authentication, server policy/service profile/firmware automation, ICO workflows, and Terraform ciscodevnet/intersight

How to Pass the Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Cisco does not publish a fixed passing score (variable, scaled)
  • Assessment: 55-65 multiple-choice and performance-based items covering Network Programmability Foundation, Controller Based Data Center Networking (ACI), Data Center Device-centric Networking (NX-OS), and Data Center Compute (UCS, Intersight, NDFC)
  • Time limit: 90 minutes
  • Exam fee: $300 USD

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Cisco DCAUTO 300-635 Study Tips from Top Performers

1Memorize the four-domain weighting (10/30/30/30) and the v1.1 blueprint sub-bullets - blueprint phrasing tends to mirror exam item phrasing
2Get hands-on in the free Cisco DevNet Sandboxes for ACI, NX-OS Always-On, and Intersight - lab time is the single biggest score driver on this exam
3Practice mapping a CLI change to its NX-API REST or NETCONF equivalent using the on-box NX-API Sandbox and pyang trees - this is heavily tested
4Internalize the ACI MO model: DN format, /api/mo vs /api/class, and the rsp-subtree, target-subtree-class, and query-target-filter parameters
5Master Cisco Intersight HTTP signature authentication (KeyID + RSA/ECDSA, Digest header) - it differs from the username/password patterns used by ACI and NX-API
6Be ready to read short Python (requests, ncclient, ucsmsdk) and Ansible (cisco.aci, cisco.nxos, cisco.intersight) snippets and identify behavior or bugs

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Cisco 300-635 DCAUTO exam?

The Cisco 300-635 DCAUTO exam (Automating Cisco Data Center Solutions v1.1) is a 90-minute, $300 concentration exam delivered through Pearson VUE that validates your ability to automate Cisco data center infrastructure - ACI, NX-OS Nexus, UCS, and Intersight - using Python, Git, Ansible, Terraform, REST APIs, NETCONF/RESTCONF, YANG, and gRPC streaming telemetry. It counts toward both the CCNP Data Center and Cisco Certified DevNet Professional certifications and on its own earns the DevNet Specialist - Data Center Automation and Programmability credential.

How is the 300-635 DCAUTO exam structured?

DCAUTO is a 90-minute exam containing roughly 55-65 multiple-choice and performance-based items. Cisco does not publish a fixed passing score; it is scaled per delivery. The v1.1 blueprint splits content 10% Network Programmability Foundation, 30% Controller Based Data Center Networking (ACI), 30% Data Center Device-centric Networking (NX-OS), and 30% Data Center Compute (UCS, Intersight, NDFC).

How much does the Cisco 300-635 DCAUTO exam cost?

The 300-635 DCAUTO exam costs $300 USD per attempt and is administered by Pearson VUE either at a testing center or through OnVUE online proctoring. Cisco Learning Credits can also be used. After a failed attempt, candidates must wait 5 calendar days to retake; after a pass, the same exam cannot be retaken for 180 days.

What topics does the Cisco DCAUTO exam cover?

DCAUTO covers Git and Python fundamentals, REST and RPC APIs, Ansible and Terraform; ACI policy (tenants, VRFs, BDs, EPGs, contracts), APIC REST API, the Cobra SDK, ACI Toolkit, Ansible cisco.aci, and the ACI CNI for Kubernetes; NX-OS Day-0 provisioning (POAP, iPXE), on-box automation (Guest Shell, EEM, Python), NX-API REST/CLI, NETCONF and OpenConfig YANG, gNMI streaming telemetry; UCS Manager XML API with PowerTool and ucsmsdk, NDFC API, and the Cisco Intersight API including HTTP signature authentication and ICO workflows.

How long is the Cisco DevNet Specialist - DCAUTO certification valid?

Cisco professional and specialist certifications are valid for 3 years from the issue date. You can renew by passing a current professional concentration exam, the related core exam, or by earning continuing education credits through the Cisco Continuing Education Program before your certification expires.

Do I need to take DEVCOR before the 300-635 DCAUTO exam?

No. There are no formal prerequisites for DCAUTO. However, if you want the full Cisco Certified DevNet Professional title, you must pass the DEVCOR 350-901 core exam in addition to a concentration exam such as DCAUTO. Many candidates take the core first to get the foundation programmability content out of the way.

How should I prepare for the Cisco 300-635 DCAUTO exam?

Use the official v1.1 exam topics PDF as your blueprint, then build hands-on time in Cisco DevNet Sandboxes for ACI, Nexus, and Intersight. Practice Python with the requests library, Git workflows, Ansible (cisco.aci, cisco.nxos, cisco.ucs, cisco.intersight collections) and Terraform (ciscodevnet/aci and ciscodevnet/intersight providers). Review NX-OS NETCONF, NX-API, gNMI, and UCSM XML API examples. Round out preparation with practice questions across all four domains.