200-901 exam at a glance
CCNA Automation · Associate level
| Exam code | 200-901 CCNAAUTO |
|---|---|
| Certification | CCNA Automation |
| Level | Associate |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Delivery | Proctored Cisco certification exam delivered through Pearson VUE |
| Exam cost | US$300, or use Cisco Learning Credits |
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Certification validity | 3 years |
| Retake policy | After a failed attempt, candidates must wait five calendar days, beginning the day after the failed attempt, before retaking the same exam. After passing, candidates must wait at least 180 days before taking the same exam number again. |
| Prerequisites | None |
The exam is intended for candidates developing network automation skills. Cisco identifies network automation engineers, software developers, system integration programmers, infrastructure architects, and network designers as audiences for the associated training.
Skills measured and their weighting
| Skill area | Weight |
|---|---|
| Software Development and Design | 15% |
| Understanding and Using APIs | 20% |
| Cisco Platforms and Development | 15% |
| Application Deployment and Security | 15% |
| Infrastructure and Automation | 20% |
| Network Fundamentals | 15% |
Source: cisco.com — official 200-901 CCNAAUTO exam and training page. The current official exam topics document is Automating Networks Using Cisco Platforms v1.1. Figures were checked against Cisco’s official documentation. Confirm current details there before booking.
The full bank covers every domain, with timed mode and per-domain scoring.
200-901-CCNAAUTO Practice Questions By Domains
6 domains covered1. Understanding and Using APIs
12 free questions available
2. Software Development and Design
5 free questions available
3. Network Fundamentals
4 free questions available
4. Application Deployment and Security
3 free questions available
5. Infrastructure and Automation
3 free questions available
6. Cisco Platforms and Development
3 free questions available
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Unlock all 478 questionsCisco 200-901 CCNAAUTO Practice Test
A Cisco 200-901 CCNAAUTO practice test can show whether you can connect a simple program to a real networking task. Compare practice options for popular IT exams, then choose material that matches 200-901 CCNAAUTO and Cisco’s published topics. You do not need to know every tool before you begin practising. Start with the basic idea: a script asks a network service for information, checks the result, and performs a safe, repeatable task. This guide explains the topic areas, common terms, and a practical way to learn from your results.
What is Cisco 200-901 CCNAAUTO?
Cisco calls the exam Automating Networks Using Cisco Platforms, and passing it earns the CCNA Automation certification. Its current exam page describes software development and design, APIs, application deployment and security, and infrastructure automation on Cisco platforms. It combines basic coding ideas with the networking knowledge needed to understand what a program is changing.
You may find older materials labelled DEVASC or DevNet Associate for the same 200-901 code. Cisco’s detailed v1.1 topic PDF still carries the DEVASC name, while Cisco’s CCNAAUTO exam page uses the newer certification name. Cisco’s v1.1 revision notes explain that the six domains stayed the same while selected technologies and tasks changed. When choosing a practice test, look at its objectives and explanations as well as its title.
Imagine an engineer who must check the status of many network devices. Manually opening each device would take time and invite mistakes. An automation workflow could obtain a device list through an approved API, read the returned data, identify a problem, and report it. The exam topics give you the software, API, platform, security, automation, and networking concepts to understand that kind of workflow.
The six official 200-901 topic areas
Cisco’s 200-901 v1.1 outline publishes six domains and weights. The percentages add up to 100%. They guide study time, but they are not a promise about the precise questions a candidate will see. A learner who is comfortable with APIs yet repeatedly misses subnetting or routing scenarios should spend more time on Network Fundamentals than the raw weight alone might suggest. Cisco states that its blueprint is a general guideline that may change; check the official Cisco topic page and PDF when comparing a practice bank with the current scope.
Software Development and Design (15%)
Software Development and Design is 15%. The outline lists JSON, XML, and YAML, which are ways to store or exchange structured information. Learn to recognize the shape of each and how a Python program can turn that information into values it can use. In a practice scenario, you might see information about a device in JSON and need to recognize where a particular field lives. Focus on the structure and meaning of the data rather than memorizing a long sample.
Cisco also names test-driven development, software approaches such as agile, lean, and waterfall, and ways to organize code with functions, classes, and modules. A function is a named piece of work you can use again; a module groups related code. The main beginner benefit is that a clear program is easier to read, test, and change. The outline also mentions design patterns, including MVC and Observer. At this level, learn why a pattern helps organize or react to software events before worrying about complex designs.
Git version control is another practical part of this domain. Cisco lists cloning a project, staging changes, committing, sharing and receiving updates, branching, merging, resolving conflicts, and viewing differences. Picture two people working on an automation script: Git helps them keep a history and combine their changes. When reviewing an explanation, identify whether the task concerns creating a local change, recording it, sharing it, or reconciling two versions. Cisco lists these precise subjects in its software development section.
Understanding and Using APIs (20%)
Understanding and Using APIs carries 20%. An API gives a program a defined way to communicate with another service. In a REST-style interaction, a client sends a request to an endpoint and receives a response. The request has a purpose; the response includes a status code, headers, and often a body containing data. This basic sequence is more important than learning a long list of URLs by heart.
The blueprint asks you to construct a REST request from documentation and make a Python request using the requests library. Read a practice scenario in order: what resource does the script need, what action should happen, what information must be supplied, and what should the response show? A response code is a clue: a success result differs from a missing resource or a rejected request. Use Cisco’s API documentation to interpret the exact situation rather than assuming one code always means the same fix.
The domain also covers authentication through mechanisms such as basic credentials, custom tokens, and API keys. Authentication identifies or validates the caller before allowing an API operation. Cisco lists webhooks, API usage limits or other constraints, and REST, RPC, synchronous, and asynchronous styles. A webhook usually sends an event notification when something happens; an ordinary request can be used when your program needs information now. When a mock test gives an integration story, decide whether your program should ask for data, receive a notification, or perform an action. The Cisco API domain identifies the full published scope.
Cisco Platforms and Development (15%)
Cisco Platforms and Development is 15%. The exam outline covers several kinds of Cisco services and their APIs. It includes network management platforms, compute management, Webex and collaboration services, security products, and interfaces on network devices. You do not need to treat them as one giant product list. Ask what the scenario needs: a list of network devices, information about clients, a Webex space, a compute system, or a security service. Then connect the need to a suitable platform.
Cisco names a script that uses a Cisco SDK and asks learners to identify appropriate DevNet resources, such as a sandbox, API documentation, Learning Labs, Code Exchange, and support forums. An SDK provides code helpers for using a service. A sandbox is a place to explore supported behavior without depending on a production network. If you are learning a new API, documentation tells you what a request needs; a sandbox helps you see what it returns.
The outline also includes YANG, NETCONF, and RESTCONF under model-driven programmability. YANG describes structured network data. NETCONF and RESTCONF provide ways to work with network configuration or state based on those models. At first, remember the roles: a model describes the data; an interface helps your program access it. Cisco’s examples also include reading device lists or client information and managing Webex spaces and messages through documented interfaces. Refer to Cisco’s platform section for the named technologies.
Application Deployment and Security (15%)
Application Deployment and Security has a 15% weight. A useful automation program must be more than a file that works once on one laptop. Cisco includes where applications run—private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, and edge locations—and how they are packaged on bare metal systems, virtual machines, or containers. Think of a container as a way to package an application and what it needs to run; a virtual machine includes an operating system environment. The exam expects you to recognize their characteristics, not claim that one model suits every job.
The published topics include CI/CD, Python unit tests, Dockerfiles, local Docker images, Bash commands, and DevOps practices. CI/CD is a process for checking and delivering changes in a repeatable way. A unit test checks that a small piece of code behaves as intended. A Dockerfile describes steps used to build an image. In practice explanations, focus on the job of the tool and where it belongs in the journey from code change to running application.
Security is equally important. Cisco names secret protection, encryption for stored and transmitted data, safe data handling, and common web threats such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and cross-site request forgery. It also lists network services such as firewalls, DNS, load balancers, and reverse proxies in application deployment. A strong study habit is to trace both what the program needs to do and how it can do that without exposing a password or sensitive data. The complete list is in Cisco’s Application Deployment and Security domain.
Infrastructure and Automation (20%)
Infrastructure and Automation accounts for 20%. This domain asks why a structured approach can make repeated network work safer and easier to review. It includes infrastructure as code, model-driven programmability, controller-level versus device-level management, simulation and test tools, and CI/CD for infrastructure changes. The key idea is to describe a desired result in a repeatable form, check it, and apply it in a controlled way.
Cisco names Ansible, Terraform, and Cisco NSO, as well as Cisco Modeling Labs and pyATS. Ansible can describe repeatable automation tasks; Terraform can manage infrastructure through defined configuration; NSO supports network service orchestration. Modeling Labs and pyATS serve different testing and validation purposes. Learn which job each name represents. Cisco’s v1.1 revision notes specifically mention updates involving Terraform and product names, a reason to be careful with older study sets.
The domain also includes interpreting a Python script, an Ansible playbook, a Bash script, NETCONF or RESTCONF output, a YANG model, a unified diff, and a sequence diagram with API calls. These tasks have a shared skill: follow the order of operations and explain what changed. A unified diff shows lines added or removed between versions. A code review gives another person the chance to inspect a change before it is used. In a practice assessment, write a one-sentence account of the workflow instead of memorizing a tool name alone. See Cisco’s infrastructure automation subjects.
Network Fundamentals (15%)
Network Fundamentals carries 15%. Cisco includes MAC addresses, VLANs, IP addresses, subnet prefixes, gateways, routes, switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, and network diagrams. A script may read or change network state, but its result makes sense only if you know what the network information means. A VLAN groups traffic at the local-network level; an IP address and route help traffic find its way across networks. A gateway is a route out of a local network.
The blueprint also names management, data, and control planes. In simple terms, management is where people or systems administer a device, the data plane forwards traffic, and the control plane helps determine forwarding decisions. This distinction matters if a tool can reach a device’s management API while ordinary user traffic still has a problem—or the reverse.
Services such as DNS, DHCP, NAT, SNMP, and NTP appear in the official list, along with common port values and connectivity failures involving a blocked port, proxy, VPN, or NAT. If an API request fails, avoid blaming the code immediately. Check whether the client can reach the service, resolve its name, pass through the necessary network path, and authenticate. This domain supplies the networking reasoning behind automation troubleshooting. Cisco’s Network Fundamentals section identifies the published terms.
See all six domains in one small automation task
Imagine a team wants a daily report of network devices that cannot be reached. The developer stores device information in JSON, organizes a Python script into functions, and tracks changes with Git: Software Development and Design. The script requests device data and checks response codes: Understanding and Using APIs. It uses a Cisco-supported platform and its documentation: Cisco Platforms and Development.
The team runs and tests the script without exposing API credentials: Application Deployment and Security. A scheduled, reviewed workflow produces the report consistently: Infrastructure and Automation. Finally, the team needs to understand addressing, routing, and blocked connections to distinguish an unreachable device from a broken script: Network Fundamentals. This is an original learning illustration, not a Cisco practice question or a claim about a required deployment.
Turn a practice score into a study plan
Use an initial mixed session to see which of the six areas feels least familiar. Sort missed items into clear labels such as “JSON structure,” “HTTP response,” “YANG versus RESTCONF,” “Dockerfile purpose,” “Ansible workflow,” and “routing or DNS.” These labels are more useful than a raw total because each one points to something you can learn.
Next, read the explanation and restate the answer as a cause-and-effect story. For an API error, identify the request, the response, and the likely failure point. For an automation script, identify the input, what the script does, and its output. For a network issue, identify what should communicate with what and where the path might be blocked. After revisiting the relevant Cisco objective, try a fresh set of related items, then return to a mixed session.
You can Find Cisco networking and security practice tests in the Cisco catalog and check whether the available assessment matches 200-901 CCNAAUTO. Because older resources may use the DEVASC name, compare the actual six-domain coverage before relying on a test’s headline. An answer explanation that helps you understand a new scenario is more valuable than one you can recite from memory.
Make your Edurely practice time count
The Edurely practice-test hub describes exam-style questions, answer explanations, links to official documentation, and focused practice modes. If you find a matching CCNAAUTO assessment, use its results to select a small topic for the next session. Move from a broad first attempt to focused work on a weak concept, and later check whether you can apply it when different domains appear together.
Keep a short learning record: topic missed, what you assumed, what the explanation showed, and what you verified in Cisco’s outline. For example, if a question involved a failed API call, record whether the issue concerned an incorrect request, access rights, an HTTP error, or a blocked network path. This record helps you tell a genuine improvement from a higher score caused by remembering familiar wording.
You can Visit Edurely for focused certification preparation while building a routine that combines assessment, documentation, and small hands-on experiments. Check the individual practice test’s code and topic coverage. Cisco’s published objectives remain the source for the exam scope, and practice materials should help you understand them rather than promise that a particular question will appear.
Cisco 200-901 CCNAAUTO practice test FAQs
Does 200-901 CCNAAUTO replace the older DEVASC name?
Cisco’s current exam page calls the certification CCNA Automation and the exam 200-901 CCNAAUTO. Cisco’s accessible v1.1 topic PDF uses the previous DEVASC name for the same code. Check the topics and version when using an older guide.
Which two domains have the largest published weights?
Understanding and Using APIs and Infrastructure and Automation each account for 20% in Cisco’s v1.1 outline. The other four domains each account for 15%. These weights are planning aids; they do not guarantee a fixed number of questions. See Cisco’s domain list.
Must I already be an expert programmer?
You need to learn the coding and software topics Cisco lists, including Python API requests, data structures, Git, unit tests, and script interpretation. The outline also includes fundamental networking. Break the work into small tasks such as reading a JSON response and explaining what a short script does, then build from there. The official topic PDF is a useful checklist.
Why does a network automation exam include VLANs and DNS?
An automation program communicates over a network and acts on network information. If the addressing, route, name lookup, or port is wrong, an otherwise reasonable script can fail. Cisco explicitly gives Network Fundamentals its own 15% domain in the v1.1 outline.
How should I choose between two 200-901 practice tests?
Compare them with Cisco’s six current published domains. Prefer material with clear explanations of the reasoning behind API, software, platform, automation, security, and network scenarios. Check the version and the technologies covered, especially if the product title still says DEVASC. Use a practice result to decide what to study next, not as a guarantee about a future exam outcome.