300-420 Question 267
Single answerA large enterprise network with multiple remote sites and a centralized data center is planning its network management strategy. The IT team must ensure that they can reliably manage network devices even during times of network outages or failures. Which approach should the team prioritize for managing their network devices?
- A
Use in-band management to leverage the same network used for production traffic.
- B
Implement out-of-band (OOB) management using a dedicated management network.
- C
Enable in-band management with VLAN separation for management traffic.
- D
Rely on in-band management with strict access control lists (ACLs) to secure management traffic.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Out-of-band (OOB) management is the best option for ensuring reliable access to network devices during outages or failures. By using a dedicated management network separate from the production network, administrators can maintain device access regardless of the state of the primary network. In-band management options, even with enhancements like VLANs or ACLs, still depend on the production network and are unsuitable for scenarios where reliability during failures is critical.
- A. Incorrect.
In-band management depends on the production network for device management. If the network experiences an outage, in-band management will also be unavailable, making this option unsuitable for ensuring reliability during failures.
- B. Correct.
Out-of-band (OOB) management uses a dedicated management network separate from the production network. This ensures that network devices can still be accessed and managed even during production network outages, making it the most reliable option in this scenario.
- C. Incorrect.
Using in-band management with VLAN separation improves security but still relies on the production network. If the production network fails, device management would be impacted, making this option less reliable in the given scenario.
- D. Incorrect.
In-band management with strict ACLs can improve security, but it does not address the issue of relying on the production network for management. During network outages, this approach would still fail to provide management access.