Cisco 300-615 DCIT Data Center Troubleshooting Practice Exam
Cover the full 300-615 v1.2 blueprint — network, compute platforms, storage network, automation, and management and operations troubleshooting — with objective-mapped questions, immediate feedback in Learn mode, and full timed simulation in Exam mode.
Start 24-hour free trial →300-615 exam at a glance
- Vendor
- Cisco
- Exam code
- 300-615 (DCIT)
- Full name
- Troubleshooting Cisco Data Center Infrastructure
- Level
- Professional
- Blueprint
- v1.2
- Duration
- 90 minutes
- Role in CCNP
- CCNP Data Center concentration exam — pair with the DCCOR 350-601 core to earn CCNP Data Center
- Also earns
- Cisco Certified Specialist – Data Center Operations
- Domains
- Five, with published weights (see below); they sum to 100%
- Prerequisites
- None formally required; three to five years of data-center experience is typical
- Delivery
- Pearson VUE; test center or online proctored
- Scoring
- Scaled score; Cisco does not publish a fixed public cut score. Confirm on Cisco’s page
Sources: Cisco — DCIT (300-615) exam page · Cisco — official DCIT v1.2 exam topics (PDF). Verify current details with Cisco before scheduling.
About the Cisco 300-615 DCIT exam
The 300-615 DCIT exam validates the skills to troubleshoot Cisco data-center infrastructure across network, compute platforms, storage network, automation, and management and operations. It is a Professional-level exam and the troubleshooting counterpart to the DCID design concentration. For how certification exams work generally, see the certification study guides in our Learning Hub.
DCIT is a CCNP Data Center concentration exam. To earn CCNP Data Center you pass two exams: the DCCOR 350-601 core (Implementing and Operating Cisco Data Center Core Technologies) plus one concentration — DCIT being the troubleshooting-focused option. Passing DCIT on its own also earns the Cisco Certified Specialist – Data Center Operations credential. Related concentrations include DCID design (300-610) and DCACI ACI implementation (300-620).
Every PowerKram practice question maps to one of the five weighted domains and links to Cisco’s own exam material, so a weak spot becomes a specific study step rather than a guess.
300-615 exam domains and weights (v1.2)
Cisco publishes five weighted domains for the 300-615 exam, and they sum to 100%. Network and Compute Platforms are the two largest at 25% each, so start there — but note the exam is scenario-driven and cross-domain, so isolated study of one area is rarely enough. Confirm the current weights on Cisco’s exam topics before scheduling.
Troubleshoot routing protocols (OSPFv2/v3, MP-BGP, PIM, FHRP), switching protocols (RSTP+, LACP, vPC), overlay protocols (VXLAN EVPN, OTV), and Application Centric Infrastructure — fabric discovery, access policies, VMM domain integration, tenant policies, packet flow, and external connectivity.
Troubleshoot Cisco UCS rack servers and blade chassis (chassis, power, IOM), network (VLANs, pools, policies, templates, QoS), storage (SAN connectivity, FC zoning, VSANs), server pools and boot policies, server-to-fabric packet flow, and hardware interoperability (CNAs, firmware, I/O modules/FEX).
Troubleshoot Fibre Channel and FCoE connectivity, zoning and VSANs, SAN switching, and storage-related interface and performance issues across the data-center fabric.
Troubleshoot programmability and automation — REST APIs, Python, and Ansible against NX-OS and ACI — and the model-driven interfaces used to operate the fabric at scale.
Troubleshoot firmware upgrades, centralized-management integration and interoperability, and network security — RBAC and AAA, DHCP snooping, port security and first-hop security, CoPP, fabric binding, and key management.
Source: Cisco — official DCIT v1.2 (300-615) exam topics (PDF). Weights are Cisco’s and sum to 100%. Verify the current edition before scheduling.
Who the 300-615 exam is for
DCIT is aimed at experienced data-center professionals who operate and troubleshoot the fabric:
- Data-center and network operations engineers who diagnose and resolve issues across Nexus, UCS, storage, and ACI.
- Support and implementation engineers validating structured troubleshooting skills across all five domains.
- CCNP Data Center candidates choosing the troubleshooting concentration alongside the DCCOR 350-601 core.
- Specialists pursuing the Cisco Certified Specialist – Data Center Operations credential.
Pair this troubleshooting concentration with design via DCID (300-610) or ACI implementation via DCACI (300-620). If you’re building networking foundations first, start with CCNA (200-301). For where data-center operations skills lead, see the network and infrastructure career paths in our Career Hub.
What this 300-615 practice exam delivers
Learn mode
Get the correct answer, the explanation, and a direct link to Cisco’s exam material each question maps to — immediately after each question. Ideal for scenario-driven troubleshooting logic across fabric, compute, and storage.
Exam mode
Timed, full-length simulation spanning all five domains at the real 90-minute pace — so test day feels familiar.
Source-linked explanations
Every answer links to Cisco’s own DCIT exam material, so you can verify each troubleshooting step against the source.
Score by weighted domain
Results break down across the five weighted domains so you can see whether it’s network, compute, storage, automation, or management and operations that needs more work.
Sample 300-615 practice questions
Ten free questions across the 300-615 weighted domains, with full explanations and source links to Cisco’s exam material. The complete bank is available with the 24-hour trial.
A vPC between two Nexus switches shows a “vPC role” inconsistency and some VLANs are suspended. Which check is the most direct first step?
- Verify the vPC peer-link and peer-keepalive are up and that type-1/type-2 consistency parameters match on both peers
- Replace both switches
- Disable spanning tree globally
- Reboot the core routers
Show answer & explanation
Correct: A. vPC consistency problems trace to the peer-link, peer-keepalive, and consistency parameters; verifying they are up and that type-1/type-2 parameters match on both peers is the direct diagnostic and resolves suspended-VLAN symptoms.
Why not the others: replacing hardware (B) is a drastic last resort, not a first step; disabling spanning tree globally (C) risks loops and doesn’t address vPC consistency; rebooting core routers (D) is unrelated to the vPC peer relationship.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: network troubleshooting → Further reading: PowerKram — DCID (300-610) →In an ACI fabric, a newly connected leaf switch is not joining the fabric. Which area should you troubleshoot first?
- The tenant application profiles
- Fabric discovery and node registration (the leaf must be discovered and registered with a node ID)
- The QoS marking policy
- The DNS server
Show answer & explanation
Correct: B. A leaf that will not join the fabric is a fabric-discovery/registration issue — the node must be discovered via LLDP and registered with a node ID and name in the APIC before it participates. That is the correct first area.
Why not the others: tenant application profiles (A) apply after the fabric is built; QoS marking (C) affects traffic treatment, not membership; DNS (D) is unrelated to fabric discovery.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: ACI fabric discovery → Further reading: PowerKram — DCACI (300-620) →A UCS blade fails to associate with its service profile, reporting a boot-policy problem. Which is the most relevant thing to check?
- The color of the chassis LEDs
- The boot order and target (SAN/LAN/local) defined in the boot policy and its referenced vHBAs/vNICs
- The data-center thermostat
- The corporate email server
Show answer & explanation
Correct: B. A boot-policy association failure points to the boot order and target (SAN, LAN, or local disk) in the boot policy and whether the referenced vHBAs/vNICs and WWPN/zoning line up — the standard UCS boot-policy troubleshooting path.
Why not the others: chassis LED color (A) is not the diagnostic here, and the thermostat (C) and email server (D) are unrelated to service-profile association.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: UCS compute troubleshooting → Further reading: PowerKram — DCID (300-610) →After a UCS firmware upgrade, a server’s adapter shows interoperability problems. Which UCS concept most directly governs consistent firmware across components?
- The building’s fire-suppression system
- The switch console baud rate
- Host firmware packages (part of the service-profile policy)
- The rack’s paint finish
Show answer & explanation
Correct: C. Host firmware packages, referenced by the service profile, pin adapter/BIOS/controller firmware to known-good versions — the direct mechanism for consistent, interoperable firmware and the first thing to check after an upgrade shows adapter issues.
Why not the others: fire suppression (A), console baud rate (B), and rack paint (D) have nothing to do with firmware interoperability.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: hardware interoperability & firmware →A server cannot see its Fibre Channel LUN. Zoning is suspected. Which check is most directly relevant?
- Check the office Wi-Fi password
- Increase the monitor brightness
- Restart the print spooler
- Verify the initiator and target WWPNs are in the same active zone in the correct VSAN
Show answer & explanation
Correct: D. When a host can’t see its LUN and zoning is suspected, confirm the initiator and target WWPNs are members of the same active zone in the correct VSAN, and that the zoneset is activated — the core Fibre Channel zoning check.
Why not the others: Wi-Fi password (A), monitor brightness (B), and the print spooler (C) are unrelated to Fibre Channel zoning.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: storage network troubleshooting →A Python script using the APIC REST API returns HTTP 401 when creating a tenant. What is the most likely cause?
- The switch fans are dirty
- Authentication failed — the token is missing or expired, so the request is unauthorized
- The rack is too tall
- The cable is the wrong color
Show answer & explanation
Correct: B. HTTP 401 is “Unauthorized” — in APIC automation it means the authentication token is missing, invalid, or expired, so the script must (re)authenticate and include a valid token/cookie before the tenant call.
Why not the others: dirty fans (A), rack height (C), and cable color (D) don’t produce an HTTP 401.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: automation & programmability → Further reading: PowerKram — CCNA (200-301) →An administrator can log in but cannot make configuration changes on a Nexus switch. Which area is the most likely cause?
- The switch’s serial number
- The building’s HVAC schedule
- RBAC / AAA — the user’s role grants read-only rather than write privileges
- The exam’s time zone
Show answer & explanation
Correct: C. Login succeeds but changes are denied — a classic RBAC/AAA privilege issue: the assigned role provides read-only access. Check the user’s role and AAA authorization to grant the needed write privileges.
Why not the others: the serial number (A), HVAC schedule (B), and time zone (D) have nothing to do with configuration authorization.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: management, RBAC & AAA →In a VXLAN EVPN fabric, hosts in the same VNI on different leaves cannot reach each other, though the underlay is healthy. Which is the best area to check?
- The data-center badge readers
- The building elevator
- BGP EVPN peering and the L2VPN EVPN address-family — verify type-2 routes are advertised and the VNI-to-VRF/L2 mapping is consistent
- The cafeteria menu
Show answer & explanation
Correct: C. A healthy underlay but no east-west reachability within a VNI points to the EVPN control plane: verify BGP EVPN peering, the L2VPN EVPN address-family, that type-2 (MAC/IP) routes are advertised and received, and that VNI mappings match on both leaves.
Why not the others: badge readers (A), the elevator (B), and the cafeteria menu (D) are unrelated to VXLAN EVPN forwarding.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: overlay (VXLAN EVPN) troubleshooting → Further reading: PowerKram — DCACI (300-620) →An FCoE-attached server intermittently loses storage connectivity. Which lossless-Ethernet mechanism is most relevant to check for FCoE?
- Spanning-tree portfast
- Wireless channel width
- NAT translation timers
- Priority Flow Control (PFC) and the correct DCBX/no-drop class configuration
Show answer & explanation
Correct: D. FCoE requires a lossless class; verify Priority Flow Control (PFC) and DCBX are correctly negotiating the no-drop class for FCoE traffic. Misconfigured PFC/DCBX is a common cause of intermittent FCoE drops.
Why not the others: STP portfast (A), wireless channel width (B), and NAT timers (C) are unrelated to FCoE lossless behavior.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: FCoE & lossless Ethernet →Control-plane traffic is overwhelming a Nexus supervisor during an event. Which feature is designed to protect the control plane, and what should you check?
- CoPP (Control Plane Policing) — verify the policy and per-class rate limits and drops
- The building’s parking policy
- The screensaver timeout
- The keyboard layout
Show answer & explanation
Correct: A. Control Plane Policing (CoPP) rate-limits traffic to the supervisor; when the control plane is under pressure, inspect the CoPP policy, its class map rates, and drop counters to confirm legitimate traffic isn’t being starved and abusive traffic is contained.
Why not the others: parking policy (B), screensaver timeout (C), and keyboard layout (D) are unrelated to control-plane protection.
Source: Cisco — DCIT: CoPP & control-plane protection →Keep going: Learning & Career resources
DCIT is the troubleshooting concentration in the CCNP Data Center track. Two PowerKram hubs back this exam.
Deep dive: the five domains, the CCNP path, and study strategy
How the five domains fit together
DCIT is deliberately cross-domain: a single scenario can start as a “network” symptom and resolve in compute or storage. Network and Compute Platforms are the two largest domains at 25% each; Management and Operations is 20%; Storage Network and Automation are 15% each. Build structured troubleshooting habits rather than memorizing isolated facts. See DCACI (300-620) →
How DCIT fits CCNP Data Center
CCNP Data Center requires two exams: the DCCOR 350-601 core plus one concentration. DCIT is the troubleshooting concentration; design (DCID 300-610) and ACI implementation (DCACI 300-620) are alternatives. Passing DCIT alone also earns Cisco Certified Specialist – Data Center Operations. Choose the concentration that matches your day-to-day focus. See DCID (300-610) →
Realistic study path
Weight your time toward Network and Compute Platforms, then Management and Operations. Practice reading show-command and fault output and reasoning to a root cause — vPC and EVPN consistency, UCS service-profile and boot-policy faults, FC zoning and FCoE lossless classes, RBAC/AAA, and CoPP. Finish with objective-mapped practice and at least one timed 90-minute run. Confirm the current blueprint on Cisco’s exam topics. See CCNA (200-301) →
Frequently asked questions
What does the 300-615 DCIT exam cover?
Is 300-615 a CCNP exam by itself?
What are the exam domains and weights?
How long is the exam?
What experience is recommended?
Start your free 24-hour 300-615 practice trial
Full access to the question bank, both study modes, source-linked explanations, and score-by-weighted-domain across all five DCIT domains. No credit card required.
Start free trial →