101-01 Sample Questions & Answers
Checks your knowledge of deploying SteelHead and managing it through the SteelCentral Controller, the single biggest weight, plus core WAN optimization techniques, SSL and video optimization, data protection, the Mobile client, and QoS and VPN features.
Launch the full 101-01 simulator →Showing 10 of 20 free samples.
- Question 1IntermediateSelect 2
SteelHead Application Features · SSL Deployments
During a network audit, it was discovered that a SteelHead appliance, configured for SSL optimization, is using a server certificate with a weak signing algorithm (SHA-1). To comply with new security policies, the certificate must be replaced with one using SHA-256. What are the critical steps an administrator must perform on the SteelHead to update the SSL certificate for a specific internal server? (Select TWO)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answers: B, C
The SteelHead appliance needs the actual server certificate and its corresponding private key to impersonate the server to the client during the SSL handshake for optimization. This is a fundamental step.
After importing the certificate, the SSL in-path rule that defines optimization for that server's traffic must be updated to use the newly imported SHA-256 certificate instead of the old SHA-1 certificate.
- Question 2Intermediate
WAN Optimization Technology · Transport Streamlining
A consultant is reviewing a SteelHead deployment where two appliances are connected over a satellite link characterized by very high latency (>600ms) and moderate packet loss. Standard TCP applications are performing poorly despite data reduction ratios being high. The consultant suspects the TCP congestion control algorithm is too conservative for this link type. Which Riverbed-specific transport streamlining feature is designed specifically to address this kind of challenging network environment?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
MX-TCP (Maximum Speed TCP) is a proprietary Riverbed transport protocol designed for high-latency, high-packet-loss environments like satellite links. It uses different congestion control mechanisms and packet loss recovery techniques than standard TCP or even HS-TCP, allowing it to utilize the available bandwidth much more effectively on such challenging links.
- Question 3Beginner
SteelHead Networking Features · QoS Configuration
A network administrator needs to create a QoS policy on a SteelHead appliance to prioritize interactive SSH traffic over bulk FTP data transfers. The goal is to ensure SSH sessions remain responsive even when large files are being transferred. To which predefined QoS class should the SSH traffic (TCP port 22) be assigned to give it higher priority?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
The 'Interactive' QoS class is specifically designed for low-bandwidth, latency-sensitive applications like SSH and Telnet. Assigning SSH traffic to this class ensures it receives priority over traffic in lower-priority classes, such as the 'Bulk' class where FTP would typically be placed, thus maintaining responsiveness.
- Question 4Intermediate
SteelHead Deployment & SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead · SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead (SCS)
An administrator is managing a large-scale SteelHead deployment using a SteelCentral Controller (SCC). A new security policy requires that all administrative access to the SteelHead appliances must use a centralized authentication system. The administrator configures the SCC to push a policy that sets the authentication mode to RADIUS. However, several appliances in a remote region fail to apply the new policy. What is the most likely reason for this failure?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
In RiOS, certain critical local configurations can be protected from being overwritten by SCC policies using the '!read-only' flag. If the authentication settings on the remote appliances were configured locally and marked as read-only, the SCC policy push will fail for that specific setting, preventing the change to RADIUS.
- Question 5Advanced
WAN Optimization Technology · Application Streamlining
Case Study:
A global architectural firm, "ArchiDesign," has its primary data center in Chicago, with branch offices in London, Singapore, and Sydney. The firm relies heavily on transferring large Autodesk Revit (CAD) files and uses a centralized document management system over CIFS/SMB. All inter-office traffic is sent over a managed MPLS network, but users in the APAC region (Singapore and Sydney) complain about extremely slow file transfers and application response times due to high latency (250-300ms).
Current Situation:
The network team has deployed SteelHead appliances at all four locations. Data reduction ratios are excellent (averaging 85%), but the application-level performance improvement for the APAC offices is still below expectations. The network team has validated that the issue is not bandwidth saturation but rather the number of TCP round trips required by the applications across the high-latency links.Requirements:
- Significantly improve the 'time-to-first-byte' for users opening large CAD files.
- Reduce the chattiness of the CIFS/SMB protocol over the WAN.
- The solution must not require any changes to the end-user workstations or the servers in Chicago.
Which combination of RiOS features should the ArchiDesign network team focus on configuring and optimizing to best meet these requirements?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
The core problem described is application latency caused by protocol chattiness over high-latency links, even with good data reduction. Application Streamlining features are designed to solve this. CIFS prepopulation can pre-load data to the branch office appliance, drastically improving open times. CIFS read-ahead and write-behind are specific latency optimization techniques that reduce the number of round trips required by the protocol, directly addressing the user complaints. This combination targets the application layer, which is the source of the remaining performance bottleneck.
- Question 6Beginner
SteelHead Deployment & SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead · Physical In-Path Deployments
When a SteelHead appliance is deployed in a physical in-path configuration, it uses a simplified routing mechanism for its own management traffic. What is the default gateway for the SteelHead's primary interface in this mode?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
In a physical in-path deployment, the SteelHead appliance's simplified routing table automatically uses the next-hop router connected to its WAN interface as the default gateway for its own sourced traffic (like management, DNS, NTP). This ensures management traffic is correctly routed out towards the rest of the network via the WAN-side router.
- Question 7Intermediate
SteelHead Application Features · Video Optimization
A network engineer is troubleshooting an issue where HTTP video streaming from a specific internal server is not being optimized. The engineer has confirmed that the 'HTTP Stream Splitting' feature is enabled. Upon further investigation using connection history reports, the engineer sees the connection is being passed through without optimization. What is a common reason for HTTP video optimization to fail for a specific stream?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
HTTP stream splitting, the core of Riverbed's video optimization, requires the server to send a 'Content-Length' header in the HTTP response. If the server uses 'Transfer-Encoding: chunked', it does not provide the total content length upfront, which prevents the SteelHead appliance from being able to manage and split the stream effectively. This is a common reason for video optimization to fail and for the connection to be passed through.
- Question 8Beginner
WAN Optimization Technology · Troubleshooting
What is the primary purpose of a peering rule on a SteelHead appliance?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Peering rules are fundamental control mechanisms that determine whether a SteelHead appliance will try to optimize a connection. They are based on criteria such as source/destination IP address and subnet. If a connection's parameters match a peering rule, the appliance will insert its optimization probe into the TCP options to find a remote peer. If no rule matches, the connection will be passed through unoptimized.
- Question 9Intermediate
SteelHead Deployment & SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead · Out-of-Path Deployments
A new SteelHead appliance is deployed out-of-path. The administrator has configured a fixed-target rule to optimize traffic destined for a server at 10.10.20.50. However, reports show no traffic is being optimized. The administrator verifies there is connectivity between the client-side appliance and the server-side appliance. What is the most common misconfiguration in this scenario?
graph TD Client[Client 192.168.1.10] --> Router[Router] Router --> WAN((WAN)) WAN --> SrvRouter[Server-Side Router] SrvRouter --> Server[Server 10.10.20.50] subgraph Branch Office Client Router SH_Client[SH Client-Side Out-of-Path] --> Router end subgraph Data Center Server SrvRouter SH_Server[SH Server-Side In-Path] -- in-path --- SrvRouter endShow answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
In an out-of-path deployment, the SteelHead appliance is not in the direct physical path of the traffic. Therefore, a mechanism like Policy-Based Routing (PBR) or WCCP must be configured on the adjacent router to redirect interesting traffic to the SteelHead for optimization. Without this redirection, traffic will bypass the appliance, and no optimization will occur, which is the most likely issue.
- Question 10BeginnerSelect 2
SteelHead Deployment & SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead · SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead (SCS)
Which two of the following are primary benefits of deploying a SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead (SCC) in a Riverbed environment? (Select TWO)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answers: B, C
The SCC's primary function is to provide centralized management, allowing administrators to create and push policies (like QoS, optimization, and security) to groups of SteelHead appliances from a single console.
The SCC collects reporting data from all managed SteelHead appliances, providing a unified view of performance, traffic statistics, and health across the entire WAN optimization infrastructure.
Ready for the real thing?
The full 101-01 simulator has every exam-style question, timed mode, and instant scoring.