When Should an Engineer Decommission a Network Device?
Which of the following are cases in which an engineer should recommend the decommissioning of a network device? (Choose two.)
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer BE. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
The question tests whether you can separate security-driven permanent retirement from simple relocation, isolation or repurposing, and the trap is choosing the movement options that keep an insecure device in service.
Decommissioning a network device is the correct recommendation when the device cannot meet security requirements, such as being configured with cleartext passwords (B) or having an encryption level below organizational standards (E). This page confirms the two-letter answer and explains why relocating or isolating a device is not a decommissioning case.
The most common mistake is picking only option E because the source key shows one letter, or choosing options such as moving the device to a test environment, an isolated segment or a new location — all of which redeploy the device instead of retiring it.
Community Discussion (10 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Decommissioning is a permanent asset-management decision, so an engineer should only recommend it when the device cannot be brought up to the organization's security baseline. Option B describes a device configured to use cleartext passwords, a credential-exposure weakness that violates the secure-configuration baseline and, where the platform cannot support encrypted management, cannot simply be patched away. Option E describes a device whose encryption strength cannot meet organizational standards, which is a control failure that no reconfiguration can repair. Both conditions leave the organization with an unresolvable risk, so B and E are the two options that justify permanent retirement. Every other option describes moving, isolating or repurposing the device while it remains in service.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A, moving a device from production to a test environment, is redeployment, not decommissioning; the same hardware continues to operate, usually after being sanitized or reconfigured. Option C, placing the device on an isolated segment, is a containment technique used to limit exposure to a risky asset while still using it. Option D, relocating a device within the enterprise, is pure physical relocation and has no bearing on whether the device should be retired. None of these three actions removes the asset, so none of them answers a question that asks specifically about decommissioning.
Community Comment Notes
Several learners argued for pairing option E with a sixth choice about a device that is unable to receive authorized updates, as Etc_Shadow28000 and dbrowndiver did, but that option is not present in this version of the question, so it cannot be selected. Others concluded that the real second trigger is cleartext passwords, including Innana, who wrote that the "Correct answers are B and E", and Fontabest_99a, who also answered B and E. Jamie888 noted that a Practice test in Pluralsight says "its B and E", which matches the same pairing, and ProudFather framed cleartext passwords and insufficient encryption as the two unacceptable security risks. The general agreement is that relocation or isolation options are red herrings because the device stays in operation.
Official Reference
Exam Strategy
When a multi-select asks for decommissioning cases, filter the options by asking whether the device can be remediated in place; if it cannot, retirement is the recommended control. Movement, isolation and reuse options keep the asset alive and should be eliminated first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't moving a device to an isolated segment a decommissioning case?
Isolating a device on a separate segment is a containment control that limits exposure while the device is still in use; decommissioning permanently removes the asset, so only unresolvable security failures justify it.
Why do some learners mention an option about devices that cannot receive updates?
A related build of this question listed a choice about a device unable to receive authorized updates; that option is not offered here, so the security-driven picks among A-E are B and E.
Related Analysis
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