What are two characteristics of NPU FastPath? (Choose two.)

Question

Options

• AAvailable on Cisco ASR 5000 SGSN systems only.
• BSupports periodic, intra-SGSN, and inter-SGSN RAUs.
• COptimizes resource usage and reduces latency when processing GTP-U packets.
• DProvides network overload protection.
• ESupports traffic policing and shaping.
• FSupports subscriber monitoring.

• A
  94% (44)
• B
  2% (1)
• D
  4% (2)

Explanation

Option A is correct because NPU FastPath is a platform-specific feature exclusive to the Cisco ASR 5000 SGSN - it leverages the hardware Network Processing Unit on that particular platform and is not available on other SGSN implementations. Option C is correct because the entire purpose of NPU FastPath is to accelerate GTP-U (user-plane) packet processing by offloading it to the NPU hardware, which reduces CPU load (optimizing resource usage) and cuts processing delays (reducing latency).

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B - RAU (Routing Area Update) support is a general SGSN capability, not a characteristic of NPU FastPath specifically.
• D - Network overload protection is handled by separate overload control mechanisms, not NPU FastPath.
• E - Traffic policing and shaping are QoS features unrelated to the FastPath processing pipeline.
• F - Subscriber monitoring belongs to features like ICSR or dedicated monitoring tools, not NPU FastPath.

Memory tip: Think of NPU FastPath as a "hardware express lane" - it's only on the ASR 5000 (one specific highway) and its sole job is to speed up GTP-U packets (move user-plane traffic faster). If an answer choice describes a general SGSN feature or a QoS/monitoring function, it's not FastPath.

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