A factory Nexus switch has no startup configuration, so it enters POAP. DHCP offers an address and a default gateway, and the switch never downloads a configuration script. What is missing from the offer?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
You were handed a street address and no key to the warehouse. POAP started because the startup configuration is missing, which is correct. DHCP still has to tell the switch where the day-0 script is, and this offer never does.
Full Explanation
POAP is the day-0 process a Nexus switch enters when it boots without a startup configuration. It uses DHCP to learn its address and where to download the script that applies the configuration. An offer that contains only an address and a gateway lets the switch join the subnet and then leaves it with nothing to fetch, so the script never arrives. A guest shell package is an optional on-box environment for a switch that is already configured. POAP does not wait on a guest shell name in DHCP. NX-API message types matter when a client sends show or configuration commands to a running switch. They are not how POAP finds its script. A Terraform state file records resources Terraform already manages. POAP does not read that file from the DHCP server. Caveat: you can abort POAP and configure the switch by hand, and once you save a startup configuration, the next reload will not enter POAP. Operational check: confirm the DHCP offer includes the script location, then watch the switch download that script instead of stopping after the address lease.