220-1201 Network Configuration Concepts Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A customer reports that their laptop connects to the office Wi-Fi but cannot access the internet. Other devices on the same network work fine. What is the most likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The laptop's default gateway address is incorrect. This question tests understanding of common network configuration issues. A mismatched gateway address is the most likely cause because the device can connect locally but cannot route traffic to the internet. Incorrect DNS or IP address conflicts usually cause different symptoms.

Answer

The laptop's DNS server address is set to a public DNS like 8.8.8.8

Answer

The laptop's IP address is set to a static address in the same subnet as the router

Answer

The office Wi-Fi network is using a different SSID than expected

Question 2

A user wants to connect a new laptop to a wired network that uses 802.1X authentication. What must be configured on the laptop to ensure successful network access?

Accepted Answer

Valid 802.1X credentials (username and password or certificate). This question tests knowledge of network authentication methods. 802.1X requires a username and password (or certificate) to authenticate to the network, typically via RADIUS. Without proper credentials, the switch port will remain blocked.

Answer

A static IP address in the same subnet as the network

Answer

The correct SSID and wireless security key

Answer

A crossover cable to connect to the switch

Question 3

A network administrator is configuring a new firewall to allow remote employees to securely access internal resources. The requirement is to encrypt all traffic between the remote client and the internal network. Which protocol should be used?

Accepted Answer

IPsec. This question tests knowledge of VPN protocols and their purposes. IPsec is a suite of protocols that provides encryption and authentication for VPN connections, making it the correct choice for secure remote access. Other options like SSL/TLS are used for web traffic, and L2TP alone does not provide encryption.

Answer

SSL/TLS

Answer

L2TP

Answer

HTTP

Question 4

A company has a network with multiple VLANs. A user in VLAN 10 cannot access a server in VLAN 20, but other users in VLAN 10 can access the server. The technician checks the switch configuration and finds that the port for the user is set to access mode for VLAN 10. What should be configured to allow this user to reach the server?

Accepted Answer

Enable inter-VLAN routing on the router or Layer 3 switch. This question tests understanding of VLAN routing. Devices in different VLANs require a router or Layer 3 switch to communicate. The access port is correctly configured for VLAN 10, but inter-VLAN routing must be enabled on the router or switch.

Answer

Change the user's port to trunk mode

Answer

Configure a static route on the user's computer

Answer

Assign the user's port to VLAN 20

Question 5

A company deploys a new VoIP system. Users report that calls drop frequently. The network uses a single flat subnet with no QoS configured. The technician monitors traffic and sees high bandwidth utilization during peak hours. What is the most effective solution to improve call quality?

Accepted Answer

Replace all switches with managed switches and enable QoS. This question tests knowledge of Quality of Service (QoS) and network segmentation. VoIP traffic is sensitive to latency and jitter. Implementing QoS prioritizes voice traffic over other data, ensuring call quality even during high utilization. VLANs can also help by separating voice and data traffic.

Answer

Increase the bandwidth of the internet connection

Answer

Change all VoIP phones to use static IP addresses

Answer

Disable DHCP on the network to reduce broadcast traffic

Question 6

A technician is troubleshooting a network where users on one floor cannot access a server on another floor. Both floors are connected via a single fiber optic link. The technician checks the link and sees the switch port shows 'err-disabled' status. What is the most likely cause of this state?

Accepted Answer

Port security has been violated. An 'err-disabled' state on a switch port typically occurs due to a port security violation, such as too many MAC addresses detected, or a loop detection mechanism like BPDU guard. This indicates a security or configuration issue that disabled the port automatically.

Answer

The fiber cable is damaged

Answer

A duplex mismatch exists between the switches

Answer

The VLAN configuration is incorrect

Question 7

During a network upgrade, a technician needs to connect two switches that are 120 meters apart using a copper Ethernet cable. The cable run must support 1 Gbps speeds. Which cable type and configuration should be used?

Accepted Answer

Cat 6a straight-through cable. Cat 6a supports 10 Gbps up to 100 meters and is backward compatible with 1 Gbps. For switch-to-switch connections, a straight-through cable is used because modern switches have auto-MDIX, or the ports are already wired for straight connections.

Answer

Cat 5e crossover cable

Answer

Cat 6 crossover cable

Answer

Cat 5e straight-through cable

Question 8

A technician is setting up a new VoIP phone system. To ensure voice quality, they need to prioritize voice traffic over data traffic on the network. Which QoS configuration method should be implemented?

Accepted Answer

Configure DSCP markings on the VoIP traffic. DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) is a Layer 3 QoS method that marks packets with priority values, allowing routers and switches to prioritize voice traffic. It is commonly used for VoIP to ensure low latency and jitter.

Answer

Set the VoIP phones to use a static IP address

Answer

Enable VLAN tagging on the switch ports

Answer

Use a crossover cable between the phone and switch

Question 9

A small office uses a single router with four LAN ports. The manager wants to connect 12 wired devices and ensure they can all communicate with each other without purchasing a new router. Which network device should be added to the existing setup?

Accepted Answer

Switch. A switch expands the number of available ports on a LAN, allowing more devices to connect and communicate locally. Routers connect different networks, while hubs are less efficient and repeaters only extend signal distance.

Answer

Hub

Answer

Router

Answer

Repeater

Question 10

A user complains that their laptop frequently disconnects from the Wi-Fi when they move to a different room, but other devices in that room work fine. The technician checks the laptop's wireless adapter settings. Which configuration is most likely causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

Power saving mode is enabled on the wireless adapter. Power saving mode can cause the wireless adapter to reduce power or disconnect to save battery, especially when signal strength changes. This often results in intermittent disconnections when moving.

Answer

The SSID is hidden

Answer

The wireless mode is set to 802.11a only

Answer

The channel width is set to 40 MHz

Question 11

A network administrator needs to segment traffic between the accounting and HR departments to prevent unauthorized access, while still allowing both to reach the internet. The company uses a single managed switch and a router. Which configuration approach meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Configure VLANs on the switch and set up a trunk port to the router with subinterfaces. VLANs logically separate network traffic on the same switch, allowing different departments to be isolated. A trunk port carries multiple VLANs to the router, which can route between them and to the internet using a router-on-a-stick configuration.

Answer

Create two separate subnets and connect each department to a different physical switch

Answer

Assign static IPs to all devices and enable MAC address filtering on the switch

Answer

Use a firewall between the two departments and disable inter-VLAN routing

Question 12

A technician is configuring a small network with five computers and a printer. The network must use private IP addresses and allow all devices to communicate. The technician assigns IPs manually but forgets to set a default gateway on one computer. Which functionality will be lost on that computer?

Accepted Answer

Ability to access the internet. The default gateway is required for routing traffic to other networks, such as the internet. Without it, the computer can still communicate with devices on the same subnet (local LAN) but cannot reach external networks.

Answer

Ability to communicate with the printer

Answer

Ability to obtain an IP address via DHCP

Answer

Ability to resolve DNS names

Question 13

A user reports that their laptop cannot connect to the internet, but other devices on the same wired network work fine. The technician checks the IP configuration and sees the laptop has an IP address of 169.254.3.12. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is not responding. An IP address in the 169.254.x.x range indicates that the device failed to obtain an address from a DHCP server, resulting in Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). This typically points to a DHCP server issue or network connectivity problem preventing DHCP communication.

Answer

The DNS server is unreachable

Answer

The default gateway is misconfigured

Answer

The network cable is faulty

Question 14

A company's web server is accessible from the internal network but not from the internet. The server has a static IP of 192.168.1.10. The firewall is configured to allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic. What is the most likely missing configuration?

Accepted Answer

Port forwarding rules are not configured on the firewall. Port forwarding directs external requests to a specific internal IP address. Without it, the firewall blocks inbound connections even if the server is reachable internally.

Answer

The server's default gateway is set to the firewall's LAN IP

Answer

The firewall's NAT is disabled

Answer

The server has a public IP address assigned

Question 15

A company's IT policy requires that all network traffic from the guest Wi-Fi be isolated from the internal corporate network. The guest network uses a separate SSID and VLAN. Which additional configuration is necessary to ensure complete isolation?

Accepted Answer

Implement an ACL that denies traffic from the guest VLAN to the corporate VLAN. Access Control Lists (ACLs) on the router or firewall can block traffic between VLANs. Even with separate VLANs, inter-VLAN routing must be explicitly denied to prevent guest devices from reaching the corporate network.

Answer

Enable DHCP snooping on the guest VLAN

Answer

Configure a router-on-a-stick with subinterfaces

Answer

Set the guest network to use a different subnet mask