220-1201 Practice Test 45 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that their external monitor connected via HDMI shows a blurry image and the text is hard to read. They have tried a different HDMI cable and the issue persists. What is the most likely cause?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

The display resolution is set below the monitor's native resolution.. When an external monitor displays a blurry image with hard-to-read text, the most likely cause is that the display resolution is set below the monitor's native resolution. Each LCD monitor has a fixed native resolution (e.g., 1920x1080), and running at any other resolution forces the monitor to scale the image, which introduces blurriness and loss of sharpness. Since the user already tried a different HDMI cable, the cable is not the issue, and a low refresh rate typically causes flickering or motion artifacts, not static blur.

Answer

The HDMI cable is defective.

Answer

The monitor's refresh rate is set too low.

Answer

The graphics driver is corrupted.

Question 2

A technician is migrating a database from an on-premises server to a cloud platform. The database contains sensitive customer information. The company requires that data be encrypted both at rest and in transit. Which combination of technologies should the technician implement?

Accepted Answer

TLS for in transit and AES-256 for at rest. TLS (Transport Layer Security) is the standard protocol for encrypting data in transit over networks, and AES-256 is a symmetric block cipher widely used for encryption at rest in databases and storage. Combining TLS for transit and AES-256 for storage satisfies both requirements with industry-standard, FIPS-approved algorithms. This is the canonical pairing for regulatory frameworks like PCI DSS and HIPAA.

Answer

SSL for at rest and IPsec for in transit

Answer

VPN for in transit and hashing for at rest

Answer

SSH tunneling for at rest and TLS for in transit

Question 3

A user reports that their laptop's 1TB hard drive is making a clicking sound and the system is running very slowly. The technician runs a diagnostic and finds multiple bad sectors. What should the technician do first?

Accepted Answer

Back up all important data to an external drive or cloud storage.. Clicking noises plus multiple bad sectors strongly indicate imminent mechanical failure of the hard drive. The technician's first priority is to preserve the data by backing it up to external or cloud storage before any further diagnostics or remediation, because continued operation risks total loss.

Answer

Run a surface scan to mark bad sectors and continue using the drive.

Answer

Replace the hard drive immediately and reinstall the operating system.

Answer

Update the hard drive firmware to fix the clicking noise.

Question 4

A technician is troubleshooting a VoIP phone that cannot register with the SIP server. The phone has a valid IP address and can ping the server. Which port should be verified as open for SIP traffic?

Accepted Answer

Port 5060. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) uses UDP or TCP port 5060 by default for signaling between endpoints and the SIP server. Since the phone has a valid IP and can ping the server, the issue is likely a firewall blocking port 5060, preventing registration.

Answer

Port 80

Answer

Port 443

Answer

Port 1720

Question 5

A technician is configuring a new printer on a network with the IP 172.16.0.50 and subnet mask 255.255.0.0. The router's LAN IP is 172.16.0.1. A workstation with IP 172.16.1.10 can ping the printer, but a workstation with IP 172.17.0.10 cannot. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The workstation with IP 172.17.0.10 is on a different network and needs a router to reach the printer.. The workstation with IP 172.17.0.10 has a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0, so it considers its local network to be 172.17.0.0/16. The printer's IP 172.16.0.50 is on the 172.16.0.0/16 network. Since these are different classful networks (172.16.0.0 vs 172.17.0.0), the workstation will send traffic to its default gateway (the router) for delivery. If the router is not configured to route between these subnets, or if the workstation lacks a default gateway, the ping fails. Option B correctly identifies that the workstation is on a different network and requires a router to reach the printer.

Answer

The printer's subnet mask is wrong.

Answer

The printer has a duplicate IP address.

Answer

The default gateway on the printer is missing.

Question 6

A user complains that their external hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer, but it appears in Device Manager as a connected device. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The drive does not have a drive letter assigned.. When a drive appears in Device Manager but not File Explorer, the hardware is detected and drivers are loaded, so the issue is at the logical volume level. The most common cause is that the drive has no drive letter assigned in Disk Management, so Windows cannot mount it as a visible volume. Assigning a drive letter resolves the issue without reinstalling drivers or replacing hardware.

Answer

The USB port is faulty.

Answer

The drive needs a new driver.

Answer

The file system is corrupted.

Question 7

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). For 802.1X authentication, the laptop must be configured with valid credentials (username/password or certificate) to authenticate to the network. 802.1X is a port-based network access control that requires the supplicant (laptop) to provide credentials to the authenticator (switch) before gaining access. Without these credentials, the laptop cannot pass authentication and will be denied network access.

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 8

A company is setting up a new branch office with 50 workstations and needs to connect them to the existing corporate network across a city. The connection must be dedicated and provide consistent bandwidth. Which type of WAN hardware should be installed at the branch office?

Accepted Answer

A CSU/DSU. A CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit) is the customer-premises equipment that terminates a dedicated leased line (such as a T1/E1 or T3) and converts between the LAN's digital signaling and the carrier's WAN framing. Because the requirement specifies a dedicated connection with consistent, guaranteed bandwidth across a city, a leased line terminated by a CSU/DSU is the correct WAN hardware. DSL and cable are shared, best-effort broadband services that cannot guarantee symmetric dedicated throughput.

Answer

A DSL modem

Answer

A cable modem

Answer

A wireless access point

Question 9

A user reports that their laptop's keyboard types random characters when certain keys are pressed. The laptop has not been dropped or spilled on. What is the most likely hardware issue?

Accepted Answer

The keyboard has an internal short or faulty controller.. A keyboard with an internal short or faulty controller can cause erratic behavior like typing random characters when keys are pressed. This occurs because the short or controller failure disrupts the matrix scanning process, sending incorrect key codes to the system. Since the laptop was not dropped or spilled, physical damage like a loose ribbon cable is less likely, making an internal component failure the most probable hardware cause.

Answer

The keyboard driver is corrupted.

Answer

The keyboard ribbon cable is loose.

Answer

The operating system has a malware infection.

Question 10

A customer wants to connect two buildings that are 200 meters apart with a high-speed network link. Which cabling solution is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable is the most appropriate solution for connecting two buildings 200 meters apart because it supports high-speed data transmission over long distances without signal degradation. Unlike copper cables, fiber is immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and can easily exceed the 100-meter distance limit of twisted-pair cabling, making it ideal for inter-building links.

Answer

Cat6a copper cable

Answer

Coaxial cable

Answer

Wireless bridge

Question 11

A technician is configuring a new web server that must support both standard HTTP and HTTPS traffic. Which two ports should be opened in the firewall?

Accepted Answer

80 and 443. Standard HTTP traffic uses TCP port 80, and HTTPS (HTTP over TLS/SSL) uses TCP port 443. A web server must have both ports open in the firewall to serve unencrypted and encrypted web content respectively, as defined in RFC 7230 and RFC 2818.

Answer

21 and 22

Answer

8080 and 8443

Answer

25 and 110

Question 12

A user reports that their iPhone 13 will not charge when plugged into the charging port. The user has tried different cables and power adapters, but the phone still does not charge. The phone's screen and buttons work normally. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The Lightning port is clogged with debris. The most likely cause is that the Lightning port is clogged with debris, such as lint or dust, which prevents the charging cable from making proper contact. Since the screen and buttons work normally, the phone is functional, and the issue is isolated to the charging port. Trying different cables and adapters rules out cable/adapter faults, pointing to a physical obstruction in the port.

Answer

The battery is completely dead and needs replacement

Answer

The operating system is corrupted

Answer

The phone's wireless charging coil is damaged

Question 13

A customer reports that their new VoIP phone cannot register with the company's call server, but their computer on the same switch port works fine. The network uses VLANs for voice and data traffic. Which protocol must be configured on the switch port to separate the voice traffic from the data traffic?

Accepted Answer

802.1Q. 802.1Q is the IEEE standard for VLAN tagging, which allows a single switch port to carry traffic for multiple VLANs. In this scenario, the switch port must be configured as an 802.1Q trunk or use a voice VLAN feature that tags VoIP traffic with a specific VLAN ID, separating it from the untagged data traffic. This ensures the VoIP phone can communicate with the call server on its designated voice VLAN while the computer continues to work on the data VLAN.

Answer

DHCP

Answer

DNS

Answer

ARP

Question 14

A network administrator needs to allow secure remote administration of a router using SSH. The router is configured to use the default SSH port. Which port must be opened on the firewall?

Accepted Answer

22. SSH (Secure Shell) operates on TCP port 22 by default. To allow secure remote administration of the router, the firewall must permit inbound TCP traffic on port 22. This enables encrypted management sessions, unlike Telnet which uses unencrypted port 23.

Answer

23

Answer

161

Answer

443

Question 15

A technician is troubleshooting a user's laptop that cannot obtain an IP address via DHCP. The laptop shows an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address of 169.254.x.x. Other devices on the same network obtain IPs correctly. Which protocol should the technician verify is functioning on the laptop?

Accepted Answer

DHCP. The laptop has an APIPA address (169.254.x.x), which is assigned when a DHCP client fails to receive a DHCPOFFER from any DHCP server. Since other devices on the same network obtain IPs correctly, the DHCP server and network infrastructure are functional, so the issue is isolated to the laptop's DHCP client service or its ability to send and receive DHCP messages (UDP ports 67/68). The technician must verify that the DHCP protocol is functioning correctly on the laptop, including checking that the DHCP client service is running and that no firewall is blocking DHCP traffic.

Answer

DNS

Answer

ARP

Answer

ICMP