220-1201 Practice Exam 54 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A network administrator is deploying a new wireless network that requires users to authenticate using their domain credentials. The network uses WPA2-Enterprise. Which service must be configured to validate these credentials?

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

Accepted Answer

RADIUS. WPA2-Enterprise uses 802.1X authentication, which requires a RADIUS server to validate domain credentials against an authentication backend such as Active Directory. The RADIUS server acts as the Authentication Server (AS) in the 802.1X framework, receiving EAP packets from the access point and verifying the user's credentials before granting network access.

Answer

DHCP

Answer

DNS

Answer

NTP

Question 2

A company's internal DNS server is not resolving hostnames for clients. The technician verifies that the DNS service is running and the firewall allows traffic on port 53. However, clients still cannot resolve names. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The firewall is blocking TCP port 53. DNS uses both UDP and TCP on port 53. While initial queries typically use UDP, responses that are truncated (e.g., due to large DNSSEC records or many resource records) require TCP to complete the resolution. Since the technician verified that the firewall allows traffic on port 53 (likely only UDP) and the DNS service is running, the most likely issue is that the firewall is blocking TCP port 53, preventing the fallback TCP connection needed for successful name resolution.

Answer

The firewall is blocking UDP port 53

Answer

The DNS server is using port 5353 instead of 53

Answer

Clients are using the wrong DNS server IP

Question 3

A user scans a document to a USB drive attached to the multifunction printer, but the file is saved as a TIFF image instead of a searchable PDF. The user needs the text to be selectable. What should the technician do?

Accepted Answer

Enable OCR in the printer's scan settings and select 'Searchable PDF' as the output format.. To create a searchable PDF, the printer must perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the scanned image. This requires the printer to have an OCR feature enabled and the scan settings to be set to 'PDF with searchable text' or 'OCR PDF'. TIFF is a raw image format without text layer.

Answer

Change the scan file format to JPEG.

Answer

Increase the scan resolution to 1200 DPI.

Answer

Save the file to a network folder instead of USB.

Question 4

A customer reports that their smart TV, which is connected to the home network via Wi-Fi, can stream video from the internet but cannot access media files stored on a wired desktop PC in the same home. The TV and PC are on the same IP subnet. Which network type is most likely being used, and why does this cause the issue?

Accepted Answer

Peer-to-peer network; the TV and PC may be in different workgroups or have disabled file sharing.. A peer-to-peer (P2P) network typically uses workgroups and relies on each device to share resources individually. The TV can stream from the internet (using a client-server model with a remote streaming service) but cannot access local files because the PC may be in a different workgroup, have file sharing disabled, or require SMB/CIFS authentication that the TV cannot perform. Since both devices are on the same IP subnet, the issue is not routing but rather the lack of a centralized authentication or discovery mechanism, which is characteristic of a P2P network.

Answer

Client-server network; the TV cannot authenticate to the server.

Answer

Mesh network; the TV is connected to a different mesh node that blocks local traffic.

Answer

PAN network; the TV is using Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi.

Question 5

During a printer deployment, a technician installs a network laser printer and configures it with a static IP address. Users can print from their computers, but the printer's web interface is unreachable from any browser. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The printer's embedded web server is disabled. If printing works but the web interface is inaccessible, the printer's network settings are likely correct, but the web server service may be disabled or blocked by a firewall. Many printers have a separate setting to enable the embedded web server. Checking the printer's menu or documentation is the next step.

Answer

The printer's IP address is on a different subnet

Answer

The printer driver is outdated

Answer

The printer's firmware needs updating

Question 6

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop PC that displays vertical colored lines across the screen immediately after booting. The lines appear even before the operating system loads. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The graphics card is failing or has defective video memory.. Vertical lines appearing during POST (pre-OS) indicate a hardware-level issue, most commonly a failing graphics card (GPU) or a damaged video memory. Since the problem occurs before Windows loads, it is not a driver or software issue. Testing with a known-good GPU or reseating the existing one is the recommended step.

Answer

The monitor's refresh rate is set too high in the BIOS.

Answer

The video cable is not securely connected to the monitor.

Answer

The operating system's display driver is corrupted.

Question 7

A technician is troubleshooting a PC that boots to a black screen with a blinking cursor after the BIOS screen. The system has a single SSD with the OS installed. The BIOS detects the SSD. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The bootloader is corrupted. A black screen with a blinking cursor after POST indicates the BIOS found a bootable device but cannot locate the bootloader. This is often due to a corrupted Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID Partition Table (GPT). The technician should boot from installation media and use the Startup Repair or bootrec commands to rebuild the bootloader.

Answer

The SSD is not properly formatted

Answer

The RAM is faulty

Answer

The power supply is underpowered

Question 8

A user complains that their computer sometimes fails to boot and emits a series of long beeps. After several attempts, it boots normally. Which motherboard component is most likely failing?

Accepted Answer

The RAM modules. A series of long beeps during POST typically indicates a memory (RAM) issue. Intermittent boot failures with beep codes point to a failing RAM module, a dirty contact, or a loose connection. The beep code is a diagnostic tool from the motherboard's BIOS.

Answer

The CPU

Answer

The power supply

Answer

The hard drive

Question 9

A technician is configuring a new router for a branch office. The ISP provides a public IP of 203.0.113.10/30 for the WAN interface. How many usable IP addresses does the technician have for devices on the WAN link?

Accepted Answer

2. A /30 subnet mask (255.255.255.252) provides 4 total addresses: one network, one broadcast, and two usable. This is commonly used for point-to-point WAN links to conserve public IPs.

Answer

4

Answer

6

Answer

1

Question 10

A technician is configuring a cloud-based virtual machine for a web server. The VM needs to handle traffic spikes automatically without manual intervention. Which cloud characteristic should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Elasticity. This scenario tests the concept of elasticity in cloud computing. Elasticity allows resources to automatically scale up or down based on demand, which is ideal for handling traffic spikes. Scalability is a broader term that can include manual scaling, while high availability and fault tolerance focus on uptime, not automatic adjustment to load changes.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Answer

Scalability

Question 11

A desktop PC fails to power on. The technician measures the voltage on the 24-pin motherboard connector and finds that the purple wire (5VSB) reads 4.9V, but the green wire (PS_ON) reads 0V when the power button is pressed. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

The power supply is faulty and needs replacement.. A desktop PC fails to power on. Measurements: 5VSB is present (4.9V is within tolerance), indicating the power supply is receiving AC power and its standby circuitry is working. When the power button is pressed, PS_ON is pulled low (0V) by the motherboard, which is the correct signal to request the PSU to turn on. Since the PSU does not start (fans don't spin, no other outputs), the fault lies within the power supply itself. A faulty PSU may have a failed main switching circuit or other internal defect preventing it from responding to the PS_ON signal. Therefore, the power supply should be replaced. Option B is incorrect because a low PS_ON indicates the motherboard is functioning correctly in this regard.

Answer

The motherboard is not sending the PS_ON signal, likely due to a fault.

Answer

The power supply's +12V rail is shorted, causing overcurrent protection.

Answer

The front panel power switch is stuck in the closed position.

Question 12

A user's Android phone will not charge when plugged into a car's USB port, but charges fine with a wall adapter. The car's USB port powers other devices. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The car USB port does not supply enough current.. The car's USB port likely follows the USB Battery Charging Specification (BCS) 1.2, which defines a Dedicated Charging Port (DCP) as capable of supplying up to 1.5 A. However, many car USB ports are designed only for data transfer and provide a standard downstream port (SDP) limited to 500 mA (USB 2.0) or 900 mA (USB 3.0). The phone's charging circuit detects the available current via USB data line handshaking; if the port cannot supply enough current, the phone may refuse to charge or charge very slowly. Since the wall adapter provides adequate current (typically 1–2 A), the phone charges normally, isolating the issue to insufficient current from the car's port.

Answer

The car's USB port is faulty.

Answer

The phone's USB port is damaged.

Answer

The USB cable is incompatible.

Question 13

A user reports that their smartphone's mobile hotspot stops working after a few minutes of use. The laptop connected to it loses internet access. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The smartphone's hotspot timeout setting is enabled.. The most likely cause is that the smartphone's hotspot timeout setting is enabled. Many smartphones have a built-in power-saving feature that automatically disables the mobile hotspot after a period of inactivity (e.g., 5 or 10 minutes) to conserve battery and data. When this timeout triggers, the hotspot stops broadcasting, causing the connected laptop to lose internet access.

Answer

The laptop's Wi-Fi adapter is faulty.

Answer

The smartphone's cellular signal is too weak.

Answer

The laptop has a static IP address configured.

Question 14

During a site survey for a new branch office, you measure signal strength in the conference room and find it is -85 dBm. The client devices require at least -67 dBm for reliable video conferencing. Which action is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Install an additional access point in the conference room ceiling.. The measured signal strength of -85 dBm is well below the -67 dBm threshold required for reliable video conferencing. Installing an additional access point in the conference room ceiling is the most appropriate action because it reduces the distance and obstacles between the client devices and the AP, directly improving the received signal strength (RSSI) to meet the application's requirements. Simply increasing transmit power on the existing AP may cause co-channel interference and may not overcome path loss from distance or obstructions, while changing channels or replacing client antennas does not address the fundamental lack of signal coverage.

Answer

Increase the transmit power of the existing access point to maximum.

Answer

Replace the client devices with ones that have better antennas.

Answer

Change the channel on the existing AP to a less congested one.

Question 15

A network engineer is designing a subnet scheme for a company with three departments: Sales (50 devices), HR (20 devices), and IT (10 devices). The company uses the 10.0.0.0/24 network. To minimize waste, the engineer decides to use variable-length subnet masking (VLSM). Which of the following subnet masks should be assigned to the Sales department?

Accepted Answer

255.255.255.192. The Sales department requires 50 hosts. A /26 subnet mask (255.255.255.192) provides 62 usable addresses (2^(32-26)-2 = 62), which is the smallest subnet that can accommodate 50 devices without waste. VLSM allows using this mask within the 10.0.0.0/24 network, leaving room for other subnets.

Answer

255.255.255.128

Answer

255.255.255.224

Answer

255.255.255.240

Question 16

A small office with 15 employees uses a single switch to connect all workstations. Users report that the network becomes extremely slow during peak hours, and some packets are being dropped. The switch is a 10/100 model with a 1 Gbps uplink to the router. What is the most likely cause of the slowdown?

Accepted Answer

The switch's ports are only 100 Mbps, causing a bottleneck when multiple users are active.. The switch operates at 10/100 Mbps per port, meaning each workstation is limited to a maximum of 100 Mbps. With 15 employees active during peak hours, the aggregate traffic can easily exceed the 100 Mbps per-port capacity, causing congestion, packet drops, and slowdowns. The 1 Gbps uplink to the router is not the bottleneck; the bottleneck is the 100 Mbps access ports connecting the workstations.

Answer

The switch is not a managed switch and cannot prioritize traffic.

Answer

The router's uplink port is faulty and needs to be replaced.

Answer

The switch is a hub, not a switch, causing collisions.

Question 17

A user wants to access their company's webmail using a secure connection from a public Wi-Fi hotspot. The webmail server is configured to use IMAP over SSL. Which port should the email client use?

Accepted Answer

993. IMAP over SSL (IMAPS) uses TCP port 993 to establish an encrypted connection. Since the user is on a public Wi-Fi hotspot and the server is configured for IMAP over SSL, the email client must connect to port 993 to ensure all traffic is encrypted via TLS/SSL. Port 143 is the default for unencrypted IMAP, which would expose credentials and email data on an insecure network.

Answer

143

Answer

110

Answer

995

Question 18

A user reports that the multifunction printer is producing copies with a faint vertical line running down the entire page. The line appears in the same position on every copy, but printed documents from a PC do not have the line. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The scanner glass or scanning strip has a scratch or debris.. This question differentiates between scanner and printer issues. Since the line appears only on copies (scan then print) and not on PC prints, the problem is in the scanner assembly. A dirty or scratched scanner glass or a stuck debris on the scanning element causes consistent vertical lines.

Answer

The toner cartridge is defective and needs replacement.

Answer

The printer's fuser unit is damaged.

Answer

The network cable is faulty.

Question 19

A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that powers on but displays a black screen with no boot activity. The technician hears the fan spinning and sees the power LED is on. Which of the following steps should the technician perform next to isolate the issue?

Accepted Answer

Connect an external monitor. A black screen with power but no boot suggests a hardware issue, often with the display or memory. Connecting an external monitor can quickly determine if the problem is with the laptop's LCD panel or the video output. If the external monitor works, the internal display or its cable is likely faulty.

Answer

Reseat the RAM modules

Answer

Replace the LCD panel

Answer

Reinstall the operating system

Question 20

A technician is troubleshooting a VM that frequently crashes with a 'blue screen' error. The host is a Type 1 hypervisor running on server-grade hardware with ECC RAM. The VM was created from a template and has been stable for months. Recently, the technician added a second virtual CPU to the VM. What is the most likely cause of the crashes?

Accepted Answer

The guest OS does not support symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) properly. Adding a second virtual CPU can expose timing and synchronization issues in the guest OS, especially if the application or OS is not optimized for multi-core. This is a known cause of instability in virtualized environments.

Answer

The host's ECC RAM has detected a memory error

Answer

The VM's virtual disk is fragmented

Answer

The hypervisor's CPU scheduler is overloaded