220-1101 Practice Test 5 — 25 Questions

Question 1

A company runs a critical web server on a virtual machine hosted on a Type 1 hypervisor cluster. The cluster consists of two physical hosts connected to a shared storage array. The IT manager requires that if one host fails, the VM should automatically restart on the other host without manual intervention. Which virtualization feature should be configured?

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

Accepted Answer

High Availability. High Availability (HA) is the correct feature because it automatically restarts a virtual machine on a surviving host in a cluster when the original host fails, without requiring manual intervention. This is achieved by monitoring heartbeat signals between hosts and the shared storage; if a host stops responding, HA triggers the VM restart on another host. The scenario explicitly requires automatic restart on host failure, which is the primary function of HA in a Type 1 hypervisor cluster.

Answer

Live Migration

Answer

Fault Tolerance

Answer

Load Balancing

Question 2

A technician upgrades a desktop computer by installing two new 16GB DDR4 memory modules into the available slots. When the computer is powered on, it emits a series of long beeps and no video is displayed. The technician has verified that the memory is an approved type for the motherboard and that it is installed in the correct slots according to the manual. Which of the following should the technician try NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Test each memory module individually.. The series of long beeps typically indicates a memory error. Since the technician has already verified compatibility and correct slot installation, the next logical step is to isolate the fault by testing each module individually. This will determine if one module is defective or if there is a slot issue, without introducing unnecessary variables like BIOS updates or CPU reseating.

Answer

Update the BIOS to the latest version.

Answer

Reseat the CPU.

Answer

Replace the power supply.

Question 3

A technician is building a new desktop PC and installs a single 16GB DDR4-3200 memory module into slot A1. The system boots and displays 16GB. The technician then adds a second identical 16GB module into slot B1. The system now only shows 16GB total. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The second module is not fully seated. The most likely reason is that the second memory module is not fully seated in slot B1. When a module is not properly inserted, the system may not detect it, resulting in the same total memory capacity as before (16GB). This is a common issue during installation, and reseating the module typically resolves it.

Answer

The motherboard does not support dual-channel memory

Answer

The second module is defective

Answer

The modules are installed in the wrong slots for dual-channel

Question 4

A small office has a DHCP server that assigns IP addresses in the range 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.200. A file server needs a static IP address of 192.168.1.10. Which method should the technician use to ensure the server always receives that IP address without manually configuring the network adapter on the server?

Accepted Answer

Create a DHCP reservation on the router for the server's MAC address. A DHCP reservation binds a specific IP address to a client's MAC address on the DHCP server (often integrated into the router). This ensures the file server always receives 192.168.1.10 from the DHCP server without requiring manual configuration on the server itself, which is the requirement in the question. The reservation works because the DHCP server checks the MAC address in the DHCP request and always offers the reserved IP.

Answer

Configure the server with a static IP address of 192.168.1.10 in the operating system settings

Answer

Change the DHCP range to 192.168.1.11-200 so that .10 is excluded

Answer

Set up a port forwarding rule for the server

Question 5

A user reports that their workstation can access the internet but cannot access network shares on the local file server. The technician runs ipconfig and sees IP address 192.168.1.100, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, default gateway 192.168.1.1. The technician successfully pings the gateway and a public IP address (8.8.8.8). However, pinging the file server at 192.168.1.50 fails with 'Request timed out'. Other workstations on the same subnet can access the file server. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The workstation has a duplicate IP address with another device on the network. The workstation can ping the gateway and a public IP, confirming that its IP configuration, subnet mask, and default gateway are correct and that Layer 3 routing works. However, it cannot ping the file server (192.168.1.50) while other workstations on the same subnet can. This points to a local Layer 2 or Layer 3 conflict specific to this workstation. A duplicate IP address would cause the file server's ARP table to map 192.168.1.100 to the wrong MAC address, so pings from this workstation to the file server go unanswered because the file server sends replies to the other device with the same IP.

Answer

The subnet mask on the workstation is configured incorrectly

Answer

The Windows Firewall is blocking inbound traffic to the file server

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving the file server's hostname

Question 6

A company has a legacy virtual machine running on a deprecated hypervisor (Hyper-V). They want to migrate this VM to a new hypervisor (VMware vSphere) hosted in a private cloud while preserving the VM's configuration, installed applications, and data. The migration must be performed with minimal downtime. Which of the following methods is MOST appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Export the VM as an OVF template and import it into the new hypervisor.. Exporting the VM as an OVF (Open Virtualization Format) template is the most appropriate method because OVF is a hypervisor-agnostic standard that encapsulates the VM's configuration, virtual disks, and metadata. This allows the VM to be imported into VMware vSphere while preserving its installed applications and data, and the export/import process can be performed with minimal downtime by shutting down the VM only during the export phase.

Answer

Perform a physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversion using third-party tools.

Answer

Use live migration (vMotion) to move the VM between hypervisors.

Answer

Rebuild the VM from scratch on the new hypervisor and restore data from backup.

Question 7

A user reports that their VoIP desk phone intermittently drops audio during calls. The phone is connected to a PoE switch via a Cat5e cable that runs through a drop ceiling. The switch shows the port is providing PoE and the cable length is approximately 75 meters. The technician tests the cable with a certifier and it passes. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Check for sources of electromagnetic interference along the cable path. The cable passes certification, ruling out physical layer faults like length or wiring issues. Intermittent audio drops in VoIP over long PoE runs through drop ceilings are often caused by electromagnetic interference (EMI) from nearby electrical cables, fluorescent ballasts, or HVAC equipment. Checking for EMI sources is the logical next step before replacing hardware or upgrading cable.

Answer

Replace the switch port

Answer

Replace the phone

Answer

Upgrade the cable to Cat6

Question 8

A company runs a cluster of hosts running a Type 1 hypervisor. The virtual machines (VMs) are configured to ensure that if a physical host fails, the VMs running on that host will be automatically restarted on another host in the cluster. Which feature provides this capability?

Accepted Answer

High Availability (HA). High Availability (HA) is the correct feature because it is designed to automatically restart virtual machines on alternate hosts within a cluster when a physical host fails. HA uses heartbeat monitoring between hosts and the management server to detect failures, then triggers the restart of affected VMs on surviving hosts, ensuring minimal downtime without requiring manual intervention.

Answer

vMotion

Answer

Fault Tolerance (FT)

Answer

Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)

Question 9

A systems administrator is planning to virtualize several servers on a single physical host. The host has 64 GB of RAM and a 4-core CPU with hyper-threading (8 logical processors). The administrator needs to run four virtual machines (VMs), each requiring 2 vCPUs and 8 GB of RAM. The VMs will host a web server and a database server. Which virtualization technology benefit is being MOST directly utilized in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

Resource pooling. Resource pooling is the virtualization technology that allows the hypervisor to aggregate the physical host's 64 GB of RAM and 8 logical processors into a shared pool, then allocate 8 GB and 2 vCPUs to each of the four VMs. This enables multiple VMs to run on a single host by dynamically distributing physical resources among them, which is exactly what the administrator is doing by virtualizing several servers on one physical host.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Snapshots

Answer

Live migration

Question 10

A company runs multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single hypervisor host for development and testing. Users report that the VMs are performing poorly. The administrator checks the host and sees that CPU utilization is at 40% and memory utilization is at 50%, but disk I/O latency is extremely high. The host has a single SATA SSD that stores all VM disk files. Which of the following actions would MOST likely improve performance?

Accepted Answer

Use a separate SSD for each VM to distribute I/O load.. The host has a single SATA SSD storing all VM disk files, and disk I/O latency is extremely high despite low CPU and memory utilization. This indicates a storage bottleneck where all VMs contend for the same disk. Using a separate SSD for each VM distributes the I/O load across multiple physical drives, reducing contention and improving performance.

Answer

Add more RAM to the hypervisor host.

Answer

Add additional CPU cores to the hypervisor host.

Answer

Enable memory overcommitment on the hypervisor.

Question 11

A user reports that they can access internal company servers by IP address but cannot access the internet. The user can ping the default gateway successfully. Other users on the same subnet have full internet access. The technician checks the user's IP configuration and sees that the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway are correct. The DNS server address is set to the company's internal DNS server (10.0.1.10). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The user's computer has a stale DNS cache. The user can access internal servers by IP and ping the default gateway, confirming that Layer 3 connectivity is intact. Since other users on the same subnet have full internet access, the issue is isolated to this specific computer. A stale DNS cache can prevent name resolution for external domains while leaving internal IP-based access unaffected, which matches the symptom exactly.

Answer

The DHCP scope is exhausted and the user received an APIPA address

Answer

The user has an incorrect default gateway configured

Answer

The user's subnet mask is incorrect

Question 12

A technician installed a used SATA SSD from another computer into a desktop workstation. The BIOS correctly detects the SSD, but Windows does not show any new drive in File Explorer. The technician opens Disk Management and sees no uninitialized disks listed. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Change the SATA controller mode in BIOS from RAID to AHCI. When a SATA SSD is detected in BIOS but not in Windows Disk Management, and no uninitialized disks appear, the most likely cause is that the SATA controller mode is set to RAID or Intel RST (Rapid Storage Technology) in BIOS, which prevents Windows from recognizing the drive as a standard AHCI device. Changing the mode to AHCI allows the OS to properly enumerate and initialize the SSD, as AHCI is the native driver interface for SATA devices in Windows.

Answer

Check the SATA cable power connection and ensure the drive is receiving power

Answer

Run the format command from a command prompt with administrative privileges

Answer

Update the chipset drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website

Question 13

A user's smartphone will not charge when plugged into a cable. The technician inspects the charging port and finds it is clean and the cable appears undamaged. The phone was working normally earlier and was not dropped. The technician tests the cable with another device and it charges normally. Which of the following should the technician do NEXT to diagnose the issue?

Accepted Answer

Test the phone with a different, known-good charger and cable. Since the cable works with another device and the charging port is clean, the issue is isolated to the phone's charging circuit or battery management system. Testing with a known-good charger and cable eliminates variables and confirms whether the phone itself is rejecting power, which is the standard next step in CompTIA A+ troubleshooting methodology.

Answer

Replace the battery with a new one

Answer

Perform a factory reset of the smartphone

Answer

Replace the charging port assembly

Question 14

A network technician is troubleshooting a network laser printer that is intermittently dropping off the network. The printer has a static IP address of 192.168.1.50. The technician can sometimes ping the printer, but often the ping times out. The printer's network configuration page shows it is connected at 100 Mbps, half-duplex. The switch port to which the printer is connected supports up to 1000 Mbps and is set to auto-negotiate. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the intermittent connectivity?

Accepted Answer

The duplex settings are mismatched between the printer and the switch port.. The printer is manually set to half-duplex while the switch port is set to auto-negotiate. When a device is set to a fixed duplex (half) and the other end is set to auto-negotiate, the auto-negotiation process fails, causing the switch to default to half-duplex as well. However, because the printer is already hard-coded to half-duplex, the link may come up but with a duplex mismatch, leading to frequent collisions, retransmissions, and intermittent connectivity — explaining why pings sometimes succeed and sometimes time out.

Answer

The printer's network interface card (NIC) is faulty and needs to be replaced.

Answer

The switch port is configured for 1000 Mbps, but the printer only supports 100 Mbps, causing a speed mismatch.

Answer

The printer is configured with a static IP that conflicts with another device on the network.

Question 15

A technician installs a new M.2 SATA SSD into a desktop motherboard. The SSD is not detected in the BIOS. The technician has verified that the SSD is compatible with the motherboard and that it is fully seated. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The M.2 slot shares bandwidth with a SATA port that is in use. The most likely cause is that the M.2 SATA SSD shares bandwidth with a specific SATA port on the motherboard. When an M.2 SATA SSD is installed, it often disables one or more SATA ports (commonly SATA port 5 or 6) because the M.2 slot and those SATA ports share the same PCIe/SATA lanes from the chipset. If a hard drive or optical drive is already connected to that shared SATA port, the M.2 SSD will not be detected in the BIOS, even though it is compatible and properly seated.

Answer

The SSD needs to be formatted

Answer

The BIOS does not support SATA SSDs

Answer

The motherboard requires a firmware update

Question 16

A user can access local network resources but cannot browse the internet. Other users on the same network have no issues. The technician checks the workstation's IP configuration: IP 192.168.1.100, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, default gateway 192.168.1.1, DNS server 192.168.1.1. The workstation successfully pings the default gateway (192.168.1.1). The technician then tries to ping 8.8.8.8 and the ping fails. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The routing table on the router. Since the workstation can ping the default gateway (192.168.1.1) but cannot ping 8.8.8.8, the issue is beyond the local subnet. This indicates a routing problem, not a local connectivity or DNS issue. The technician should check the router's routing table to ensure there is a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the ISP or upstream gateway, as the router may not be forwarding traffic to external networks.

Answer

The switch port configuration

Answer

The DNS server settings

Answer

The DHCP lease expiration

Question 17

A user reports that their smartphone's battery drains very quickly even when the phone is idle. The technician checks battery health in settings and it shows 'Normal.' No single app reports excessive power consumption. The phone also feels warm to the touch while not in use. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The phone is infected with malware. The phone feels warm while idle and drains battery quickly despite no single app showing high usage, which strongly suggests background activity from malware. Malware can run hidden processes, keep the CPU active, and maintain network connections, generating heat and draining power without appearing in standard battery usage lists. The battery health being 'Normal' rules out a faulty battery as the primary cause.

Answer

The battery is faulty and needs replacement

Answer

The operating system requires an update

Answer

The phone's charging port is damaged

Question 18

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop computer that consistently shuts down after approximately 30 minutes of normal operation. The technician has already replaced the power supply unit and cleaned the CPU heatsink of dust. The CPU temperatures in the BIOS are normal (35°C idle). After the shutdown, the event log shows a 'Kernel-Power 41' critical error. The technician reseated all power cables and checked for loose connections. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard's capacitors for signs of bulging or leaking.. The Kernel-Power 41 error indicates an unexpected loss of power or system instability, not a software crash. Since the PSU has been replaced and the CPU temperatures are normal, the most likely hardware cause is failing motherboard capacitors, which can cause intermittent shutdowns under load as they lose their ability to filter voltage ripple. Bulging or leaking capacitors are a common failure point on aging motherboards and should be visually inspected next.

Answer

The RAM modules for errors using a diagnostic tool.

Answer

The hard drive for bad sectors.

Answer

The power button for sticking.

Question 19

A company runs its customer relationship management (CRM) application on a single virtual machine (VM) in a public cloud IaaS environment. During the workday, the application's response time becomes highly variable and often slow, even though the VM's CPU and memory utilization rarely exceed 50%. The cloud provider states that the physical host is a shared multi-tenant server. Which cloud computing concept is MOST likely causing this performance degradation?

Accepted Answer

Resource pooling leading to the 'noisy neighbor' effect. The performance degradation is most likely due to resource pooling in a multi-tenant IaaS environment, where the 'noisy neighbor' effect occurs. Even though the VM's own CPU and memory utilization are low, another VM on the same physical host may be consuming shared resources like disk I/O or network bandwidth, causing contention. This is a classic symptom of a shared hypervisor where one tenant's workload starves others of critical I/O resources.

Answer

Rapid elasticity causing the VM to be moved between hosts

Answer

Measured service billing that throttles the VM

Answer

Lack of scalability in the application design

Question 20

A company uses a cloud provider to host a legacy application that requires a specific hardware serial number (e.g., the BIOS UUID of the physical server) for licensing. The licensing software checks this identifier at startup and will not run on hardware with a different serial number. The company wants to maintain control over the underlying hardware and ensure the serial number remains constant. Which cloud deployment model would BEST meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Private cloud. A private cloud is the correct choice because it allows the company to maintain exclusive control over the underlying physical hardware. In a private cloud, the organization owns or leases the servers and can ensure the BIOS UUID remains constant, satisfying the legacy application's licensing requirement. Public, hybrid, and community clouds typically abstract or share hardware, making it impossible to guarantee a fixed hardware serial number.

Answer

Public cloud

Answer

Hybrid cloud

Answer

Community cloud