220-1101 Practice Test 40 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A small office uses a single router as the DHCP server for the 192.168.1.0/24 network. The DHCP scope is configured to issue addresses from 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.200. A new employee connects a laptop to an available wall jack and receives an IP address of 169.254.13.57. Other devices in the office are receiving valid IP addresses in the 192.168.1.x range. The technician checks the wall jack and the switch port, and the link light is solid green. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The switch port is configured for a VLAN that does not have access to the DHCP server. The APIPA address 169.254.13.57 indicates the laptop failed to receive a DHCP lease. Since other devices on the same network are getting valid 192.168.1.x addresses, the DHCP server is functional and the scope is not exhausted. A solid link light confirms Layer 1 connectivity, so the most likely cause is that the switch port is assigned to a VLAN that does not have Layer 3 access to the DHCP server, preventing the DHCP discover/offer handshake from completing.

Answer

The laptop's network adapter is faulty

Answer

The DHCP scope is exhausted

Answer

The router's DHCP service is disabled

Question 2

A technician is troubleshooting a small office network where Windows computers can ping each other by IP address but cannot access shared folders using Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths (e.g., \COMPUTER1\Share). The computers are all in the same workgroup and subnet. The technician checks the network settings and sees that all computers have the correct default gateway and DNS server configured. Which of the following should the technician verify?

Accepted Answer

NetBIOS over TCP/IP setting. NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT) is required for Windows to resolve NetBIOS names (like COMPUTER1) to IP addresses when using UNC paths. Even though ping works via DNS or hosts file, file sharing relies on NetBIOS name resolution unless DNS is configured to handle the single-label name. If NBT is disabled, the client cannot resolve the computer name in the UNC path, causing the access failure.

Answer

DHCP scope configuration

Answer

DNS suffix assignment

Answer

WINS server address

Question 3

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 4

A small business has a single router with four built-in LAN ports. They need to connect 12 workstations to the network. The technician adds a 24-port unmanaged switch and connects it to one of the router's LAN ports. After connecting all workstations, some users report intermittent network connectivity. The technician checks the switch and notices the collision LED is flashing rapidly. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The network is experiencing excessive collisions due to a duplex mismatch. The rapid flashing of the collision LED on the switch indicates that the network is experiencing an abnormally high number of collisions. In a modern switched network, collisions should be virtually nonexistent because each switch port creates its own collision domain. The most common cause of excessive collisions in this scenario is a duplex mismatch, where one device (likely the router's LAN port) is operating at half-duplex while the switch port is set to auto-negotiate or is forced to full-duplex. Half-duplex requires collision detection (CSMA/CD), and when a full-duplex device transmits simultaneously, the half-duplex device interprets the resulting frame corruption as a collision, leading to repeated retransmissions and the observed LED behavior.

Answer

The switch is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced

Answer

The router's LAN port is not configured for the correct speed

Answer

The switch is not receiving enough power from the router

Question 5

A small office has 15 desktop computers connected to a single managed switch. The switch is connected to a router that provides DHCP and DNS services. Users report that they can access the internet but cannot communicate with each other using computer names (e.g., \PC1). The technician verifies that all workstations are on the same subnet (192.168.1.0/24) and can successfully ping each other's IP addresses. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

NetBIOS over TCP/IP is disabled on the workstations. NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT) is required for name resolution of NetBIOS names, which are used in Windows for computer names like \PC1. When NBT is disabled, Windows cannot resolve NetBIOS names to IP addresses, preventing communication by computer name even though IP-based communication (ping) works. Since DNS is functioning (internet access works) and all computers are on the same subnet, the most likely cause is that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is disabled on the workstations.

Answer

The DNS server is not configured correctly

Answer

Windows Firewall is blocking file and printer sharing

Answer

Workgroups are not configured the same on all computers

Question 6

A technician builds a workstation with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU and a B550 chipset motherboard. The technician installs a compatible NVMe M.2 SSD into the first M.2 slot (M.2_1). After powering on, the system boots from the NVMe drive, but two SATA ports (SATA 5 and SATA 6) are not detecting any drives. The technician confirms the SATA drives are powered and the cables are connected securely. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The M.2 slot shares bandwidth with SATA ports, causing some SATA ports to be disabled. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X with a B550 chipset motherboard uses the chipset's PCIe lanes to connect the first M.2 slot (M.2_1). On many B550 boards, the M.2_1 slot shares bandwidth with specific SATA ports (typically SATA 5 and SATA 6). When an NVMe SSD is installed in that slot, the shared SATA ports are automatically disabled to allocate the necessary PCIe lanes, which explains why SATA 5 and SATA 6 are not detecting drives despite proper power and cabling.

Answer

The NVMe SSD is faulty and interfering with SATA controllers

Answer

The SATA cables are loose or damaged

Answer

The motherboard requires a BIOS update to support NVMe drives

Question 7

A technician configures a new workstation with DHCP. Initially, the workstation obtains an IP address of 192.168.1.100/24 with default gateway 192.168.1.1 and can browse the internet. After approximately 30 minutes, the user reports that internet access stops working, but the workstation can still ping other local devices on the same subnet. The technician runs ipconfig and sees that the workstation now has an IP address of 169.254.15.78. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP lease expired and the workstation could not contact the DHCP server to renew it. The workstation initially received a valid DHCP lease (192.168.1.100/24). After 30 minutes, the lease expired, and the workstation failed to renew it from the DHCP server. As a result, Windows Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) assigned a 169.254.x.x address, which allows local subnet communication but not internet access. This matches the symptom of losing internet while retaining local connectivity.

Answer

The DHCP server has run out of available IP addresses in the scope

Answer

The DNS server address provided by DHCP has become invalid

Answer

The switch port the workstation is connected to was moved to a different VLAN without trunking

Question 8

A small office has a router that provides DHCP services. Several users report that they cannot access the internet, but they can still access shared folders on the local network. The technician checks one user's computer and sees an IP address of 169.254.10.25. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server is not responding. The IP address 169.254.10.25 falls within the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) range (169.254.0.0/16), which Windows assigns when a DHCP discovery broadcast fails to receive a response. Since users can still access local shared folders, local link-layer connectivity is intact, but the lack of a valid DHCP lease means they have no default gateway or DNS server configuration, preventing internet access. The most likely cause is that the DHCP server (the router) is not responding to DHCP requests.

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving domain names

Answer

The default gateway is misconfigured

Answer

A duplicate IP address exists on the network

Question 9

A network technician is troubleshooting a small office where several users cannot connect to the network. The DHCP server shows that the scope is 80% utilized. The technician checks the IP configuration of an affected computer and sees an IP address of 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The DHCP server has run out of available IP addresses.. The IP address 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, assigned by Windows when a DHCP server is unreachable or fails to provide an IP lease. Since the DHCP server's scope is 80% utilized, it has likely exhausted its pool of available addresses, causing clients to fall back to APIPA.

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving domain names.

Answer

The network cable is faulty or disconnected.

Answer

The subnet mask is incorrectly configured on the switch.

Question 10

A technician is troubleshooting a user's workstation that experiences intermittent network disconnections. The technician has replaced the network interface card (NIC) and the Ethernet cable with known-good components. The switch port link light remains solid when the connection is up, but the problem still occurs. Upon inspecting the switch's interface statistics, the technician notices a high number of CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) errors on that port. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from nearby power cables or lighting fixtures affecting the Ethernet cable. CRC errors indicate that frames are being received with incorrect frame check sequences, which typically points to physical-layer issues like signal degradation. Since the NIC and cable have been replaced with known-good components, the most likely remaining cause is electromagnetic interference (EMI) from nearby power cables or lighting, which can corrupt the signal on the Ethernet cable without breaking the link entirely.

Answer

The switch port is faulty and needs to be replaced

Answer

An incorrect VLAN assignment on the switch port is causing mismatched network traffic

Answer

A duplex mismatch between the workstation and the switch

Question 11

A technician is troubleshooting a server with a RAID 5 array consisting of three hard drives. The server logs show a failed drive, and the array status is 'Degraded'. The technician replaces the failed drive with a new drive of the same model and capacity. After the rebuild process completes, the array status remains 'Degraded'. The server's OS does not show any new disk errors. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Check the RAID controller's cache battery status. After a RAID 5 rebuild completes but the array remains 'Degraded', the most likely cause is that the RAID controller's write-back cache could not be flushed to the new drive. A failed or missing cache battery forces the controller to operate in write-through mode, which can prevent the array from returning to a healthy state even after a successful rebuild. Checking the cache battery status is the correct next step because it directly affects the controller's ability to commit cached writes and finalize the array status.

Answer

Check the S.M.A.R.T. status of the remaining original drives

Answer

Check the firmware version of the new hard drive

Answer

Check the SAS cable connecting the drives

Question 12

A small office network consists of 12 workstations and a single router. The administrator wants each workstation to obtain an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway automatically without manual configuration. Which protocol must be enabled on the router to provide this functionality?

Accepted Answer

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is the correct answer because it automatically assigns IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways, and other network parameters to clients from a defined pool. Without DHCP, each workstation would require static manual configuration, which violates the requirement for automatic assignment.

Answer

DNS (Domain Name System)

Answer

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

Answer

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

Question 13

A user in a small office can access internal network resources by IP address but cannot access any websites by domain name. Other users on the same network can browse the internet without issues. The user's workstation obtains an IP address via DHCP and can successfully ping the default gateway. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

Incorrect DNS server address on the workstation. The user can access internal resources by IP address and ping the default gateway, confirming Layer 2/3 connectivity is intact. The inability to resolve domain names to IP addresses while other users can browse normally points directly to a DNS resolution failure. Since the workstation obtains its IP via DHCP, the most likely cause is that the DHCP server provided an incorrect or no DNS server address, or the workstation's DNS settings were manually misconfigured, preventing name resolution.

Answer

Faulty network cable

Answer

DHCP scope exhaustion

Answer

Firewall blocking outbound traffic

Question 14

A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that has a solid link light on its NIC and on the switch port, but the workstation fails to obtain an IP address via DHCP. The technician manually assigns a static IP and can ping other devices, but experiences slow transfers and packet loss. Checking the switch's port statistics reveals a high number of CRC errors and runts. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

A duplex mismatch between the NIC and the switch port.. A duplex mismatch causes the NIC and switch port to use different methods for collision detection (half-duplex vs. full-duplex). This leads to CRC errors and runts because frames are corrupted when both sides transmit simultaneously (collisions) or when the half-duplex side misinterprets full-duplex traffic. The solid link light and successful static IP ping confirm Layer 1 and basic Layer 3 connectivity, but the high error counts point directly to a Layer 2 duplex negotiation failure.

Answer

The cable is too long (exceeds 100 meters).

Answer

The switch port is in a different VLAN.

Answer

The workstation's NIC driver is corrupted.

Question 15

A small office network consists of a router (with built-in DHCP server) and an unmanaged switch. All 12 workstations are connected to the switch, and they have internet access. However, users cannot see each other's shared folders over the network. The technician has verified that all workstations are on the same IP subnet (192.168.1.0/24) and can ping each other successfully. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The workstations are configured with different workgroup names. The correct answer is B because file and printer sharing over a Windows network requires all workstations to belong to the same workgroup (or domain) for NetBIOS-based discovery. Since the workstations can ping each other and are on the same subnet, Layer 3 connectivity is fine, but the inability to see shared folders indicates a Layer 2/application-layer name resolution issue, typically caused by mismatched workgroup names.

Answer

The unmanaged switch is experiencing broadcast storms due to a loop

Answer

The router's DHCP lease time is set too short

Answer

The network cables are not properly crimped to T568B standards