N10-009 Network Operations Practice Test 7 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A network administrator needs to schedule a firmware upgrade for a critical switch during a maintenance window. After the upgrade is completed and verified, which document should the administrator update to reflect the new firmware version?

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

Accepted Answer

Configuration baseline document. The configuration baseline document records the approved configuration of a network device, including firmware versions. After a firmware upgrade is verified, updating this document ensures that the baseline reflects the current, known-good state for change management and troubleshooting. The administrator must update the baseline to maintain configuration consistency and audit compliance.

Answer

Incident response plan

Answer

Network topology diagram

Answer

Change request form

Question 2

A network administrator needs to securely transfer backup configuration files from a router to a remote server over the internet. Which protocol should be used?

Accepted Answer

SCP. SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) is the correct choice because it provides encrypted file transfers over SSH, ensuring confidentiality and integrity of backup configuration files transmitted over the internet. Unlike TFTP or FTP, SCP authenticates the remote server and encrypts the data in transit, which is essential for secure remote backups.

Answer

TFTP

Answer

FTP

Answer

SNMP

Question 3

A network administrator needs to identify which hosts are generating the most traffic on the network and what types of traffic (e.g., HTTP, FTP). Which monitoring technology should be deployed?

Accepted Answer

NetFlow. NetFlow is the correct choice because it provides detailed visibility into network traffic flows, including source/destination IPs, ports, protocols, and application-level information (e.g., HTTP, FTP). Unlike SNMP, which only gives aggregate interface statistics, or Syslog, which logs device events, NetFlow captures per-flow metadata that directly answers the question of which hosts are generating the most traffic and what types of traffic they are using.

Answer

SNMP

Answer

Syslog

Answer

ICMP

Question 4

A network administrator is planning a maintenance window to upgrade the firmware on critical switches. Which step should the administrator perform first to ensure minimal downtime?

Accepted Answer

Test the new firmware in a lab environment. Testing the new firmware in a lab environment first validates compatibility and stability without risking production network downtime. This step identifies potential issues such as configuration incompatibilities or hardware-specific bugs before the maintenance window, ensuring a smooth upgrade process.

Answer

Download the firmware from the vendor website

Answer

Back up the current configuration and firmware image

Answer

Notify users of the upcoming maintenance

Question 5

A network administrator needs to monitor the health and performance of network devices and receive alerts when link failures occur. Which of the following protocols should be implemented?

Accepted Answer

SNMP. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is the correct choice because it is specifically designed to monitor and manage network devices, collect performance metrics, and send traps or notifications when events like link failures occur. SNMP agents on devices report status to a management system, which can generate alerts based on thresholds or trap messages (e.g., linkDown traps per RFC 3418).

Answer

SMTP

Answer

SSH

Answer

TFTP

Question 6

A network administrator has completed a scheduled firmware upgrade on a core switch. After verifying successful operation, which document should the administrator update to reflect the new firmware version?

Accepted Answer

Change management log. The change management log is the correct document to update because it records all modifications to the network, including firmware upgrades, along with details such as the date, reason, and new version. This log ensures compliance with ITIL change management processes and provides an audit trail for troubleshooting and future changes. Updating it after a successful firmware upgrade is a standard operational procedure to maintain accurate change history.

Answer

Network logical topology diagram

Answer

Rack diagram

Answer

Inventory management system

Question 7

A network administrator wants to collect performance data from network devices over time and receive alerts when thresholds are exceeded. Which protocol should be used?

Accepted Answer

SNMP. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is designed to collect performance data from network devices by polling MIB (Management Information Base) objects and can generate traps or inform requests to send alerts when thresholds are exceeded. This makes it the correct choice for proactive monitoring and threshold-based alerting.

Answer

syslog

Answer

NetFlow

Answer

ICMP

Question 8

A network administrator needs to automate the backup of router configuration files to a remote server over the internet. The backup must be encrypted and authenticated. Which protocol should the administrator use in the automated script?

Accepted Answer

SCP. SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) is the correct choice because it provides both encryption and authentication by operating over SSH (Secure Shell), which encrypts the entire session and verifies the server's identity using public-key cryptography. This makes it suitable for automating secure backups of router configuration files to a remote server over the internet, as it supports scripting with tools like expect or SSH keys without interactive password prompts.

Answer

TFTP

Answer

FTP

Answer

HTTP

Question 9

A network administrator has configured a router to send syslog messages to a server with the command 'logging trap 4'. The administrator notices that the syslog server is receiving messages with severity levels 0, 1, and 2. Which of the following best explains why these messages are being received?

Accepted Answer

Syslog severity levels are reversed; lower numbers indicate higher urgency, so trap 4 includes levels 0-4.. C is correct because in syslog, severity levels are inverted: lower numbers indicate higher urgency (0=emergency, 1=alert, 2=critical). The command 'logging trap 4' sets a threshold that includes all messages with a severity level of 4 or lower (i.e., more urgent), so levels 0, 1, and 2 are included. This is defined in RFC 5424 and is standard behavior on Cisco IOS devices.

Answer

The 'trap' level indicates the minimum severity; only messages with severity 4 and above are sent.

Answer

The router is misconfigured and sending all messages regardless of the trap level.

Answer

The syslog server is configured to accept only levels 0-2, so it filters out the others.

Question 10

A network administrator notices that log timestamps from different switches are inconsistent, making correlation of events difficult. Which protocol should be implemented to ensure all devices have the same time?

Accepted Answer

NTP. NTP (Network Time Protocol) is the standard protocol used to synchronize clocks across network devices. By configuring all switches to use the same NTP server, timestamps in logs become consistent, enabling accurate correlation of events across the network.

Answer

SNMP

Answer

SMTP

Answer

RIP

Question 11

A network administrator needs to upgrade the firmware on a core switch. According to change management best practices, which step should be performed first?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request. According to change management best practices, the first step in any network change is to submit a change request (option C). This ensures the proposed firmware upgrade is reviewed, approved, and documented before any technical actions are taken, reducing the risk of unplanned outages and providing a rollback plan. Skipping this step violates ITIL/change management frameworks and can lead to unauthorized changes that impact network stability.

Answer

Download the new firmware

Answer

Create a backup of the current configuration

Answer

Schedule a maintenance window

Question 12

A network administrator scheduled a change window to upgrade the firmware on a core switch. During the upgrade, the switch fails to boot properly. The administrator needs to restore the switch to its previous operational state. Which of the following should the administrator have done before the upgrade to facilitate a successful rollback?

Accepted Answer

Backed up the current configuration and firmware image.. Backing up both the current configuration and the firmware image ensures that the administrator can restore the switch to its exact previous operational state if the upgrade fails. Without a backup of the firmware image, the switch may not have a valid bootable image to revert to, even if the configuration is saved. This is a fundamental prerequisite for any firmware upgrade rollback plan.

Answer

Notified all users of the maintenance window.

Answer

Disconnected all redundant links.

Answer

Set the switch to boot from an alternative image.

Question 13

Drag and drop the steps to troubleshoot a network connectivity issue using the OSI model into the correct order (top-down approach).

Accepted Answer

Check application layer, then transport layer, then network layer, then data link layer, then physical layer.. Top-down troubleshooting starts at the application layer and works down to physical.

Answer

Check physical layer, then data link layer, then network layer, then transport layer, then application layer.

Answer

Check application layer, then network layer, then transport layer, then data link layer, then physical layer.

Answer

Check application layer, then transport layer, then data link layer, then network layer, then physical layer.

Question 14

Match each cable type to its maximum segment length (Ethernet).

Accepted Answer

Cat5e: 100 meters. The correct matches are: Cat5e=100m, 10BASE2=185m, Multimode fiber=550m. Common confusions involve swapping lengths between copper and fiber types.

Answer

Cat6: 185 meters

Answer

10BASE5: 100 meters

Answer

Single-mode fiber: 550 meters

Question 15

A network administrator is troubleshooting an intermittent connectivity issue between two buildings. The administrator suspects a physical layer problem and wants to measure the signal loss on a fiber optic cable run. Which tool should the administrator use?

Accepted Answer

Optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR). An OTDR is specifically designed to measure signal loss and characterize fiber optic cables. It can identify attenuation, breaks, and other issues along the fiber run. A cable tester, toner probe, and multimeter are suitable for copper cabling or electrical measurements, not for measuring optical loss on fiber.

Answer

Multimeter

Answer

Cable tester

Answer

Toner probe