hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A company deploys a load balancer to distribute…
A company deploys a load balancer to distribute traffic across three web servers. Users report that they occasionally see outdated content or are asked to log in repeatedly. Which network service configuration is most likely missing to maintain session persistence?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA A+ often tests the distinction between load balancing (distributing traffic) and session persistence (keeping a user on the same server), and the trap here is that candidates may confuse DNS round-robin with a valid persistence mechanism, not realizing it only distributes initial connections and does not maintain stickiness.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Session persistence (sticky sessions)
Session persistence (sticky sessions) ensures that all requests from a given user session are directed to the same backend web server. Without it, the load balancer may distribute requests across different servers, causing the user to see outdated content if one server has stale cached data, or to be asked to log in repeatedly if the session state is stored locally on each server rather than in a shared database.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DNS round-robin
Why it's wrong here
DNS round-robin rotates IPs but doesn't track sessions; it would also cause the issue, not fix it.
- ✓
Session persistence (sticky sessions)
Why this is correct
Session persistence ensures a user is directed to the same server for the duration of their session, preventing login and data inconsistencies.
- ✗
DHCP reservation
Why it's wrong here
DHCP reservation assigns a fixed IP to a device but does not affect load balancing or session handling.
- ✗
Port forwarding
Why it's wrong here
Port forwarding directs traffic to a single server; it does not distribute load or maintain sessions across multiple servers.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 220-1201 question from scratch — 972 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.