220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is setting up a small office network…

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Use a crossover cable to connect the router directly to the WAP.

  Why it's wrong here

  Using a crossover cable for a direct router-to-WAP connection would consume the router's single LAN port, leaving no direct connection point for the rest of the office network, which requires a switch. While modern devices often support auto-MDI/MDIX, eliminating the specific need for a crossover cable, the fundamental problem remains the router's limited port capacity. This setup fails to provide connectivity for additional devices beyond the WAP, making it an impractical solution for a small office network needing multiple connections.

• ✓

  Connect the router to the switch, then connect the WAP to the switch.

  Why this is correct

  Connecting the router to a switch, and then the WAP to the same switch, is the standard and most efficient method for expanding a small office network. The switch acts as a central distribution point, allowing multiple devices, including the WAP and other wired clients, to share the router's single LAN port. This configuration effectively expands the number of available network connections while maintaining proper network segmentation and efficient traffic management.

• ✗

  Use a hub between the router and the switch.

  Why it's wrong here

  Using a hub would create a single collision domain and half-duplex connections, failing the requirement to connect both the switch and WAP to the router’s single LAN port without an uplink port, as a hub cannot isolate traffic between devices. It is tempting because a hub provides additional ports to physically connect multiple devices, and it would be the correct choice in a scenario where all connected devices must share the same broadcast and collision domain, such as for legacy network traffic monitoring.

• ✗

  Configure the switch as a router to connect to the WAP.

  Why it's wrong here

  A typical unmanaged network switch operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model, forwarding data frames based on MAC addresses, and lacks the necessary Layer 3 routing capabilities. Configuring such a switch to function as a router, which handles IP address-based packet forwarding and network address translation (NAT), is not possible. Even managed switches with some Layer 3 features are primarily designed for switching and would not typically replace a dedicated router for internet gateway functions in this context.

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