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220-1201 Practice Question: A company's web server is hosted internally and…
A company's web server is hosted internally and must be accessible from the internet using the domain name www.company.com. The public IP address of the router is 203.0.113.5. Which two network services must be correctly configured to make this work?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common misconception is that DHCP is required for internet access, but here the internal server already has a static IP; the key missing services are DNS for name resolution and NAT for address translation from public to private.
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
✓
DNS and NAT
DNS is required to resolve the domain name www.company.com to the public IP address 203.0.113.5, so external users can reach the router. NAT (specifically destination NAT or port forwarding) is needed to translate the public IP and port to the internal private IP address of the web server, allowing inbound traffic to reach the internal host.
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 and DHCP
Why it's wrong here
DNS (Domain Name System) is essential for external users to resolve the web server's domain name to the company's public IP address. However, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is responsible for automatically assigning private IP addresses to devices within a local network, not for enabling external internet users to connect to an internally hosted server. Therefore, DHCP plays no role in making an internal web server accessible from the internet, making this option incorrect.
- ✓
DNS and NAT
Why this is correct
DNS (Domain Name System) is essential for external clients to resolve the web server's domain name (e.g., example.com) into the public IP address assigned to the company's internet connection. Subsequently, Network Address Translation (NAT), specifically configured with port forwarding, is required to translate incoming requests on that public IP and specific port (like 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS) to the private IP address and port of the internal web server. This combination ensures external traffic reaches the correct internal host.
- ✗
NAT and ARP
Why it's wrong here
While Network Address Translation (NAT) is indeed necessary to translate the public IP address of the company's router to the private IP address of the internal web server, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is entirely irrelevant for external access. ARP operates exclusively within a local network segment to map known IP addresses to corresponding MAC addresses, facilitating local communication. It has no function in resolving domain names or routing traffic from the internet to an internal server.
- ✗
DHCP and NAT
Why it's wrong here
Although Network Address Translation (NAT) is crucial for translating public internet requests to the internal web server's private IP address, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is not needed for external access. DHCP's function is limited to dynamically assigning private IP addresses to devices on the local network. Critically, without DNS, external users would have no mechanism to resolve the web server's domain name to the company's public IP, rendering the server unreachable even with NAT configured.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Configuration: IP, DNS, DHCP
Key term
Public IP address
A globally unique IP address assigned to a device that allows it to communicate directly over the internet.
Key term
Fully Qualified Domain Name
A Fully Qualified Domain Name is the complete and unambiguous website or server name that includes the host, domain, and top-level domain, leaving no room for guesswork.
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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.