220-1201 Practice Question: A small business has a single router with four…

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

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

• ✗

  Connect all 12 devices directly to the router's four ports using splitters.

  Why it's wrong here

  Ethernet splitters (Y-cables) are passive devices designed to share a single cable for two separate 10/100 Mbps connections, typically for phone lines or specific data pairs, not to multiply active network ports. Using them to connect multiple active devices to a single router LAN port simultaneously would result in electrical interference, severe data collisions, and ultimately a non-functional network segment, as each port expects a single, dedicated connection. This method fundamentally misunderstands how Ethernet ports and switches operate.

• ✓

  Connect the switch to one of the router's LAN ports, then connect all 12 devices to the switch.

  Why this is correct

  This is the correct and standard method for expanding network capacity. By connecting a multi-port switch to one of the router's LAN ports, the switch effectively extends the local area network. All 12 devices then connect to the switch, forming a star topology where the switch intelligently forwards frames between devices on the local network and routes traffic destined for the internet through the router. This ensures each device receives dedicated bandwidth and avoids collisions, as the switch operates at Layer 2.

• ✗

  Connect half the devices to the router and half to the switch, then connect the switch to the router.

  Why it's wrong here

  While technically functional, this approach is suboptimal for network performance and management. By connecting some devices directly to the router's integrated switch ports, those ports are consumed, reducing the number of available ports for the dedicated switch's uplink. More critically, it means the router's internal switch fabric is handling both local device traffic and the aggregated traffic from the external switch, potentially creating a bottleneck on the router's internal backplane and limiting the overall throughput for the external switch's connected devices. It's generally better to centralize local device connections on the dedicated switch.

• ✗

  Use the router as a switch by disabling its routing functions.

  Why it's wrong here

  Most consumer-grade or small business routers are not designed to function solely as unmanaged switches by disabling their routing capabilities. While some advanced routers might offer a "bridge mode" or "AP mode" that disables NAT and DHCP, it typically still utilizes the routing hardware, making it an inefficient and often unsupported configuration for simply expanding switch ports. Furthermore, disabling routing would eliminate internet access and DHCP services for the entire network, rendering the primary function of the router useless and failing to address the need for additional switched ports while maintaining internet connectivity.

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