hardMultiple Choice
220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is configuring a network printer for…
A technician is configuring a network printer for secure printing using IPsec. After enabling IPsec on the printer and the print server, print jobs fail to reach the printer. The technician can ping the printer from the server. Which protocol negotiation step is most likely failing?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA A+ exams often test the distinction between basic connectivity (ping working) and protocol-specific negotiation (IKE for IPsec), trapping candidates who assume ping success guarantees all higher-layer services will work.
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
✓
The IPsec security association (SA) is not being established due to IKE failure.
IPsec requires the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol to negotiate and establish a security association (SA) between the printer and the print server. Since the technician can ping the printer, basic network connectivity (including ARP and IP routing) is working, but the print jobs fail because the IPsec SA is not established. An IKE failure—often due to mismatched pre-shared keys, authentication methods, or IKE phase parameters—prevents the encrypted tunnel from forming, causing all IPsec-protected traffic to be dropped.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The printer is not responding to ARP requests.
Why it's wrong here
Ping succeeding proves ARP resolution works, since ICMP requires the printer's MAC address; ARP failure would prevent all communication. It is tempting because ARP faults do cause unreachable hosts, and checking ARP is correct when a device on the local subnet cannot be pinged at all.
- ✓
The IPsec security association (SA) is not being established due to IKE failure.
Why this is correct
ICMP ping succeeds because it needs no encryption, but IPsec-protected print traffic requires a security association. If IKE phase 1 or phase 2 negotiation fails, no SA is built, so the printer drops the encrypted print jobs even though basic reachability is fine.
- ✗
The printer's TCP/IP stack is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
A misconfigured TCP/IP stack would break basic connectivity, yet ping succeeds, proving IP addressing and routing work. It is tempting because stack faults do cause broad network failures, and checking TCP/IP configuration is correct when a device cannot communicate at all, even by ICMP.
- ✗
The print server is using the wrong port number.
Why it's wrong here
A wrong port would block the print job but would not stop IPsec negotiation, and ping already confirms reachability. It is tempting because port mismatches commonly break print services, and verifying the port is correct when jobs fail while the network path and security association are healthy.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshoot: Printer Problems
Key term
Ping
Ping is a network utility used to test whether a remote computer or device is reachable across an IP network and to measure the round-trip time of data packets.
Key term
Print server
A print server is a dedicated device or software service that manages print jobs from multiple computers on a network, directing them to the appropriate printer and queuing tasks when the printer is busy.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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