220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician is implementing a change to a server's network configuration. After making the change, he verifies that connectivity works, but a critical application on another server stops functioning. According to change management best practices, what should the technician have done first?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume verifying connectivity is sufficient proof of success, but the CompTIA A+ 220-1102 exam tests the understanding that change management requires a rollback plan to handle unforeseen impacts on dependent systems or applications.
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
✓
Created a rollback plan
Change management best practices require creating a rollback plan before implementing any change, even a seemingly simple network configuration change. The rollback plan ensures that if the change causes unexpected issues—such as a critical application on another server failing due to a misconfigured subnet, routing table, or firewall rule—the technician can quickly revert to the previous state without extended downtime. In this scenario, verifying connectivity alone does not guarantee that dependent services or applications remain unaffected, so a pre-defined rollback plan is essential.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Notified all users of the change
Why it's wrong here
While user notification is a courtesy and part of change communication, it does nothing to reduce the technical risk of the change itself. Without a defined rollback strategy, informing users beforehand only sets expectations; it does not prevent or mitigate a failed implementation. The first step in any change procedure is to establish how to restore service if the network configuration causes issues, because that determines the risk exposure.
- ✗
Tested the change in a lab environment
Why it's wrong here
Testing in a lab is a valuable validation step that can catch many issues, but it is not a substitute for a rollback plan; even a perfectly tested change can fail in production due to unanticipated variables like live traffic patterns or hardware quirks. In change management, the non-negotiable first step is defining how to revert the change, as that is the safety net that limits downtime. Lab testing may be skipped during emergency changes, but a rollback plan can never be skipped.
- ✓
Created a rollback plan
Why this is correct
A rollback plan is a documented set of steps to revert the network configuration to its previous known-good state, including backup configs, commands, or snapshots. It is the first thing because it defines the exit strategy and directly minimizes MTTR (mean time to repair) if the change adversely affects connectivity. Without it, a technician may have to reconstruct the old configuration from memory, extending downtime. Also, many change management frameworks require a rollback plan before approval.
- ✗
Obtained emergency change approval
Why it's wrong here
Emergency change approval secures authorization and aligns the change with business priorities, but it is a procedural checkpoint, not a technical safeguard. A rollback plan is the foundation that makes a change safe to authorize in the first place; without it, approval would be granting permission to take an unjustified risk. Even an emergency change requires at least a high-level rollback strategy before implementation.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshoot: Memory Leak Issues
Key term
Firewall
A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on predetermined security rules to protect trusted internal networks from untrusted external networks.
Key term
Change management
Change management is the structured process of planning, approving, implementing, and reviewing changes to IT systems to minimize risk and disruption.
About these practice questions
One of 925 original 220-1102 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 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 220-1102 exam.