220-1102 Operational Procedures Practice Question
A technician is performing a scheduled task to decommission an old server. The change was approved as a standard change. During the process, the technician accidentally unplugs a network cable from a different, active server. What should the technician do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to think they can quickly fix the mistake by plugging the cable back in and continuing, but the CompTIA 220-1102 exam emphasizes that any deviation from a standard change—even a simple cable pull—must be reported and handled via the backout plan to ensure proper incident management and prevent escalation.
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
✓
Report the incident to the manager and follow the backout plan
The technician must immediately report the incident to the manager and follow the backout plan. This aligns with the change management process: any deviation from the approved change, especially one that impacts an active server, requires escalation and a controlled rollback to restore service and prevent further disruption. The backout plan is specifically designed for such scenarios to revert changes safely.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Plug the cable back in and continue the decommission
Why it's wrong here
Simply reconnecting the cable may restore connectivity, but it bypasses the change management process. Without following the backout plan, you risk repeating the same error or missing a larger issue that prompted the decommission. Additionally, the incident should be documented and reported so the root cause can be analyzed and future decommission tasks are made safer.
- ✓
Report the incident to the manager and follow the backout plan
Why this is correct
The backout plan is the predefined, tested procedure for restoring service when a change fails. Reporting to the manager ensures proper incident awareness and triggers the communication chain, but the immediate priority is to execute the backout plan to minimize downtime. This approach keeps the incident controlled and documented, aligning with ITIL and change management best practices.
- ✗
Document the mistake in the change log and continue
Why it's wrong here
Documenting the mistake is important after the service is restored, but doing it first delays recovery and leaves the system in a failed state. Continuing the decommission after logging the error ignores the immediate need to reconnect the cable and verify service. The correct sequence is to restore service via the backout plan, then document the incident in the change log.
- ✗
Power down the old server immediately to prevent further mistakes
Why it's wrong here
Powering down the old server does not fix the disconnected cable—it only exacerbates the outage by taking another system offline. The active server that lost connectivity is the critical path and requires immediate restoration via the backout plan. Shutting down hardware without authorization could also violate change management policies and cause data loss or corruption.
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Key term
Incident
An incident is a security event that violates an organization's policies or threatens its data, systems, or operations, requiring a structured response.
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.
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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.