Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A network technician connects two switches together using a straight-through Cat6 Ethernet cable. Both switches are managed and are known to be working. After connecting, the link LED on Switch A is off, and the link LED on Switch B is also off. The technician has verified that both switch ports are enabled and not administratively shut down. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the problem?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
The cable is a crossover cable.
The problem states the cable is straight-through; therefore, a crossover cable would not be an issue.
B
Distractor review
The cable length exceeds 100 meters.
While excessive cable length can cause link failure, a cable run shorter than 100 meters would still be expected to show a link light if the cable is good and devices are compatible.
C
Distractor review
One of the switches has the wrong VLAN assignment.
VLAN configuration affects traffic flow but does not prevent the physical layer link from coming up; the link LEDs would still light.
D
Best answer
At least one switch does not support auto-MDIX.
Without auto-MDIX support on both switches, a straight-through cable will not establish a link between two similar devices; a crossover cable or enabling auto-MDIX is required.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: an active trunk can still block the VLAN you need
A trunk being up does not prove every VLAN is crossing it. Check allowed VLAN lists, native VLAN mismatch, VLAN existence and access-port assignment.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
VLAN questions usually combine access-port and trunking clues. The key is to identify whether the issue is local to one switchport, caused by the trunk, or caused by the VLAN not existing where it needs to exist.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Access ports place end devices into a single VLAN.
- Trunk ports carry multiple VLANs between switches.
- Allowed VLAN lists decide which VLANs can cross a trunk.
- Native VLAN mismatch can create confusing symptoms.
TExam Day Tips
- Use show vlan brief to verify access VLANs.
- Use show interfaces trunk to verify trunk state and allowed VLANs.
- Do not treat every same-VLAN issue as a routing problem.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A user reports intermittent network connectivity on a desktop computer. The technician observes that the Ethernet link light on the NIC turns off for a few seconds and then turns back on. The cable passes a wiremap test, the switch port is verified good with another device, and the NIC driver is updated. The issue occurs more frequently when the computer's case fan runs at high speed. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
Question 2
A workstation is unable to connect to the internet. The technician runs the 'ipconfig' command and sees the IPv4 address is 169.254.15.200 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. The workstation can ping other devices on the local subnet but cannot ping the default gateway or any external addresses. Which TWO actions should the technician take to resolve this issue? (Select two.)
Question 3
A workstation is connected to a managed switch. It obtains a valid IP address (192.168.10.50) from the DHCP server, but it cannot ping the default gateway (192.168.10.1). The link light on both the workstation NIC and the switch port are solid green. Other workstations on the same switch CAN ping the default gateway successfully. The technician accesses the switch management interface and finds that the workstation's port is configured as an access port on VLAN 10. The default gateway is located on VLAN 20. An inter-VLAN router is configured but not explicitly allowing VLAN 10 access to VLAN 20. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the problem?
Question 4
A company develops a web application that relies on a custom library available only for a specific Linux distribution. They want to deploy the application in the cloud with minimal administrative overhead, but they need full control over the software stack, including the ability to install the custom library and configure the web server. Which cloud service model BEST meets these requirements?
Question 5
A company has a legacy virtual machine running on a deprecated hypervisor (Hyper-V). They want to migrate this VM to a new hypervisor (VMware vSphere) hosted in a private cloud while preserving the VM's configuration, installed applications, and data. The migration must be performed with minimal downtime. Which of the following methods is MOST appropriate?
Question 6
A company hosts a critical database on a virtual machine in a public cloud. The database requires persistent storage that must be retained even if the VM is terminated. The storage must also be accessible from multiple VMs simultaneously for a future high-availability configuration. Which type of cloud storage BEST meets these requirements?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 220-1101 question test?
Access ports place end devices into a single VLAN.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: At least one switch does not support auto-MDIX. — Straight-through cables connect devices of different types (e.g., workstation to switch). When connecting two like devices (switch to switch), a crossover cable is typically required unless both switches support auto-MDIX (automatic crossover detection). Since neither link light is on, the most likely cause is that at least one switch does not support auto-MDIX, and a straight-through cable cannot make the connection. Option A is incorrect because if the cable were crossover, it might work, but the cable is stated as straight-through. Option B (length) would cause an error but typically the link light might still be on or flashing. Option C (VLAN) would not prevent the physical link from coming up. Option D correctly identifies the need for crossover or auto-MDIX.
What should I do if I get this 220-1101 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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