A technician is configuring a new VLAN for the accounting department on a managed switch. The switch is connected to a router-on-a-stick configuration for inter-VLAN routing. The technician creates VLAN 30 (Accounting) on the switch, assigns ports 6-10 to access mode in VLAN 30, and configures the switch's trunk port to the router to allow VLAN 30. The router's subinterface for VLAN 30 is configured with IP address 192.168.30.1/24. A workstation on port 6 (static IP 192.168.30.10/24) cannot communicate with a server on VLAN 20 (192.168.20.50/24) that it could reach previously when both were on the same VLAN. Other workstations in VLAN 30 can ping the router's subinterface (192.168.30.1). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?
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.
Distractor review
The workstation's default gateway is incorrect
The workstation can ping the router's subinterface (192.168.30.1), which is its default gateway, so the gateway configuration is correct.
Distractor review
The trunk port is not tagging VLAN 30 correctly
If the trunk port were not tagging VLAN 30, the workstation would not be able to ping the router's subinterface. Since it can ping, the trunk is working.
Distractor review
The server's IP address is on a different subnet than its VLAN
If the server's IP were on a different subnet than VLAN 20's network, the workstation would still be able to reach it via the router if routing is configured. This is not the most likely cause.
Best answer
An ACL on the router is blocking traffic from VLAN 30 to VLAN 20
If an ACL is filtering traffic between these VLANs, the workstation can reach the router but the packets are then dropped. This is a common misconfiguration that prevents inter-VLAN communication.
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.
Related practice questions
Related 220-1101 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
CompTIA A+ hardware practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ hardware.
CompTIA A+ mobile devices practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ mobile devices.
CompTIA A+ networking practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ networking.
CompTIA A+ operating systems practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ operating systems.
CompTIA A+ security practice questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ security.
CompTIA A+ software troubleshooting questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ software troubleshooting questions.
CompTIA A+ operational procedures questions
Practise 220-1101 questions linked to CompTIA A+ operational procedures questions.
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: An ACL on the router is blocking traffic from VLAN 30 to VLAN 20 — The workstation can reach its local router subinterface, so Layer 2 connectivity to the router is working. However, inter-VLAN communication requires a routed path through the router. If the workstation can't reach the server on VLAN 20, the router may not have a route to the server's network (192.168.20.0/24) or the server's subnet may have changed. But the scenario says the router is configured for router-on-a-stick, so it likely has routes to other VLANs if configured correctly. The most common issue is that the server's IP address (192.168.20.50) was not changed when it was moved to VLAN 20, or the server's subnet mask is still /24, which is fine. However, the workstation's ability to ping the router proves local connectivity. The problem is likely that the router's ACL (Access Control List) is blocking traffic between VLANs, or the server's VLAN (20) has a different subnet that the router is not routing properly. But the simplest explanation given no other changes: the router's ACL misconfiguration. Option D fits best: an ACL on the router is blocking traffic from VLAN 30 to VLAN 20.
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.
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.