A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that has intermittent network connectivity. The link light on the NIC is blinking, but the workstation frequently loses connection for several seconds at a time. The technician notices the patch cable runs along the ceiling near a fluorescent light fixture. The cable is an unshielded Cat5e cable. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the intermittent 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 cable is terminated incorrectly, causing intermittent shorts.
Incorrect termination usually results in a permanent link failure or very high error rates, not intermittent connectivity that comes and goes. A cable tester would likely show a wiring fault.
Best answer
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the fluorescent light is corrupting the signal on the unshielded cable.
Fluorescent lights emit EMI that can induce noise in unshielded copper cables. This noise can cause packet loss and intermittent disconnects. Replacing the cable with a shielded one or rerouting it away from the light would resolve the issue.
Distractor review
The cable run exceeds the maximum length for Cat5e (100 meters).
There is no indication the cable is too long. The scenario mentions it runs near a light, implying it is within the building and likely well under 100 meters.
Distractor review
The workstation's NIC is failing and needs to be replaced.
While a failing NIC is possible, the proximity to a known EMI source (fluorescent light) makes interference a more plausible cause. The NIC should be tested elsewhere before replacement.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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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?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the fluorescent light is corrupting the signal on the unshielded cable. — Fluorescent lights are a known source of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables like Cat5e are susceptible to EMI, especially when run parallel to or near fluorescent fixtures. EMI can corrupt data packets, causing intermittent connectivity. Incorrect termination would typically cause a permanent fault, not intermittent losses. Cable length is unlikely to be an issue if within 100 meters. The NIC could be faulty, but the environment suggests EMI as the more likely cause.
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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