Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that intermittently loses network connectivity. The workstation has an integrated Gigabit Ethernet NIC. During an outage, the technician checks the network adapter status in the operating system and sees 'Network cable unplugged' even though the cable is securely connected to both the workstation and the switch. The technician has already replaced the Ethernet cable, the switch port, and the NIC driver. The issue occurs more frequently when the workstation's power supply is under heavy load (e.g., during gaming). Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
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
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from power cables running near the Ethernet cable is disrupting the signal.
EMI can cause intermittent connectivity but would manifest as packet loss or speed drops, not a complete 'cable unplugged' state. The error indicates the NIC is not detecting any electrical link, which is more likely a power or hardware issue.
B
Distractor review
The workstation has a duplicate IP address on the network, causing intermittent disconnections.
A duplicate IP can cause connectivity issues, but the operating system would not report 'network cable unplugged'; the NIC would still show a link state. The error message points to a physical layer issue.
C
Distractor review
The switch port is experiencing a broadcast storm, flooding the network interface.
A broadcast storm affects all devices on the network segment and would cause severe slowdowns or timeouts, but the NIC link light would remain on and the OS would still show 'connected'.
D
Best answer
The power supply unit (PSU) is failing and cannot provide stable voltage to the motherboard under load, causing the integrated NIC to drop link.
Under heavy load, a failing PSU may output fluctuating voltages. If the motherboard's chipset or NIC controller does not receive stable power, it can cause the NIC to reset or lose link, resulting in a 'network cable unplugged' error. The correlation with heavy load points to the PSU.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
- Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
- Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
- The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
- Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
- Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
- Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
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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?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The power supply unit (PSU) is failing and cannot provide stable voltage to the motherboard under load, causing the integrated NIC to drop link. — An intermittent 'Network cable unplugged' error that correlates with heavy power draw from the power supply suggests that the motherboard's NIC or chipset is not receiving stable voltage. A failing power supply can cause voltage droops under load, which may cause the integrated NIC to lose link. Option D is correct. Option A (crosstalk from nearby power cables) would cause signal degradation but not a complete 'cable unplugged' status, and would not be correlated with power supply load. Option B (duplicate IP address) would cause connectivity issues but not a 'cable unplugged' error; the NIC would still show link. Option C (switch broadcast storm) would affect multiple devices, not just this workstation, and would not produce a 'cable unplugged' error.
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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