CV0-004 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A cloud load balancer is not distributing traffic evenly to backend servers. All servers pass health checks. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
CV0-004 often tests the misconception that uneven distribution always indicates a backend problem; candidates overlook that session persistence is a deliberate configuration that intentionally skews traffic, and the 'all servers pass health checks' clue is the key differentiator.
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
✓
Session persistence is enabled and directing traffic to specific servers.
Session persistence (sticky sessions) binds a client to a specific backend server for the duration of a session, typically via a cookie or source IP hash. When enabled, the load balancer deliberately routes repeat requests from the same client to the same backend, which skews the distribution and makes traffic appear uneven even though all servers are healthy. This is the most likely cause because the scenario explicitly states all servers pass health checks, ruling out availability-based causes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The health check interval is set too long.
Why it's wrong here
Health checks passing means every backend is marked healthy, so a long interval only delays detecting failures; it cannot skew distribution. Uneven traffic instead points to the load-balancing algorithm or session affinity. Lengthening the interval is tempting when servers flap, where slower checks would reduce false positives.
- ✗
One of the backend servers has reached its connection limit.
Why it's wrong here
A connection limit caps how many sessions a server accepts; the load balancer keeps sending new requests, which queue or fail, skewing distribution while health checks still pass. It is tempting because uneven distribution often stems from backend capacity, and it would be correct if the limit were the only constraint.
- ✓
Session persistence is enabled and directing traffic to specific servers.
Why this is correct
Session persistence pins each client to the backend that first served it, so subsequent requests bypass normal distribution algorithms. With all servers healthy, this stickiness explains the uneven spread described in the stem rather than any health-check or capacity issue.
- ✗
The health check path is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
All servers passing health checks means the probe path returns success, so an incorrect path would mark targets unhealthy and remove them from rotation. Path configuration is the fix when healthy targets are wrongly failed, not when traffic distribution is uneven.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This CV0-004 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 CV0-004 exam.