easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CV0-004 Practice Question: Experiencing latency issues when accessing a…
A company is experiencing latency issues when accessing a cloud-based application. The cloud administrator runs a traceroute and notices high latency at the ISP's edge router. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between latency caused by network infrastructure (ISP) versus application or server performance issues, and the trap here is that candidates may attribute high latency to internal misconfigurations (like firewalls or load balancers) when the traceroute clearly isolates the problem to an external hop.
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
✓
An internet service provider (ISP) issue is degrading the WAN connection
High latency at the ISP's edge router indicates that the bottleneck is occurring on the WAN link between the company's network and the cloud provider, which is under the ISP's control. This is a classic symptom of an ISP issue, such as congestion, routing problems, or a degraded physical link, directly impacting the WAN connection. The traceroute output localizes the latency to the ISP's infrastructure, not to the company's internal network or the cloud application's resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
An internet service provider (ISP) issue is degrading the WAN connection
Why this is correct
High latency at ISP edge router indicates WAN connection issue.
- ✗
A misconfigured firewall rule is dropping packets
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules cause drops, not high latency at ISP edge.
- ✗
The load balancer is sending traffic to unhealthy instances
Why it's wrong here
Load balancer misconfiguration would not show at ISP edge.
- ✗
The virtual machine hosting the application is under-provisioned
Why it's wrong here
Under-provisioned VM would cause application slowness, not ISP-level latency.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.