This CV0-004 practice question tests your understanding of operations and support. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses a cloud load balancer to distribute traffic to a group of web servers. After a recent update, some users report being redirected to a maintenance page when the application is actually available. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The load balancer health check is misconfigured and marking healthy instances as unhealthy.
The most likely cause is that the load balancer's health check is misconfigured, causing it to incorrectly mark healthy web servers as unhealthy. When all instances are marked unhealthy, the load balancer has no available targets and may route traffic to a fallback maintenance page or return an error. This explains why users see a maintenance page despite the application being available.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 load balancer health check is misconfigured and marking healthy instances as unhealthy.
Why this is correct
A misconfigured health check can cause the load balancer to stop sending traffic to healthy instances, redirecting users to a maintenance page.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The load balancer's SSL certificate has expired.
Why it's wrong here
An expired SSL certificate would cause HTTPS errors, not a maintenance page redirect.
✗
The DNS record for the load balancer has a short TTL.
Why it's wrong here
Short TTL affects DNS resolution speed but not the immediate redirection to a maintenance page.
✗
The web servers are not configured with the same security group.
Why it's wrong here
Security group differences would likely block traffic entirely, not cause a maintenance page.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CompTIA often tests the distinction between health check misconfiguration and other common issues like SSL or DNS, so candidates may mistakenly choose an expired SSL certificate because they associate 'maintenance page' with security errors, but the correct cause is the load balancer's health check marking healthy instances as unhealthy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud load balancers (e.g., AWS ALB, Azure Load Balancer) use health checks that probe a specified endpoint (e.g., HTTP GET /health) with expected response codes (e.g., 200). If the health check is misconfigured—such as expecting a 200 but the application returns a 301 redirect or a different status code—the load balancer marks the instance as unhealthy. In a real-world scenario, a web server might return a 200 OK for the main site but a 302 for the health check path, causing the load balancer to drain traffic and serve a static maintenance page.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CV0-004 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Operations and Support — This question tests Operations and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The load balancer health check is misconfigured and marking healthy instances as unhealthy. — The most likely cause is that the load balancer's health check is misconfigured, causing it to incorrectly mark healthy web servers as unhealthy. When all instances are marked unhealthy, the load balancer has no available targets and may route traffic to a fallback maintenance page or return an error. This explains why users see a maintenance page despite the application being available.
What should I do if I get this CV0-004 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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