FC0-U71 Infrastructure Practice Question
A network administrator is redesigning a small office network with 20 computers, two servers, and three printers. The network must be reliable and easy to troubleshoot. Which TWO network topologies should the administrator consider?
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
✓
Star
Star topology is most common for office networks due to easy troubleshooting and expansion. Mesh provides high reliability but is expensive; for a small office, star is practical, and mesh could be considered if high fault tolerance is needed, but the question asks for two topologies to consider. Typically, star is the best; bus and ring are outdated. However, the administrator might consider star and mesh (for critical links). But given the options, star is correct, and mesh is also a valid consideration for resilience. However, the exam expects star as primary, and perhaps hybrid? But the options: bus, ring, star, mesh, hybrid. The best two for reliability and troubleshooting are star and mesh (though mesh costly). But in ITF+ context, star is recommended; mesh is for high-availability. I'll go with star and mesh. Explanation: Star is easy to troubleshoot, mesh provides redundancy.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Star
Why this is correct
Easy to troubleshoot; failure of one node doesn't affect others.
- ✗
Hybrid
Why it's wrong here
A hybrid topology combines two or more distinct topologies, such as star-bus or star-ring, which introduces multiple points of failure and complicates cable tracing, directly opposing the administrator’s need for reliability and easy troubleshooting in a small office with only 25 devices. This option tempts because hybrid designs are ideal for scaling large, segmented networks where different departments require different physical layouts, such as connecting a star-wired floor to a backbone bus across a campus.
- ✗
Ring
Why it's wrong here
A break in the ring disrupts the entire network.
- ✗
Bus
Why it's wrong here
Difficult to troubleshoot; a single break brings down the network.
- ✓
Mesh
Why this is correct
Provides high reliability with redundant paths, though expensive.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.