N10-009 Networking Concepts Practice Question
A network administrator is designing a small office network with 40 workstations. The design must ensure that a single cable failure only affects the connected workstation. Which logical topology should the administrator implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between physical and logical topology—candidates may confuse a physical star with a logical bus (e.g., early Ethernet using a hub) and incorrectly assume a cable failure only affects one workstation, but a hub-based star is logically a bus where a collision domain spans all ports, though the physical cable break still isolates only the connected device.
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
A star topology connects each workstation directly to a central switch or hub, so a cable failure only affects the single connected workstation, not the rest of the network. This meets the requirement for fault isolation at the workstation level, which is the core design goal in a small office with 40 devices.
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
The Star topology is ideal for a small office network with 40 workstations because each device connects via a dedicated cable segment to a central networking device, typically a switch. This design offers excellent fault isolation; a failure in one cable or network interface card only impacts that single workstation, leaving the rest of the network operational. Furthermore, adding or removing devices is straightforward, and troubleshooting is simplified due to the centralized connection point, making it highly manageable and scalable for this size.
- ✗
Ring
Why it's wrong here
The Ring topology, where devices are connected sequentially to form a closed loop, is generally not practical for a 40-workstation small office. Data travels in one direction around the ring, and a single cable break or device failure can disrupt the entire network's communication path. While some implementations use dual rings for redundancy, this adds significant complexity and cost, which is typically unwarranted for a basic small office setup compared to the simplicity and resilience of a star.
When this WOULD be correct
A question that asks for a topology providing redundancy and fault tolerance where each device has multiple paths, or one that requires deterministic token-passing access method for time-sensitive traffic.
- ✗
Bus
Why it's wrong here
A Bus topology is unsuitable for a 40-workstation small office network due to its inherent limitations. All devices share a single coaxial cable backbone, creating a large collision domain and significantly degrading performance as more devices are added. Critically, a single break in this shared backbone cable, or a faulty terminator, can render the entire network segment inoperable, making it highly susceptible to complete network outages and difficult to troubleshoot.
When this WOULD be correct
A network administrator needs to connect a small number of devices in a temporary setup with minimal cost and simple installation, where a single cable break is acceptable because the network is not critical.
- ✗
Mesh
Why it's wrong here
A Mesh topology, particularly a full mesh where every device is connected directly to every other device, offers extremely high fault tolerance and redundancy. However, for 40 workstations, this would necessitate an impractical number of cables (n*(n-1)/2 connections) and network interfaces, leading to exorbitant costs and immense installation complexity. This level of redundancy is vastly over-engineered and unnecessary for a typical small office environment, which prioritizes cost-effectiveness and ease of management.
When this WOULD be correct
A network administrator needs to design a network for a data center where high availability and fault tolerance are critical, and each server must have redundant paths to all other servers. In this scenario, a full mesh topology would be correct because it provides multiple redundant links, ensuring no single point of failure.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The N10-009 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓StarCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
The Star topology is ideal for a small office network with 40 workstations because each device connects via a dedicated cable segment to a central networking device, typically a switch. This design offers excellent fault isolation; a failure in one cable or network interface card only impacts that single workstation, leaving the rest of the network operational. Furthermore, adding or removing devices is straightforward, and troubleshooting is simplified due to the centralized connection point, making it highly manageable and scalable for this size.
✗RingWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
In a ring topology, each workstation is connected to two neighbors, forming a closed loop. A single cable failure can break the ring, affecting all workstations beyond the break, not just the connected one.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question that asks for a topology providing redundancy and fault tolerance where each device has multiple paths, or one that requires deterministic token-passing access method for time-sensitive traffic.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse logical topology with physical layout, or think ring topology isolates failures because each device has two connections, but they overlook that the ring is a single point of failure for the entire segment.
✗BusWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
In a bus topology, a single cable failure (the backbone) can disrupt connectivity for multiple workstations, not just the connected workstation, because all devices share the same communication line.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A network administrator needs to connect a small number of devices in a temporary setup with minimal cost and simple installation, where a single cable break is acceptable because the network is not critical.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse physical topology with logical topology, or recall that bus topology uses less cabling, leading them to think it isolates failures when it actually does not.
✗MeshWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A mesh topology requires multiple connections per workstation, which does not ensure that a single cable failure only affects the connected workstation; in fact, mesh provides redundancy, but a cable failure still only affects the directly connected device, but the design is overkill and not cost-effective for 40 workstations.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A network administrator needs to design a network for a data center where high availability and fault tolerance are critical, and each server must have redundant paths to all other servers. In this scenario, a full mesh topology would be correct because it provides multiple redundant links, ensuring no single point of failure.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse mesh with star because both involve central connections, or they may think mesh provides the best fault isolation, but they overlook the cost and complexity for a small office.
Analysis generated from the official N10-009blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Virtualization and VXLAN
Key term
Switch
A switch is a networking device that connects devices on a local area network and uses MAC addresses to forward data only to the intended recipient.
Key term
Hub
A hub is a basic networking device that connects multiple computers or devices together so they can communicate, but it sends all data to every connected port without filtering.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This N10-009 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 N10-009 exam.