N10-009 DNS Practice Question
A user reports that they can browse to a website by typing its IP address (e.g., 93.184.216.34) but cannot access it by typing the domain name (e.g., www.example.com). The user's workstation receives IP configuration via DHCP. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse a DNS failure with a gateway or web server issue, but the key clue is that IP-based access works, which eliminates routing and server problems and points squarely to name resolution.
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
✓
The DNS server address is incorrect or unreachable.
The user can reach the website by IP address but not by domain name, which isolates the issue to name resolution. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses; if the DNS server address provided by DHCP is incorrect or unreachable, the workstation cannot resolve www.example.com to 93.184.216.34. This is the most likely cause because all other connectivity (default gateway, web server) is confirmed working by the successful IP-based access.
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 default gateway is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
A misconfigured gateway would likely prevent all external communication, including via IP address. Since the user can reach the website by IP, the gateway is working.
When this WOULD be correct
A user cannot access any external websites by IP or name, but can access internal resources. The workstation receives IP via DHCP. In this case, a misconfigured default gateway would prevent traffic from leaving the local subnet.
- ✓
The DNS server address is incorrect or unreachable.
Why this is correct
The user can access resources by IP but not by name, which is a classic symptom of DNS failure. The technician should verify that the DNS server settings are correct and that the DNS server is reachable from the workstation.
- ✗
The web server's SSL certificate is expired.
Why it's wrong here
An expired SSL certificate would cause a browser security warning but would not prevent accessing the site by IP address. Also, the issue is name resolution, not certificate validity.
When this WOULD be correct
A user reports that they receive a certificate warning when browsing to a website by domain name but can access it by IP address. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
- ✗
The workstation's hosts file has an incorrect entry.
Why it's wrong here
An incorrect hosts file entry could cause resolution failure, but it is less likely than a systemic DNS issue. The hosts file is checked before DNS, but the question states the user can access by IP, so a hosts entry for that domain would likely redirect to a different IP, not block access entirely.
When this WOULD be correct
A user types a domain name and is taken to a different website (e.g., a phishing site) instead of the intended one. The workstation's hosts file contains a malicious or incorrect entry mapping that domain to a different IP address.
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.
✓The DNS server address is incorrect or unreachable.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
The user can access resources by IP but not by name, which is a classic symptom of DNS failure. The technician should verify that the DNS server settings are correct and that the DNS server is reachable from the workstation.
✗The default gateway is misconfigured.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The default gateway is used for routing traffic to different networks. Since the user can access the website by IP address, routing is working; the issue is with name resolution, not gateway misconfiguration.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user cannot access any external websites by IP or name, but can access internal resources. The workstation receives IP via DHCP. In this case, a misconfigured default gateway would prevent traffic from leaving the local subnet.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse general network connectivity issues with DNS problems, assuming that if a website is unreachable by name, the default gateway must be at fault, even when IP access works.
✗The web server's SSL certificate is expired.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An expired SSL certificate would prevent HTTPS connections but would not affect the ability to browse via IP address or domain name over HTTP; the user can already access the site via IP, so SSL is not the issue.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user reports that they receive a certificate warning when browsing to a website by domain name but can access it by IP address. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse SSL certificate issues with DNS resolution problems, thinking that a certificate error could block domain-based access entirely, or they may overlook that the user can still access via IP.
✗The workstation's hosts file has an incorrect entry.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
An incorrect hosts file entry could cause a domain name to resolve to the wrong IP, but here the user cannot access the site by domain name at all, not that they go to a wrong site. The issue is that DNS resolution fails entirely, not that it resolves incorrectly.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A user types a domain name and is taken to a different website (e.g., a phishing site) instead of the intended one. The workstation's hosts file contains a malicious or incorrect entry mapping that domain to a different IP address.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse a hosts file misconfiguration with DNS issues, thinking that any domain name resolution problem could be caused by the hosts file, but they overlook that a hosts file error typically causes redirection, not a complete failure to resolve.
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?”
Visual reference
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshoot: Network Connectivity
Key term
DNS
DNS is the system that translates human-friendly domain names like example.com into machine-readable IP addresses so computers can find each other on a network.
Key term
Default gateway
A default gateway is a network device, typically a router, that acts as the exit point for traffic from a local network to other networks, including the internet.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every N10-009 question from scratch — 464 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.