PK0-005 Practice Question: Basics of IT Infrastructure and IT Project Management
A company is implementing a new backup solution for its mixed environment of legacy and modern servers. The backup server is connected to the same network segment as production traffic. During initial testing, some backups fail intermittently, especially during peak hours. The backup logs show timeouts. The project manager is asked to identify the most likely cause and recommend a solution. Which of the following is the best course of action?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume timeouts are caused by software or hardware failures, rather than recognizing the classic network congestion symptom where backup traffic competes with production traffic on the same subnet.
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
✓
Isolate backup traffic on a separate VLAN to reduce network congestion.
The backup server is on the same network segment as production traffic, causing congestion during peak hours. Backup timeouts indicate that the backup traffic is competing with production traffic for bandwidth, leading to packet loss or delays. Isolating backup traffic on a separate VLAN reduces network congestion by logically separating the traffic, ensuring dedicated bandwidth for backups and preventing interference with production operations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Upgrade the backup software to the latest version.
Why it's wrong here
Upgrading software does not address contention on the shared network segment, which is what produces the peak-hour timeouts. It is tempting because version upgrades resolve known bugs and compatibility gaps, and it would be correct if logs showed software errors or unsupported legacy server agents rather than timeouts.
- ✓
Isolate backup traffic on a separate VLAN to reduce network congestion.
Why this is correct
Backup traffic shares the production segment, so peak-hour contention causes the logged timeouts. Placing backup traffic on a dedicated VLAN separates that bandwidth from production, satisfying the need to eliminate congestion-induced failures without altering backup schedules or hardware.
- ✗
Increase the backup window to allow more time.
Why it's wrong here
Extending the window leaves backups competing with production traffic on the shared segment, so peak-hour timeouts persist; the cause is bandwidth contention, not insufficient time. It is tempting because longer windows often fix scheduling overruns, and it would be correct if backups simply could not finish within an allotted period.
- ✗
Replace legacy servers with modern hardware.
Why it's wrong here
Replacing legacy servers does not remove the backup traffic from the production segment, so peak-hour timeouts continue; the bottleneck is shared bandwidth. It is tempting because legacy hardware is often blamed for slow backups, and it would be correct if testing showed those servers themselves could not sustain required throughput.
Visual reference
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PK0-005 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 PK0-005 exam.