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SSCP Practice Question: Based on the exhibit, what is the most likely…

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.
```
[2024-01-15 14:32:05] [ERROR] [host=web01] Failed to connect to SQL server at 10.0.1.50:1433: Connection refused
[2024-01-15 14:32:10] [WARNING] [host=web01] Application pool "AppPool1" has been recycled due to memory limit
[2024-01-15 14:32:15] [ERROR] [host=db01] Disk I/O write latency exceeded threshold: 2000ms
```

Based on the exhibit, what is the most likely cause of the web application outage?

⚠ Common exam trap

Watch out — candidates often assume a successful ping implies full database availability, but ping only tests network layer connectivity, not the application layer service (SQL Server).

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

✓

SQL Server service is down

The exhibit shows that the web application is returning HTTP 500 errors, which typically indicate a server-side issue. Since the web server can connect to the database server (as shown by the successful ping), but the application fails, the most likely cause is that the SQL Server service is down, preventing the application from executing queries. This aligns with the correct answer C.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✗

    Network connectivity issue between web and DB

    Why it's wrong here

    A network issue would typically show 'timeout' rather than 'Connection refused'.

  • ✗

    Application pool memory leak

    Why it's wrong here

    The warning about application pool recycling is a separate issue and occurred after the SQL connection failure.

  • ✓

    SQL Server service is down

    Why this is correct

    The 'Connection refused' error on port 1433 indicates the SQL Server is not listening or is down.

  • ✗

    Database server disk failure

    Why it's wrong here

    The disk I/O latency on db01 is concerning but not the immediate cause of the web app outage.

About these practice questions

One of 920 original SSCP practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

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JA

Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

This SSCP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 SSCP exam.