CompTIA N10-009 Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

CompTIA N10-009 Online Questions & Answers

• Question 301:

  An organization is interested in purchasing a backup solution that supports the organization's goals.

  Which of the following concepts would specify the maximum duration that a given service can be down before impacting operations?

  A. MTTR
  B. RTO
  C. MTBF
  D. RPO
  B. RTO

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  Explanation

  The maximum duration that a given service can be down before it impacts operations is often referred to as the Recovery Time Objective (RTO). RTO is a key consideration in any backup and disaster recovery plan, as it determines how quickly the organization needs to be able to recover from a disruption or failure. It is typically expressed in terms of time, and it helps to inform the design and implementation of the backup solution. For example, if an organization has a critical service that must be available 24/7, it may have a very low RTO, requiring that the service be restored within a matter of minutes or even seconds. On the other hand, if the service can be down for a longer period of time without significantly impacting operations, the organization may have a higher RTO. When selecting a backup solution, it is important to consider the organization's RTO requirements and ensure that the solution is capable of meeting those needs. A solution that does not meet the organization's RTO requirements may not be sufficient to ensure the availability of critical services in the event of a disruption or failure.

• Question 302:

  Which of the following should a network engineer check to verify that updates are still being released for a device?

  A. Baseline configuration
  B. EOL documentation
  C. Asset inventory licensing
  D. Software development life cycle
  B. EOL documentation

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  Explanation

  The correct answer is B. EOL documentation. If a network engineer wants to confirm whether a device is still receiving updates, patches, or vendor support, the first thing to review is the vendor's End-of-Life (EOL) and often related End-of-Support (EOS) documentation. These documents show whether the device is still actively supported, whether firmware and security updates are still being issued, and when that support is scheduled to stop.

  This is important in network operations because devices that are no longer supported can become security risks and operational liabilities. Once a vendor declares a product end-of-life or end-of-support, future bug fixes, feature releases, and security updates may no longer be available. That directly affects patch management, lifecycle planning, and risk assessment.

  The other choices do not answer the question as directly. A baseline configuration shows the intended device settings, not the support status. Asset inventory licensing helps track ownership, software entitlements, or subscriptions, but it does not prove that updates are still being released. Software development life cycle refers to the process of building software, not the support state of a deployed network device.

  For Network+ exam purposes, when the question asks whether updates are still being released, the best source is the vendor's EOL documentation.

• Question 303:

  An organization has a guest network with a network IP range of 192.168.1.0/28 using a DHCP pool. One visitor reported difficulties connecting and configured a static IP address. Following this action, another visitor reported intermittent

  connection issues.

  Which of the following is the most likely reason?

  A. Address pool exhaustion
  B. Duplicate IP addresses
  C. Misconfigured default gateway
  D. Incorrect subnet mask
  B. Duplicate IP addresses

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  Explanation

  A duplicate IP address occurs when two devices on the same network have the same IP address assigned to them. This can cause intermittent connection issues, as the network devices may not be able to distinguish between the two conflicting devices. A duplicate IP address can be caused by a visitor manually configuring a static IP address that is already in use by another device on the guest network. The network IP range of 192.168.1.0/28 has only 14 usable host addresses, so the chances of a duplicate IP address are higher than a larger network.

• Question 304:

  A network administrator changed an external DNS to point customers to a new server.

  Which of the following tools should the administrator use to test the new server's configuration?

  A. ping
  B. tracert
  C. tcpdump
  D. nslookup
  D. nslookup

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  Explanation

  1. Nslookup allows querying DNS records to verify if the new server is correctly resolving domain names.

  2. Ping (A) tests basic connectivity, not DNS configuration.

  3. Tracert (B) shows network path latency but doesn't test DNS.

  4. Tcpdump (C) captures packets but isn't ideal for DNS verification.

  References:

  CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Official Documentation DNS Testing Tools.

• Question 305:

  Which of the following routing technologies uses a successor and a feasible successor?

  A. IS-IS
  B. OSPF
  C. BGP
  D. EIGRP
  D. EIGRP

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  Explanation

  EIGRP stands for Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol, which is a hybrid routing protocol that uses a successor and a feasible successor to determine the best route to a destination. A successor is the next-hop router that has the lowest cost (or metric) to reach the destination, and a feasible successor is a backup router that has a cost that is less than the cost of the successor. EIGRP uses the successor and the feasible successor to achieve fast convergence and load balancing. EIGRP also uses a Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL) to maintain the routing table and avoid routing loops. IS-IS, OSPF, and BGP are other routing protocols that do not use a successor and a feasible successor, but rather use different algorithms and criteria to select the best route.

• Question 306:

  A network engineer configures the network settings in a new server as follows:

  1. IP address = 192.163.1.15

  2. Subnet mask = 255.255.255.0

  3. Gateway = 192.163.1.255

  The server can reach other hosts on the same subnet successfully, but it cannot reach hosts on different subnets.

  Which of the following is most likely configured incorrectly?

  A. Subnet mask
  B. Gateway
  C. Default route
  D. IP address
  B. Gateway

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  Explanation

  The default gateway for a network should be an IP address within the subnet, but not the broadcast address. In this case:

  IP: 192.163.1.15

  Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

  This means the network range is: 192.163.1.0 - 192.163.1.255 192.163.1.255 is the broadcast address for this subnet, so it cannot be used as a gateway. Hence, the device fails to communicate outside its subnet because it's trying to use a broadcast address as its gateway.

  The issue is clearly with the gateway configuration.

• Question 307:

  A critical infrastructure switch is identified as end-of-support.

  Which of the following is the best next step to ensure security?

  A. Apply the latest patches and bug fixes.
  B. Decommission and replace the switch.
  C. Ensure the current firmware has no issues.
  D. Isolate the switch from the network.
  B. Decommission and replace the switch.

• Question 308:

  A network technician receives a ticket from an employee who is working on PC 1 but is unable to connect to the database server.

  The technician pings the database server from PC 1, but the request times out.

  After reviewing the utilization of Switch 1 and Switch 2, the technician finds high CPU utilization and observes that the MAC address table is continuously changing.

  INSTRUCTIONS:

  Configure Switch 1 and Switch 2 to remediate the employee's issue.

  Then, validate connectivity between PC 1 and the database server.

  Switch 1 and Switch 2 are already in configuration mode.

  Type help to view a list of available commands.

  

  

  

  

  A. See the answer and solution below.
  B. PlaceHolder
  C. PlaceHolder
  D. PlaceHolder
  A. See the answer and solution below.

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  Explanation

  Switch 1:

  spanning-tree vlan 10 root primary spanning-tree vlan 20 root secondary

  Switch 2:

  spanning-tree vlan 20 root primary spanning-tree vlan 10 root secondary

  This scenario indicates a Layer 2 switching loop, as evidenced by high CPU utilization and continuous MAC address table changes (MAC flapping).

  The available commands are limited to spanning-tree vlan, so the issue must be resolved using STP rather than shutting down interfaces.

  The solution is to implement per-VLAN Spanning Tree and assign root roles strategically:

  - Switch 1 acts as the primary root for VLAN 10

  - Switch 2 acts as the primary root for VLAN 20

  - Each switch is configured as the secondary root for the opposite VLAN to provide failover

  This design ensures that redundant links do not create loops while still maintaining network redundancy.

  Result:

  - Eliminates Layer 2 loops

  - Stops MAC address flapping

  - Reduces CPU utilization

  - Restores stable connectivity

  Validation:

  After configuration, verify connectivity by pinging 192.168.1.31 (database server) from PC 1. The ping should succeed.

• Question 309:

  A network administrator needs to fail over services to an off-site environment. This process will take four weeks to become fully operational.

  Which of the following DR (Disaster Recovery) concepts does this describe?

  A. Hot site
  B. Warm site
  C. Cold site
  D. Active-active approach
  C. Cold site

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  Explanation

  A cold site is a backup facility that provides infrastructure (such as power, cooling, and space) but does not have active IT resources installed. When a disaster occurs, IT teams must bring in and configure all necessary hardware and software before services can resume. This process can take weeks or longer--which matches the scenario described.

  Why not the other options?

  Hot site (A) - A hot site is a fully operational backup facility with up-to-date data and pre-configured hardware, allowing almost instant failover (minutes to hours). Warm site (B) - A warm site has pre-installed hardware and some software/ configurations, but it requires some setup before becoming fully operational (hours to a few days). Active-active approach (D) - This means that multiple sites run simultaneously with load balancing, ensuring no downtime in case of a failure.

• Question 310:

  A new network is being created to support 126 users.

  Which of the following CIDR ranges provides the most efficient use of space?

  A. 10.2.2.0/23
  B. 10.2.2.0/24
  C. 10.2.2.0/25
  D. 10.2.2.0/26
  C. 10.2.2.0/25

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  Explanation

  To support 126 users, the subnet must provide at least 126 usable host addresses.

  In IPv4 subnetting, usable hosts are calculated as:

  Usable hosts = 2^(host bits) - 2

  A /25 subnet leaves 7 host bits (32 - 25 = 7).

  This provides 2^7 = 128 total addresses and 128 - 2 = 126 usable addresses, which exactly meets the requirement.

  A /24 provides 254 usable addresses, which results in unnecessary waste.

  A /23 provides 510 usable addresses, which results in even more waste.

  A /26 provides only 62 usable addresses, which is insufficient.

  The 10.2.2.0 network is part of the private 10.0.0.0/8 address space and is appropriate for internal use.

  Therefore, 10.2.2.0/25 is the correct CIDR range for efficiently supporting 126 hosts.