Exam 1 Flashcards
A customer’s hard drive has crashed and needs to be replaced. When replacing the internal 5400 RPM HDD, which cable should you use?
OBJ-5.3: Serial ATA (SATA) is the most widely used interface for hard disks on modern desktop and laptop computers. SATA uses a 7-pin L-shaped data connector with one device per port. SATA operates at bandwidths of 1.5 Gbps, 3 Gbps, or 6 Gbps. SATA drives can also use a 15-pin power connector. FireWire is an external connection type that uses a serial SCSI connection with a D-shaped connector to support up to 800 Mbps of bandwidth. Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector created by Apple. The lightning cable is used by every iPhone from the 5 to 13 series. Newer iPads have shifted to the use of USB-C for charging instead of the lightning cable, though.
Jason recently purchases a wearable fitness tracker to count the number of steps he is taking each day. Which of the following technologies is used to determine how many steps he takes each day?
OBJ-1.4: ACCELEROMETER. Most wearable fitness devices come with a 3-axis accelerometer to track movement in every direction. Some more advanced trackers will also use a gyroscope to measure the orientation and rotation of the device. However, the accelerometer is still the crucial component to measure the activity of the user. The data collected is then converted into steps and activity and from then into calories and sleep quality. Near field communications (NFC) is a standard for peer-to-peer (2-way) radio communications over very short (around 4”) distances that facilitate contactless payment and similar technologies. The inverter (also known as inverter board, screen inverter, or LCD inverter) is a part of the laptop’s display assembly. The inverter is a small green board attached to the base of the LCD panel. In a laptop computer, the LCD screen relies on a backlight source to uniformly light up the screen, and the inverter acts as the power supply for this lighting source. If the inverter is faulty, the display will be too dim to easily see without an external light source like a flashlight. The digitizer is a touch-sensitive glass panel covering the LCD in a touchscreen assembly. The digitizer is used to convert touch events to digital signals that can be interpreted as different types of input. The digitizer can be touched and inspected without taking apart the device.
You just configured your iPhone to connect to your car’s stereo over Bluetooth to play your favorite podcasts while driving to work. What type of network did you create between your iPhone and your car?
OBJ-2.7: A personal area network (PAN) is a close-range network that is usually based on Bluetooth or NFC for communications between personal devices, such as smartphones, laptops, printers, and other peripheral devices. A local area network (LAN) is a network where all the nodes or hosts participating in the network are directly connected with cables or short-range wireless media. A wide area network (WAN) is a network that spans multiple geographic locations such as the internet. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits. A storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated, independent high-speed network that interconnects and delivers shared pools of storage devices to multiple servers. A storage area network often uses Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), Fibre Channel, or Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) connections to achieve the speeds necessary to support SAN operations.
An auto mechanic needs to purchase a new printer for their shop. The printer will be used to create estimates and invoices for their customers. The printer must support the ability to create duplicate invoices using multiple sheets of paper separated by carbon paper using tractor-fed paper. Which of the following types of printers should be used?
OBJ-3.11: An impact or dot-matrix printer is an older type of printer that works by pressing a ribbon of ink onto the top sheet of paper using a series of dots. This is called an impact printer because it pushes the ribbon against the paper to create the image or text using a series of dots to create the image or text. These printers are most commonly used when multiple copies of a document must be created at once (like a 3-part form or contract to be signed). As these older printers are being retired and it is harder to find impact printers to purchase, most organizations are now switching to laser or inkjet printers and requiring customers to sign multiple copies of the same invoice after they are printed using a laser printer. Thermal printers are commonly used for receipts such as those at the grocery store or a restaurant.
Which type of wireless network utilizes the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequency bands and reaches speeds of 108 Mbps to 600 Mbps?
OBJ-2.4: The 802.11n (Wireless N) standard utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 108 Mbps or a 5.0 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 600 Mbps. Wireless N supports the use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology to use multiple antennas to transmit and receive data at higher speeds. Wireless N supports channel bonding by combining two 20 MHz channels into a single 40 MHz channel to provide additional bandwidth. The 802.11a (Wireless A) standard utilizes a 5 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 54 Mbps. The 802.11b (Wireless B) standard utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 11 Mbps. The 802.11g (Wireless G) standard utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 54 Mbps. The 802.11ac (Wireless AC or Wi-Fi 5) standard utilizes a 5 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at theoretical speeds up to 3.5 Gbps. Wireless AC uses channel bonding to create a single channel of up to 160 MHz to provide additional bandwidth. Wireless AC uses multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology to use multiple antennas to transmit and receive data at higher speeds. The 802.11ax (Wireless AX or Wi-Fi 6) standard utilizes 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies to provide wireless networking at theoretical speeds up to 9.6 Gbps. Wireless AC uses orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) to conduct multiplexing of the frequencies transmitted and received to each client to provide additional bandwidth. Wireless AC uses channel bonding to create a single channel of up to 160 MHz to provide additional bandwidth. Wireless AC uses multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology to use multiple antennas to transmit and receive data at higher speeds. Wireless AC also has a version called Wi-Fi 6E that supports the 6GHz frequency instead of the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies used in Wi-Fi 6.
Which type of wireless network utilizes the 5 GHz frequency band and reaches speeds of up to 54 Mbps?
OBJ-2.4: The 802.11a (Wireless A) standard utilizes a 5 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 54 Mbps. Unfortunately, when this was first released, the radios to operate with this standard were fairly expensive, so it did not sell well or become widespread. The 802.11b (Wireless B) standard utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 11 Mbps. The 802.11g (Wireless G) standard utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 54 Mbps. The 802.11n (Wireless N) standard utilizes a 2.4 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 108 Mbps or a 5.0 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at speeds up to 600 Mbps. Wireless N supports the use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology to use multiple antennas to transmit and receive data at higher speeds. Wireless N supports channel bonding by combining two 20 MHz channels into a single 40 MHz channel to provide additional bandwidth. The 802.11ac (Wireless AC or Wi-Fi 5) standard utilizes a 5 GHz frequency to provide wireless networking at theoretical speeds up to 3.5 Gbps. Wireless AC uses channel bonding to create a single channel of up to 160 MHz to provide additional bandwidth. Wireless AC uses multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology to use multiple antennas to transmit and receive data at higher speeds. The 802.11ax (Wireless AX or Wi-Fi 6) standard utilizes 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies to provide wireless networking at theoretical speeds up to 9.6 Gbps. Wireless AC uses orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) to conduct multiplexing of the frequencies transmitted and received to each client to provide additional bandwidth. Wireless AC uses channel bonding to create a single channel of up to 160 MHz to provide additional bandwidth. Wireless AC uses multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology to use multiple antennas to transmit and receive data at higher speeds. Wireless AC also has a version called Wi-Fi 6E that supports the 6GHz frequency instead of the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequencies used in Wi-Fi 6.
A customer’s computer has a noisy, whining sound coming from it when in use. You opened the case and did not see any dust on the fans. What should you attempt next to eliminate the noise?
OBJ-5.2: The best step would be to apply a small amount of oil to each of the fan’s bearings, as this will eliminate the noise. If the fans had been dusty, you would instead apply compressed air or clean the fan blades using a damp cloth. Since there was no dust noticed, this cannot be the whining source, and instead, you should apply oil to the bearings. Over time, dust can get into the fan bearings, causing increased friction when spinning and creating a whining sound. If this doesn’t solve the noise, then you would replace the case fans.
A customer tried to install a PCIe x8 expansion card into a PCIe x16 slot on the motherboard. While the expansion card fits into the slot without any issues, it does not perform as the customer expected. How fast will a PCIe x8 expansion card run if installed in a PCIe x16 slot?
OBJ-3.5: While a PCIe x8 card will fit into either an x8 or x16 slot, it will only run at optimal speed when placed into an x8 slot. If the x8 card is placed into an x16 slot, it will reduce the speed to the equivalent of a 1x slot to ensure compatibility and reliability. Even though placing an x8 card into an x16 slot is supported, it is generally considered a bad practice. Instead, you should only insert an x8 card into an x8 slot for optimal performance.
You are working as a customer service technician at a smartphone repair center. A customer calls your help desk and states that the device feels warm to the touch even when not used. You ask them to conduct a visual inspection of the smartphone and describe what they are seeing. The customer says, “The battery appears to be swollen’ and bulging outward beyond its normally rectangular shape.” Which of the following is the BEST statement for you to provide to the customer?
OBJ-5.5: “Please do not use the smartphone and bring it to our service center immediately so that we can replace the battery for you.” A mobile device battery (such as a smartphone or tablet) will become swollen or distended as it begins to fail. If this occurs and the battery or device appears to be physically abnormal, the customer should NOT use the smartphone. The device should be serviced immediately, the battery should be replaced, and the phone inspected to ensure the defective battery has not damaged it.
Dion Training has asked you to consult on the installation of their new file server. The current server consists of a RAID 5 array with three 1 TB 7200 RPM hard disk drives. Due to the increased reliance on the new file server, you have been asked to recommend a RAID solution that will help ensure there is no unscheduled downtime, no data loss, and increase speed/performance over the current file server. Based on these requirements, which of the following RAID solutions should you recommend?
OBJ-3.4: A RAID 10 is the best solution to meet all of these requirements since it provides a fully redundant RAID with both the advantages of mirroring and disk striping. RAID 5 provides redundancy, but it will not improve the speed/performance over the current file server in use since it was also a RAID 5. A RAID 0 provides disk striping (speed/performance) but not mirroring with a minimum of two disks. A RAID 1 provides mirroring (redundancy) but not disk striping with a minimum of two disks. A RAID 5 provides block-level striping with distributed parity to provide redundancy using a minimum of three disks.
Tom, a salesman, is trying to print a 3-page report to the network printer located in the Sales department’s office space. He walks over to the printer but doesn’t see the pages in the printer’s output tray. He checks the on-screen display of the printer, but he doesn’t see any errors listed. Tom tries a few more times, but he gets the same results. Frustrated, Tom selects the network printer for the Customer Service department and sends his print job there. He walks over to their offices and finds his 3-page report sitting in that printer’s output tray. Tom asks you to help him solve this printing problem. What action should you take FIRST to help solve Tom’s problem?
Verify that Tom has been sending the document to the correct network printer’s que. OBJ-5.6: The first thing you should do is verify that this problem is not caused by user error. To do this, you should verify which network printer queue Tom had been sending the document to the first few times.
You want to play computer-based video games from anywhere in the world using your laptop or tablet. You heard about a new product called a Shadow PC that is a virtualized Windows 10 Home gaming PC in the cloud. Which of the following best describes this type of service?
OBJ-4.1: Desktop as a Service (DaaS) provides a full virtualized desktop environment from within a cloud-based service. This is also known as VDI (Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure) and is coming in large enterprise businesses focused on increasing their security and minimizing their operational expenses. Shadow PC (shadow.tech) provides a version of DaaS for home users who want to have a gaming PC without all the upfront costs. Software as a Service (SaaS) is ca loud computing service that enables a service provider to make applications available over the Internet to end-users. This can be a calendar, scheduling, invoicing, word processor, database, or other programs. For example, Google Docs and Officer 365 are both word processing SaaS solutions. Software as a Service (SaaS) is ca loud computing service that enables a service provider to make applications available over the Internet to end-users. This can be a calendar, scheduling, invoicing, word processor, database, or other programs. For example, Google Docs and Office 365 are both word processing SaaS solutions. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that enables a consumer to outsource computing equipment purchases and running their own data center.
(This is a simulated PBQ. If you had this question on the real exam, you would be asked to drag-and-drop a label with the component’s name onto the proper location on the port cluster.)
Using the image above, which of the following correctly indicates the port labeled as H?
OBJ-3.1: This port is the FireWire port. FireWire is a serial SCSI connection that uses a D-shaped connector that supports up to 800 Mbps of bandwidth. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of a motherboard’s rear port cluster by sight.
You are at the grocery store. At the checkout, you place your smartphone near the payment terminal to authorize the charge. Which of the following technologies did you use to make this purchase?
OBJ-1.5: NFC (near-field communication) is a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices to establish communication by bringing them within an inch or two (3-4 cm) of each other. Most modern smartphones use NFC to provide payment information between a smartphone and an NFC reader at the store. Apple Pay and Google Pay are examples of NFC payment solutions. Zigbee is a low-power wireless communications open-source protocol used primarily for home automation. Zigbee uses radio frequencies in the 2.4 GHz band and a mesh topology. A smart card is a card with a chip containing data on it. Smart cards are typically used for authentication, with the chip storing authentication data such as a digital certificate. A keyboard video mouse (KVM) switch is used to support a single set of input and output devices controlling several PCs. A KVM is more typically used with servers but 2- port versions allow a single keyboard, mouse, and display to be used with two PCs.
After installation or change has been implemented, which of the following is necessary before closing a change request?
OBJ-4.2: After the installation or implementation of the change, the end-user acceptance must be received. If the end-user hasn’t approved the installation or change, then the project or ticket cannot be closed out. The Change Board’s approval must be received before implementing the change, not before closing the change request. A risk analysis to determine the severity level of a change should be used to help the change approval board (CAB) make an informed approval decision. A plan for change is the documented method for installing or modifying the asset as documented in the change request. A plan for the change, the risk analysis, and the change board’s approval all are required before implementing a change request and are not specifically required for the closing of a change request.
What type of cable is most commonly used to terminate a serial connection to a modem?
OBJ-3.2: A DB-9 connector is used to terminate an RS-232 serial cable. A ST, SC, LC, or MTRJ connector is used to terminate a fiber optic cable. An RJ-11 connector is used to terminate cables used for phone lines. An RJ-45 connector is used to terminate a copper twisted-pair Ethernet cable.
You have been asked by Dion Training to build a network-attached storage (NAS) device that will be used exclusively as a file server for the company’s internal network. Which of the following are most important to install to BEST meet the company’s needs? (Select TWO)
OBJ-3.8: According to CompTIA, the five main things you need to include for network-attached storage (NAS) devices are (1) media streaming capabilities, (2) file-sharing capabilities, (3) Gigabit NIC, (4) RAID array, and (5) hard drives. Based on the options provided, you should pick the RAID 5 and Gigabit NIC for this device’s configuration. The RAID 5 will provide both speed and redundancy to the NAS device, whereas the RAID 0 would provide only speed without redundancy. The Gigabit NIC will provide 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) of network speed instead of the 100 Mbps provided by a FastEthernet NIC. For a NAS device, you should use multiple hard disk drives in a RAID, not a single 1 TB HDD or 1 TB SSD. For a NAS, it is preferred to choose hard drives over solid-state drives because of the increased storage capacity and lower cost.
You are building a bitcoin mining workstation that will have multiple graphics cards, lots of memory, and an octa-core processor. This computer is expected to generate a lot of heat during its operations. Which of the following solutions would MOST efficiently dissipate all of the heat produced?
OBJ-3.5: Since the system described in the question will have multiple graphics cards (GPUs), lots of memory, and an 8-core CPU, it is expected to generate a lot of heat during its crypto mining operation. For any extremely high-powered processing environment that generates a lot of heat (for example, gaming workstations), liquid cooling becomes the MOST efficient way to dissipate the system’s heat. A heat sink is a block of copper or aluminum with fins. A cooling effect occurs when convection is achieved using passive cooling as the fins expose a larger surface area to the air around the component. Fans are used to dissipate the heat generated by the processors by increasing the airflow across the components. Replacing the power supply with a more efficient model can reduce some of the heat generated by the power supply, but it will not reduce the heat generated by the CPU or the graphics cards.
You are configuring a SOHO network and only denying specific IP addresses from accessing the network while allowing any IP addresses not found on the list. Which of the following should be implemented?
OBJ-2.3: A blocklist is a form of protection where only the items identified specifically on the list are blocked, whereas all others are allowed. For example, if you create an access control list that relies on blocklisting, it would allow every IP address not found in the allow list. An allow list is a form of protection where only the items identified specifically on the list are allowed, whereas all others are denied. For example, if you create an access control list that relies on an allow list, it would block every IP address that is not found in the allow list. MAC filtering is the application of an access control list to a switch or access point so that only clients with approved MAC addresses connect. Port forwarding allows a router to take requests from the Internet for a particular application and send them to a designated host on the LAN.
On Tuesday evening, the company just pushed a new Windows 10 security update to all of its workstations. On Wednesday morning, the help desk receives numerous complaints about the network being slower than normal. Previously, the network was baselined at 1 Gbps as each workstation uses a wired CAT 6 connection. Today, a technician ran a speed test and saw the network was only reaching speeds of 100 Mbps. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the network slowdown?
OBJ-5.7: Often, security updates, patches, and upgrades will reconfigure a network card’s drivers during a Windows security update. If this happens, the system may revert to a more generic version of the driver, decreasing speeds from 1 Gbps to 100 Mbps. The network card’s drivers should be rolled back to the previous driver to restore functionality and correct it. If there were configuration changes to the DNS or DHCP server, it would limit connectivity completely instead of simply slowing down the connection. If the network changed from DHCP to static assignments, the workstations would not get an APIPA address and would not have connected to the network at a slower speed.
Jay is complaining that the speed at which the cursor moves across his laptop’s screen when using his trackpad makes it difficult to properly control. Which setting could he use to slow down the cursor in Windows 10?
OBJ-1.1: If the speed of the pointer or cursor moving across the screen is difficult to control, a technician can reduce the touchpad’s speed in Windows 10 under Settings. To open settings, press the Windows key and the “i” key. Next, open Settings and click/tap on the Devices icon. Then, click/tap on Touchpad in the left-hand column. On the right-hand of the screen, adjust the slider labeled “Change the cursor speed” to a speed that is more comfortable to use. The touchpad sensitivity setting is used to control the amount of pressure needed before the touchpad registers a click as input from the user.
You are working as part of the server team for an online retail store. Due to the upcoming holidays, your boss is worried that the current servers may not be able to handle the increased demand during a big sale. Which of the following cloud computing concepts can quickly allow services to scale upward during busy periods and scale down during slower periods based on the changing user demand?
OBJ-4.1: Rapid elasticity is used to describe scalable provisioning or the capability to provide scalable cloud computing services. Rapid elasticity is very critical to meet the fluctuating demands of cloud users. The downside of rapid elasticity implementations is that they can cause significant loading of the system due to the high resource number of allocation and deallocation requests. Resource pooling refers to the concept that allows a virtual environment to allocate memory and processing capacity for a VMs use. On-demand refers to the fact that a consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider. Metered services are pre-paid, a-la-carte, pay-per-use, or committed offerings. A metered service like a database may charge its users based on the actual usage of the service resources on an hourly or monthly basis. For example, Dion Training used the AWS Lambda serverless product in some of our automation. This service charges us $0.20 for every 1 million requests processed.
While working as a technician, you are trying to help a customer whose PC cannot boot up. When the computer is turned on, an error stating “bootable device not found” appears on the screen. What should you attempt first?
OBJ-3.2: The very first step we want to check is to check the physical connections. This falls under step two of the troubleshooting methodology (question the obvious). If a PC was recently moved or repaired, the cable may have become disconnected and is no longer powering the hard drive. When working with these cables, it is considered a best practice to ensure connections are present, remove the connection, and then reseat it to fix the issue effectively. If this doesn’t work, then the issue may be with the HDD itself.
Which of the following types of connectors are used to terminate a serial cable for an external modem?
OBJ-3.2: DB-9 connectors are designed to work with the EIA/TIA 232 serial interface standard, which determined the function of all nine pins as a standard so that multiple companies could design them into their products. DB-9 connectors were commonly used for serial peripheral devices like keyboards, mice, joysticks, and data connectivity. Today, the DB9 has mostly been replaced by more modern interfaces such as USB, PS/2, Firewire, etc. However, there are still many legacy devices that use the DB-9 interface for serial communication. An RJ-11 connector is used to terminate cables used for phone lines. An RJ-45 connector is used to terminate a copper twisted-pair Ethernet cable. A ST, SC, LC, or MTRJ connector is used to terminate a fiber optic cable.
Which of the following types of wireless connections requires a pin to be entered as part of the pairing process before it is utilized?
OBJ-1.6: Wireless devices with Bluetooth radios must be paired with each other before they can communicate. This involves making them discoverable and entering a PIN as part of the pairing process. The pairing process works with Bluetooth profiles, and each device has to be compatible. For example, you can only pair a mouse or keyboard with a device that’s been designed to work with that type of accessory. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances using UHF radio waves in the industrial, scientific, and medical radio bands from 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz and building a personal area network (PAN). Infrared (IR) was a wireless networking standard supporting speeds up to about 4 Mbps with a direct line of sight for communications. Infrared sensors are used in mobile devices and with IR blasters to control appliances. While infrared (IR) used to be commonly used to connect wireless mice and keyboards to a laptop in the 1990s, it has fallen out of favor in the last 10-15 years since Bluetooth is more reliable and does not require a direct line of sight between the device and the laptop. Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices, one of which is usually a portable device such as a smartphone, to establish communication by bringing them within 4 cm of each other. This is commonly used for contactless payment systems, transferring contacts, or transferring a file from one device to another. Radiofrequency (RF) is the propagation of radio waves at different frequencies and wavelengths. For example, Wi-Fi network products use a frequency of either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.
You have just finished building a Windows server, installing its operating system, updating its security patches, formatting a dedicated data partition, and creating accounts for all of the company’s employees. What is the next thing that must be configured to provide users with the ability to access the data contained on the server’s data partition?
OBJ-3.8: Most of the options provided are reasonable next steps, but the question specifically states that you want to allow the users to access the server’s data. Therefore, file sharing is the next step to providing access to the data and folders for employees on the network. After configuring file sharing, it would be good to configure audit logging and possibly a print server. RAID storage should have been configured before installing the operating system or creating the data partition. A file server is used to host and control access to shared files and folders for the organization.
A customer is complaining that their workstation is beginning to run slowly when many applications are opened simultaneously. Which of the following upgrades would you recommend to solve this problem?
OBJ-5.2: In this scenario, we want to add more RAM. RAM is the temporary storage used for running applications. By adding more RAM, you can speed up the system when running applications simultaneously and prevent reading to the slower disk drives (SSD or HDD). Replacing an SSD with an HDD would slow down the system. Replacing the 802.11g card with an 802.11ac card would help if the customer complained of slow network connectivity, but that is not the case in this scenario. There is no need to perform a chkdsk on their SSD unless there is an error stating that there are errors in the file system.
Which of the following operating systems cannot be installed as a guest inside of a virtual machine on a Windows 10 laptop running Virtual Box?
OBJ-4.2: The macOS software can only be installed in a Virtual Box virtual machine running on a macOS system. If you are running Virtual Box on Windows, it can only install other versions of Windows, Linux, and Unix. This is because Apple’s operating system is a free product but can only be installed on official Apple hardware as part of the licensing agreement. A Windows or Linux virtual machine can be installed on any host operating system.
You and your friends are hanging out in a bar downtown and notice that the entire area around the bar has a great wireless network called “Downtown Metro.” This wireless network was built by the city and currently covers about 5 square blocks of the downtown area. What type of network best classifies this wireless network?
OBJ-2.7: A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a computer network that interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic region of the size of a metropolitan or city area. This usually works by providing municipal broadband via Wi-Fi to large parts or all of a municipal area by deploying a wireless mesh network. A wireless mesh network (WMN) is a wireless network topology where all nodes, including client stations, can provide forwarding and path discovery to improve coverage and throughput compared to using just fixed access points and extenders. The typical deployment design uses hundreds of wireless access points deployed outdoors, often on poles. A local area network (LAN) is a network where all the nodes or hosts participating in the network are directly connected with cables or short-range wireless media. A personal area network (PAN) is a close-range network that is usually based on Bluetooth or NFC for communications between personal devices, such as smartphones, laptops, printers, and other peripheral devices. A wide area network (WAN) is a network that spans multiple geographic locations such as the internet. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits.
Which of the following types of laptop displays would utilize a fluorescent backlight to illuminate the image?
OBJ-1.2: A LCD (TFT) with fluorescent backlight has been the standard display technology for the last few years. The backlight is a fluorescent bulb that illuminates the image, making it bright and clear. An inverter supplies the correct AC voltage to the backlight from the laptop’s DC power circuits. More modern laptops use LED displays that replace the fluorescent backlight with an LED backlight. OLED and plasma displays do not use a backlight.
You attempt to log on to a Windows workstation and an error message pops up that says there is a duplicate IP address detected on the network. You restart the workstation and the same error is displayed when you attempt to log in again. Which of the following is MOST likely causing this error message to occur?
OBJ-5.7: If you defined a static IP address for a workstation or network device, duplicate IP address conflicts may occur on a DHCP network. To resolve it, convert the workstation or network device with the static IP address to a dynamic assignment or exclude the static IP address from the DHCP scope on the DHCP server. Duplicate IP addresses are not caused by logging into two workstations at once, nor are they caused by moving a workstation.
You are working for a logistics company that needs to get a device that will automatically enter information about a package when it is read using light and a lens. Which of the following devices should you install to BEST support this requirement?
OBJ-3.6: A barcode scanner or barcode reader is a handheld or pen-shaped device designed to scan barcodes. A barcode is a pattern of different sized parallel bars, typically representing a product number, such as an ISBN, EAN, or UPC. The reader uses a sensor mechanism (typically either a photodiode, laser, or CCD) to read the intensity of light reflected by the barcode. The reader then reports the number back to application software, which links it to a product database. A webcam is a video camera that feeds or streams an image or video in real-time to or through a computer to a computer network, such as the Internet. Webcams are typically small cameras that sit on a desk, attach to a user’s monitor, or are built into a laptop, desktop, or mobile device. The digitizer is a touch-sensitive glass panel covering the LCD in a touchscreen assembly. The digitizer is used to convert touch events to digital signals that can be interpreted as different types of input. The digitizer can be touched and inspected without taking apart the device. A touch screen display provides the capability to use tactic actions to send input to a computer by interacting directly with the elements on the display using the person’s fingers.
What type of connector is used to connect to a serial port or external modem?
OBJ-3.1: DB-9 is a standard type of serial connector used to connect to a serial port or external modem. A DB-9 connector is used to terminate an RS-232 serial cable. An RJ-45 connector is used to terminate a copper twisted-pair Ethernet cable. The F-type connector is used with coaxial cables. A ST, SC, LC, or MTRJ connector is used to terminate a fiber optic cable.
Which of the following is a private IP address?
OBJ-2.6: IP addresses are either public, private, localhost, or APIPA addresses. A private IP address is in the range of 10.x.x.x, 172.16-31.x.x, or 192.168.x.x. A localhost IP is 127.0.0.1. Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) is a feature of Windows-based operating systems that enables a computer to automatically assign itself an IP address when there is no Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server available to perform that function. When a host uses an APIPA address, it can communicate with other hosts on the same network using APIPA. Still, it cannot reach other networks or communicate with hosts who have managed to obtain a valid DHCP lease. Any address from 169.254.1.0 to 169.254.254.255 is considered an APIPA address. All others are considered public IP addresses.
Which type of RAID should be used for a virtualization server that must have the fastest speed and highest redundancy level?
OBJ-3.8: RAID 10 offers the fastest speed, best reliability, and highest redundancy but is more costly as the overall disk storage will be greatly reduced. A RAID 10 combines disk mirroring and disk striping to protect data stored in the array and required a minimum of four disks. A RAID 0 provides disk striping (speed/performance) but not mirroring with a minimum of two disks. A RAID 1 provides mirroring (redundancy) but not disk striping with a minimum of two disks. A RAID 5 provides block-level striping with distributed parity to provide redundancy using a minimum of three disks.
A user is complaining that they are hearing a grinding noise coming from their workstation. You begin to troubleshoot the issue and determine that it is not an issue with the hard drive but is instead caused by the power supply’s fan. Which of the following actions would BEST solve this issue?
OBJ-5.2: If the fan in the power supply is faulty, replace the entire power supply. You should never attempt to repair or fix a broken power supply or broken power supply cooling fan due to the power supply’s high voltage electrical components. When a fan creates a grinding sounds, this is evidence of an impending failure and the device needs to be replaced. Techicians should never open a power supply or replace any of its internal components, therefore the entire power supply should be replaced in this scenario.
Which of the following devices commonly use an ARM-based processor? (Select TWO)
OBJ-1.4: CPUs and their chipsets for smartphones and tablets are often based on the ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) microarchitecture. RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computing. RISC microarchitectures use simple instructions processed very quickly. This contrasts with Complex (CISC) microarchitectures, which use more powerful instructions and slowly process each one.
Which of the following is used when a CDMA smartphone attempts to connect to the cellular network while traveling? (Select ANY that apply)
OBJ-1.6: The PRI and PRL must be updated and referenced when traveling. The preferred roaming index (PRI) is an index that works with the PRL to provide the best data/voice quality to a phone while roaming. The preferred roaming list (PRL) is a database built by CDMA service carriers to indicate which radio bands should be used when connecting to a cell tower. The baseband is the embedded operating system in the firmware of a smartphone or other cellular device. The firmware is a set of software instructions stored semi-permanently (embedded) on a hardware device. Modern types of firmware are stored in flash memory and can be updated more easily than legacy programmable Read-Only Memory (ROM) types. The baseband and firmware would not be updated or changed based on your location. The baseband is changed or updated when a security update is needed.
Which of the following is the MOST dangerous type of threat when using virtualization?
OBJ-4.2: VM escape refers to malware running on a guest OS jumping to another guest or the host. As with any other software type, it is vital to keep the hypervisor code up-to-date with patches for critical vulnerabilities. VM escape is the biggest threat to virtualized systems. A virtual network interface card (vNIC) represents the configuration of a VM connected to a network. A VM can be configured to have multiple vNICs. A rogue VM is one that has been installed without authorization. VM sprawl is the uncontrolled deployment of more and more VMs.
Susan has a 3-year-old iPad. The iPad used to get 8 hours or more of usage before running out of battery, but now it only lasts 30-60 minutes between charges. Which of the following actions should be taken to repair this device?
OBJ-5.5: Batteries on electronic devices can deteriorate over time and stop holding a full charge. In this question, the device was several years old, and the most likely cause is that the battery is old and needs replacement. The charging port is not the best answer since the question states that it is fully charged each time but only lasts 30-60 minutes. If the charging port were broken, the device would not charge at all. The other suggestions may help conserve the battery, but it wouldn’t explain a drop from 8 hours to 1 hour in battery life between charges.
You have just installed a new hard disk drive into your computer, but the motherboard does not recognize it within the BIOS/UEFI. You have verified the drive is properly connected to the motherboard and the power supply with the correct cables, but it still is not recognized. Which of the following actions would BEST solve this problem?
OBJ-5.3: This type of error (drive not recognized) is usually the result of the motherboard’s firmware not supporting a newer hard drive model or the cables not being properly connected. Since we already established that the cables were properly connected, we have to consider the firmware as the issue. To troubleshoot this issue, you should restart the computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI configuration. If the BIOS/UEFI does not recognize the hard drive, then the motherboard’s firmware will need to be updated. If the BIOS/UEFI cannot detect the hard drive, then the operating system cannot detect the drive either (since it relies on the underlying BIOS/UEFI to make the connection). This means that you cannot format the hard drive or configure a RAID.
Natalie has been asked to install an extra 8 GB of RAM into an employee’s laptop. Which type of module should she select?
OBJ-3.3: Laptops and integrated PCs usually use SODIMM memory due to the memory module’s smaller footprint. A small outline dual inline memory module (SODIMM) can be purchased in various types and sizes to fit any laptop, router, or other small form factor computing device. For the exam, if you are ever asked about installing memory in a small form factor device or a laptop, the answer will usually be SODIMM. A dual in-line memory module (DIMM) comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. A DIMM is used in workstations and printers due to its larger size and shape. SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) is a generic name for various kinds of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that are synchronized with the clock speed that the microprocessor is optimized for. This tends to increase the number of instructions that the processor can perform at a time. Rambus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM) is a memory subsystem designed to transfer data at faster rates. RDAM is made up of random access memory (RAM), a RAM controller, and a bus path that connects RAM to microprocessors and other PC devices. Rambus has not been used for several years and is considered a legacy technology.
Which of the following statements about an eSATA connection is correct?
OBJ-3.2: The External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (or eSATA) is used for connecting external drives to provide additional storage. When connecting a cable to an eSATA port, you must use a shielded cable. SATA is an internal connector for adding storage, while eSATA is reserved for external use. USB 3.0 can operate at speeds up to 5 Gbps, while eSATA can operate at speeds of up to 6 Gbps.
Which port is used to connect to an IMAP server?
OBJ-1.6: The internet message access protocol (IMAP) is a TCP/IP application protocol that provides a means for a client to access email messages stored in a mailbox on a remote server using TCP port number 143. Unlike POP3, messages persist on the server after the client has downloaded them. IMAP also supports mailbox management functions, such as creating subfolders and access to the same mailbox by more than one client at the same time. The post office protocol (POP3) is a TCP/IP application protocol providing a means for a client to access email messages stored in a mailbox on a remote server over port 110. The server usually deletes messages once the client has downloaded them. The simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) is the protocol used to send mail between hosts on the Internet using TCP port 25. The hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is a secure protocol used to provide web content to browsers using SSL/TLS encryption over port 443.
Which of the following devices should you purchase for a child if you want them to be able to read books and magazines, but you do not want them to be able to surf the web or play games?
OBJ-1.4: An e-Reader is a tablet-sized device designed for reading rather than general-purpose computing. For example, the Amazon Paperwhite is an example of a traditional e-Reader. Unlike a tablet, an e-reader is designed for the sole purpose of reading digital books and magazines (with perhaps the option to add annotations). E-readers use electrophoretic ink (e-ink) technology to create an Electronic Paper Display (EPD). Compared to the LED or OLED display used on a tablet, an EPD has low power consumption but facilitates high contrast reading in various ambient light conditions. These screens do not need to use a backlight in typical conditions, saving power and extending battery life.
A customer complains that their smartphone is hot to the touch when charging and their rubber phone case no longer fits it properly. What should you do?
OBJ-5.5: Anytime there is excessive heat and swelling, the battery should be replaced and the phone should not be used until the battery is properly replaced by a certified technician. On 2 September 2016, Samsung suspended sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and announced an informal recall after it was found that a manufacturing defect in the phones’ batteries had caused some of them to generate excessive heat that resulted in swelling batteries, fires, and sometimes explosions.
You are troubleshooting a computer that will not boot. After gathering information from the client about the symptoms they have experienced, you believe the power supply may be faulty. You used a power supply tester to determine if the power supply provides the right amount of output voltage and has determined the power supply is only providing 50% of the voltage that it is supposed to provide to the workstation. What is the next step you should perform according to the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology?
OBJ-5.1: After testing your theory, you will move into the “establish an action plan to resolve the problem and implement the solution” step of the troubleshooting methodology. For the exam, you must be able to list and identify the 6 steps of the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology in order. (1) Identify the problem. (2) Establish a theory of probable cause (question the obvious). (3) Test the theory to determine the cause. (4) Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and then implement the solution. (5) Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventative measures. (6) Document findings, actions, and outcomes.
When using a Type 1 hypervisor virtualized environment, which of the following hardware types is necessary to connect the VMs to the corporate network?
OBJ-4.1: A virtual machine includes a virtual NIC. A virtual NIC is a type of virtual adapter that can be configured on logical partitions to provide a network interface. This virtual NIC can be paired and mapped to a physical NIC to get the VM onto the network. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it. A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a cross-platform screen sharing system that was created to remotely control another computer from a distance by a remote user from a secondary device as though they were sitting right in front of it.
You are troubleshooting a network connection issue between the wall jack in a user’s office and the switch in the communications closet. When you plug a network cable into the wall jack, there is no connection. You check the switch in the communications closet to determine if the wall jack is properly connected to the switch. Unfortunately, none of the cables in the communication closet are labeled. Which of the following tools should you use to determine which cable in the communications closet is connected to the wall jack in the user’s office since none of the cables are properly labeled?
OBJ-2.8: A tone generator is connected to a wall jack and sends a repeating signal over the cable. The probe can then be used to detect which cable is attached to the wall jack by detecting the signal being sent by the tone generator. The probe needs to be near or touch the cable with the tone generator attached to identify it positively. While a multimeter could be used (in resistance mode) to determine if two ends of a cable are attached to the same cable, the distance between the user’s office and the communication closet would prevent a multimeter from being used in this case. A tone generator is connected to a wall jack and sends a repeating signal over the cable. The probe can then be used to detect which cable is attached to the wall jack by detecting the signal being sent by the tone generator. The probe needs to be near or touch the cable with the tone generator attached to identify it positively. Punchdown tools are used to connect an ethernet cable to the back of a patch panel, a punchdown block, or the back of a network wall jack.
What type of connector provides power to an internal hard drive from the computer’s power supply using a 4-pin connector?
OBJ-3.2: A Molex connector provides DC power to the various drives inside a computer case. Molex and Mini-Molex are both 4-pins connectors, with Mini-Molex only being used to support floppy disk drives. The large-sized one is used for hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and DVD drives. SATA connectors have 15 pin and 7 pin varieties. Thunderbolt has 20 and 24 pin varieties. SCSI has 50 and 36 pin varieties.
Which of the following resources is used by virtual machines to communicate with other virtual machines on the same network but prevents them from communicating with resources on the internet?
OBJ-4.2: Most virtual machines running on a workstation will have their own virtual internal network to communicate within the virtual environment while preventing them from communicating with the outside world. You may also configure a shared network address for the virtual machine to have the same IP address as the physical host that it is running on. This usually relies on network address translation to communicate from the virtual environment (inside) to the physical world (outside/internet). If you are communicating internally in the virtual network, there is no need for DNS or an external network.
A computer technician tries to determine if a computer with an Intel i7 processor has virtualization enabled to run a second operating system within VirtualBox. Which of the following should be checked to determine if the system can run a virtual machine?
OBJ-3.5: By checking the settings in the BIOS, it can be determined if virtualization was enabled. For an Intel processor, this option is usually listed as VT (Virtualization Technology). For an AMD processor, this is usually listed as AMD-V. Virtualization allows the system to run another operating system within a virtualized environment, such as VirtualBox, VM Ware, or Hyper-V.
Which of the following is NOT a common voltage produced by the power supply of a computer?
OBJ-3.7: Power supplies in a computer convert high voltage alternating current (115 VAC or 220 VAC) to three lower direct current voltages: 3.3 VDC, 5 VDC, and 12 VDC. The 12 VDC is used by hard drives, CD/DVD drives, cooling fans, and other high-power devices. The 3.3 VDC and 5 VDC are used by digital circuits like the motherboard and the system’s expansion cards.
Dion Training wants to replace any remaining old CRT displays used in the company with a type of screen that produces less voltage and is more energy-efficient. Additionally, the new screen type selected should not contain a backlight. What type of display technology should they select?
OBJ-1.2: An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display is a type of LED flat panel display device that uses organic compounds that emit light when subjected to an electric current. An OLED display works without a backlight because it emits visible light. Thus, it can display deep black levels and be thinner and lighter than a liquid crystal display (LCD). In low ambient light conditions (such as a darker room), an OLED screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an LCD, regardless of whether the LCD uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps or an LED backlight. An OLED will consume around 40% of an LCD’s power, displaying a primarily black image. For most images, it will consume 60–80% of the power of an LCD. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is a type of display technology where the image is made up of liquid crystal cells controlled using electrical charges. The LCD panel is backlight by a cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) bulb. LCD panels are used on laptops and have replaced CRT monitors as the main type of computer display screen for desktops, as well. A light-emitting diode (LED) display is an LCD panel that uses a LED backlight instead of a CCFL backlight to provide its light source. A plasma display is a type of flat panel display that uses small cells containing plasma with ionized gas that responds to electric fields. Plasma displays create excessive heat and are not as energy efficient as an LCD, LED, or OLED display.
Dion Training is upgrading its wired network from an older CAT5e network to a CAT 7 network. The network technician has run out of patch cables and asks you to create a straight-through patch cable. Which of the following tools is used to connect an RJ-45 connector to a patch cable?
OBJ-2.8: A crimper is a tool used to attach an RJ-45 plastic connector to an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or shielded twisted pair (STP) cable. It pushes a portion of the plastic into the jacket of the cable to hold it in place. The RJ-45 connection is the standard one used for wired ethernet networks. Punchdown tools are used to connect an ethernet cable to the back of a patch panel, a punchdown block, or the back of a network wall jack. A cable stripper is used to remove the plastic jacket from an ethernet cable to access its internal wires (twisted pairs). A cable tester is used to ensure a cable is properly created as a patch cable (straight through) or a crossover cable.
Which of the following is the third step of the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology?
OBJ-5.1: For the exam, it is important that you are able to list and identify the 6 steps of the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology in order. (1) Identify the problem. (2) Establish a theory of probable cause (question the obvious). (3) Test the theory to determine the cause. (4) Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and then implement the solution. (5) Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventative measures. (6) Document findings, actions, and outcomes.
Which of the following is a public IP address?
OBJ-2.6: The IP address of 8.4.2.1 is public and is therefore routable. The IP address of 10.3.2.1 is a private Class A IP address, and therefore non-routable. The IP address of 192.168.2.1 is a private Class C IP address, and therefore non-routable. The IP address of 169.254.2.1 is an APIPA (Automatic Private IP Address), and therefore non-routable.
Which of the following devices is MOST commonly used by a user to provide input to their workstation to launch a program or perform file manipulations?
OBJ-3.6: Most operating systems are now GUI-based (graphical user interface) operating systems. They rely primarily on a mouse to launch programs and perform file manipulations (like copying, moving, and deleting). While a touchscreen monitor may perform these types of functions, not all monitors are touchscreen. For the exam, if it doesn’t specify that a monitor is a touchscreen in the question or answers, assume it is a regular monitor used for output only. A webcam and DVD drive can be used as input devices, but they are not primarily for launching applications or manipulating files.
You just printed a new sign for your office using thick cardstock paper with your network printer. Unfortunately, when you pick up the cardstock from the laser printer’s output tray, the printed image smears across the paper. Attempting to troubleshoot this problem, you decide to print another sign using regular printer paper and determine that the image does not smear when touched on the regular printer paper. Which of the following would be the NEXT step to perform in your troubleshooting efforts?
OBJ-5.6: When printing with a laser printer, the paper passes through rollers in the fuser assembly, where temperatures up to 801 F (427 C) and pressure are used to bond the toner to the paper permanently. If you often print with specialty paper (i.e., envelopes, cardstock, & labels), you may want to turn up the fuser temperature on your printer. With thicker paper types, heat does not transfer as easily as it does with standard paper so the toner may not bond as well and the image could smear when it is touched.
What is the simplest and most cost-efficient way to allow other network users to access a printer if the printer does not have an RJ-45 or WiFi adapter available?
OBJ-5.7: The simplest and most cost-efficient way to share a printer is to share the printer via the local host and allow sharing across everyone to access the printer. While this costs nothing to establish and requires no additional hardware, it does require that the local host remains on 24 hours a day so that others can print to it at any time. If you are willing to spend a little money, though, you can purchase a wireless print server or a new network-capable printer instead.
An employee’s workstation will operate for a short period of time, but then it unexpectedly shuts down. When you check the workstation, you hear the hum of the cooling fans. What is most likely the issue?
OBJ-5.2: If a computer’s CPU becomes overheated, the system will unexpectedly shut down the computer to protect the processor from damage. This usually occurs if the CPU’s cooling fan isn’t working properly, the heat sink is dislodged, or the thermal paste breaks down. In this case, you would need to remove the heat sink, remove the processor, reseat the processor, reapply thermal paste, reattach the heat sink, and reconnect the processor fan before rebooting the computer to solve this issue.
Samantha recently purchased a touchscreen laptop to use for her child to do their schoolwork. Her child just came home from school and said that they accidentally dropped their laptop earlier today. Samantha has asked you to troubleshoot the issue. You open up the laptop and turn on the screen. You look over the laptop, and the screen appears to have some spider web cracks in the panel, but you can still fully see the images on the display. You attempt to operate the laptop using the touchscreen and it appears to be fully responsive to your touch. Which of the following components MOST likely needs to be replaced?
OBJ-1.2: A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel is a type of display technology where the image is made up of liquid crystal cells controlled using electrical charges. LCD panels are used on laptops and have replaced CRT monitors as the main type of computer display screen for desktops, as well. The digitizer is a touch-sensitive glass panel covering the LCD in a touchscreen assembly. The digitizer is used to convert touch events to digital signals that can be interpreted as different types of input. The digitizer is the part that you can touch without disassembling the device. The LCD screen is the panel that is inside the device, which displays the image. You cannot get to the LCD without taking the device apart first. When only the touch screen is broken, you should still see what is happening on the screen, and the screen should still function as normal. When only the LCD is broken, you can still use the touchscreen, but the panel will have dark blobs or spider web cracks (or both). When both LCD and touchscreen are damaged, you may still be able to use portions of the touchscreen, and some parts of the LCD may display the image, but you will incur obvious difficulties in using the device as normal. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a microprocessor used on dedicated video adapter cards or within a CPU with integrated graphics capability to handle the mathematical calculations required to create immersive and 3D graphics. The inverter (also known as inverter board, screen inverter, or LCD inverter) is a part of the laptop’s display assembly. The inverter is a small green board attached to the base of the LCD panel. In a laptop computer, the LCD screen relies on a backlight source to uniformly light up the screen, and the inverter acts as the power supply for this lighting source. If the inverter is faulty, the display will be too dim to easily see without an external light source like a flashlight.
Dion Training has a single switch that services every room within its offices. The switch contains 48 ports, but Jason wants to divide the ports based on functional areas, such as web development, instruction support, and administration. Which technology should Jason utilize to divide the physical switch into three logically divided areas?
OBJ-2.6: A VLAN (virtual LAN) allows a single physical switch to be divided into logical networks. VLANs are only supported on managed switches, but they allow for a different logical subnetwork address to be assigned to various ports on the switch. This requires that communications between different VLANs must go through a router, just as if you had multiple switches. A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. A digital subscriber line (DSL) modem is a device used to connect a computer or router to a telephone line which provides the digital subscriber line service for connection to the Internet. Dynamic NAT is a many-to-one mapping of a private IP address or subnets inside a local area network to a public IP address or subnet outside the local area network. The traffic from different zones and subnets over trusted (inside) IP addresses in the LAN segment is sent over a single public (outside) IP address.
You are building a virtualization environment to practice your penetration testing skills. This will require that you install several vulnerable Linux distributions as VMs. The VMs need to have access to a virtualized network but should not communicate with the host operating system or the internet. Which of the following types of network connections should you configure for each VM?
OBJ-4.2: The private network connection type will create a switch that is usable only by the VMs. The VMs cannot use the switch to communicate with the host. If you select internal, it can communicate between the host and the VMs. If you select external, the VMs would have internet access. If you select localhost, each VM could only communicate with itself.
If you are troubleshooting a S.M.A.R.T error on a customer’s PC, which of the following devices would you be troubleshooting?
OBJ-5.3: S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) is a monitoring technology that monitors storage devices like HDD (hard disk drive) and SSD (solid-state drive). This technology is used to provide the proper attribute errors or the drive’s current state to warn users and technicians of a pending drive failure.
Which tool is used to connect a cable to the rear of a patch panel or network wall jack?
OBJ-2.8: Punchdown tools are used to connect an ethernet cable to the back of a patch panel, a punchdown block, or the back of a network wall jack. A crimper is a tool used to attach an RJ-45 plastic connector to an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or shielded twisted pair (STP) cable. It pushes a portion of the plastic into the jacket of the cable to hold it in place. A cable tester is used to ensure a cable is properly created as a patch cable (straight through) or a crossover cable. Cable testers provide detailed information on the physical and electrical properties of the cable. For example, they test and report cable conditions, crosstalk, attenuation, noise, resistance, and other cable run characteristics. A cable stripper is used to remove the plastic jacket from an ethernet cable to access its internal wires (twisted pairs).
You want to create a website for your new technical support business. You decide to purchase an on-demand cloud-based server and install Linux, Apache, and WordPress on it to run your website. Which of the following best describes which type of service you have just purchased?
OBJ-4.1: Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) is focused on moving your servers and computers into the cloud. If you purchase a server in the cloud and then install and manage the operating system and software on it, this is Iaas. Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing service that enables consumers to rent fully configured systems that are set up for specific purposes. Software as a Service (SaaS) is ca loud computing service that enables a service provider to make applications available over the Internet to end-users. This can be a calendar, scheduling, invoicing, word processor, database, or other programs. For example, Google Docs and Office 365 are both word processing SaaS solutions. Desktop as a Service (DaaS) provides a full virtualized desktop environment from within a cloud-based service. This is also known as VDI (Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure) and is coming in large enterprise businesses focused on increasing their security and minimizing their operational expenses.
You are installing Windows 2019 on a rack-mounted server and hosting multiple virtual machines within the physical server. You just finished the installation and now want to begin creating and provisioning the virtual machines. Which of the following should you utilize to allow you to create and provision virtual machines?
OBJ-4.2: A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor, is a process that creates and runs virtual machines (VMs). A hypervisor allows one host computer to support multiple guest VMs by virtually sharing its resources, like memory and processing. To create and provision virtual machines within the Windows 2019 operating system, you can use a Type II hypervisor like VM Ware or VirtualBox. Disk Management is a system utility in Windows that enables you to perform advanced storage tasks. Device Manager is a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system that allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. Remote Desktop Services, known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to take control of a remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection.
(This is a simulated PBQ. If you had this question on the real exam, you would be asked to drag-and-drop a label with the component’s name onto the proper location on the motherboard.) Using the image of the motherboard above, which of the following correctly indicates the circled area?
OBJ-3.5: The area circled indicates the PCIe x1 slots. PCIe (peripheral component interconnect express) is an interface standard for connecting high-speed components. Every desktop PC motherboard has some PCIe slots you can use to add GPUs (video cards or graphics cards), RAID cards, network adapters, Wi-Fi cards, or SSD (solid-state drive) add-on cards. The types of PCIe slots available in your PC will depend on your motherboard and are designated as PCIe x1, x4, x8, and x16. PCIe x1 slots are usually used for external input/output devices such as network interface cards. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of the motherboard by sight.
Which of the following technologies combines the functionality of a firewall, malware scanner, and other security appliances into one device?
OBJ-2.5: A Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance enforces a variety of security-related measures, combining the work of a firewall, malware scanner, and intrusion detection/prevention. A UTM centralizes the threat management service, providing simpler configuration and reporting than isolated applications spread across several servers or devices. An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a device or software application that monitors a network or system for malicious activity or policy violations. Any malicious activity or violation is typically reported to an administrator or collected centrally using a security information and event management system. Unlike an IPS, which can stop malicious activity or policy violations, an IDS can only log these issues and not stop them. An intrusion prevention system (IPS) conducts the same functions as an IDS but can also block or take actions against malicious events. A Syslog server is a server that collects diagnostic and monitoring data from the hosts and network devices across a given network.
A client states that their computer is experiencing slow performance when reading or writing to the hard drive. You have already verified that it is not a system (software) performance issue, and the system is not overheating. Which of the following would be the BEST action to take in attempting to fix this problem?
OBJ-5.3: Slow performance can be a symptom of overheating or other problems. Since we eliminated overheating as the cause, the issue is most likely caused by a file system problem. To fix this problem, you should try running the disk repair tool or run the Disk Defragmenter tool (for non-SSD devices) to optimize the file system and read/write performance. Since there are no grinding or clicking sounds being observed, it is unlikely that the hard drive will fail soon making backing up the hard drive a lower priority. The system cooling fans are not the issue otherwise the system would be overheating.
You are installing a new wireless network in your office building and want to ensure it is secure. Which of the following configurations would create the MOST secure wireless network?
OBJ-2.4: The most secure wireless network configuration utilizes WPA2 with AES encryption. WPA2 is the most secure wireless encryption standard listed as an option and has replaced both WPA and WEP. Wi-Fi protected access version 2 (WPA2) replaced the original version of WPA after the completion of the 802.11i security standard. WPA2 features an improved method of key distribution and authentication for enterprise networks, though the pre-shared key method is still available for home and small office networks. WPA2 uses the improved AES cipher with counter mode with cipher-block chaining message authentication protocol (CCMP) for encryption. Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) is an improved encryption scheme for protecting Wi-Fi communications designed to replace WEP. WPA uses the RC4 cipher and a temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP) to overcome the vulnerabilities in the older WEP protection scheme. Wired equivalent privacy (WEP) is an older mechanism for encrypting data sent over a wireless connection. WEP is considered vulnerable to attacks that could probably break its encryption. WEP relies on the use of a 24-bit initialization vector to secure its preshared key. MAC filtering is the application of an access control list to a switch or access point so that only clients with approved MAC addresses connect.
(This is a simulated PBQ. If you had this question on the real exam, you would be asked to drag-and-drop a label with the component’s name onto the proper location on the port cluster.) Using the image above, which of the following correctly indicates the port labeled as J?
OBJ-3.1: These ports are the USB 2.0 connections. This is indicated by their black color (instead of being red or blue for USB 3.0 ports). Universal serial bus (USB) is the main type of connection interface used on desktops and laptops. A larger Type A connector attaches to a port on the host; Type B and Mini- or Micro-Type B connectors are used for devices. USB 1.1 supports 12 Mbps while USB 2.0 supports 480 Mbps and is backward compatible with 1.1 devices which run at a slower speed. USB devices are considered hot-swappable and each device can draw up to 2.5 W of power over a USB port. USB 3.0 and 3.1 define 5 Gbps (SuperSpeed) and 10 Gbps (SuperSpeed+) rates and can deliver up to 4.5 W of power. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of a motherboard’s rear port cluster by sight.
What type of cloud service bills consumers based on the actual usage of the service and may charge different prices based on the time of day it was utilized?
OBJ-4.1: Metered services are pre-paid, a-la-carte, pay-per-use, or committed offerings. A metered service like a database may charge its users based on the actual usage of the service resources on an hourly or monthly basis. For example, Dion Training used the AWS Lambda serverless product in some of our automation. This service charges us $0.20 for every 1 million requests processed. Resource pooling refers to the concept that allows a virtual environment to allocate memory and processing capacity for a VMs use. Rapid elasticity is used to describe scalable provisioning or the capability to provide scalable cloud computing services. Rapid elasticity is very critical to meet the fluctuating demands of cloud users. The downside of rapid elasticity implementations is that they can cause significant loading of the system due to the high resource number of allocation and deallocation requests. Measured service is a term that IT professionals apply to cloud computing that references services where the cloud provider measures or monitors the provision of services for various reasons, including billing, effective use of resources, or overall predictive planning.
Which of the following protocols operates over port 3389 by default?
OBJ-2.1: The remote desktop protocol (RDP) is a protocol used for the remote administration of a host using a graphical user interface. RDP operates over TCP port 3389. Secure shell (SSH) is the protocol used for remote administration and file copying using TCP port 22. SSH is considered secure since it uses authenticated and encrypted sessions for communication. Telnet is the protocol used for remote command-line administration of a host using TCP port 23. Telnet is considered insecure since it is unauthenticated and unencrypted. The post office protocol (POP3) is a TCP/IP application protocol providing a means for a client to access email messages stored in a mailbox on a remote server over port 110. The server usually deletes messages once the client has downloaded them.
A user wants to print a spreadsheet horizontally on a piece of paper instead of vertically to fit more columns on a single page. What setting should the user enable on the printer for this print job to achieve this result?
OBJ-3.10: By default, Microsoft Excel prints worksheets in portrait orientation (taller than wide). You can change the page orientation to landscape on a worksheet-by-worksheet basis. Page orientation is how a rectangular page is oriented for normal viewing. The two most common types of orientation are portrait (taller rather than wider) and landscape (wider rather than taller). The collate setting allows the gathering and arranging of individual sheets or other printed components into a pre-determined sequence. Collating creates consistent, logical sets from multiple parts, such as printing a series of pages in a report like pages 1, 2, 3 before printing the second copy. This makes it easier to staple and distribute to people after coming out of the printer. Duplex printing is a feature of some computer printers, multi-function printers (MFPs), and copy machines that allow the printing of a sheet of paper on both sides automatically. Without this capability, print devices can only print on a single side of the paper, sometimes called single-sided printing or simplex printing. With duplex printing, information is printed on the front side of a piece of paper, and then the paper is automatically fed back through the printer to print the information on the backside of the paper. The term transparency was made up as a distractor for this question.
You have just set up a Minecraft server on a spare computer within your network and want your friends to connect to it over the internet. What do you need to configure in your SOHO router to allow your friends to connect to the new Minecraft server you created?
OBJ-2.3: Port forwarding occurs when a router takes requests from the Internet for a particular application, such as HTTP/port 80), and sends them to a designated host on the local area network. This question did not mention that Wi-Fi was being used in the 2.4 GHz frequency range, therefore using channels 1, 6, and 11 is not required to minimize interference. The dynamic host control protocol (DHCP) is a protocol used to allocate IP addresses to a host when it joins a network. DHCP does not need to be configured to use a server and most servers use static IP addresses instead of dynamic ones. The firmware is a set of software instructions stored semi-permanently (embedded) on a hardware device. Modern types of firmware are stored in flash memory and can be updated more easily than legacy programmable Read-Only Memory (ROM) types.
You see some fading across your papers when printing things using a laser printer. The black color appears to be more faded than the other colors on your documents. What is the BEST solution to this problem?
OBJ-5.6: A symptom of low toner is faded or faint colors in your printed papers. Most modern printers will also indicate the amount of toner left using their on-screen display and present a warning message for low toner and an error message when the printer is completely out of toner. With color laser printers, there are four different toner colors used during printing: black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. If only the black appears to be faded, it is possible that it is running low on toner. This is a common problem since most employees print more black and white documents than color documents which leads to the black toner normally running out before the other colors.
You have been asked to troubleshoot a digital projector in the home theater in your neighbor’s basement. Your neighbor attempted to replace the projector’s bulb, but after running for a few minutes, a message appears on the screen, and the projector turns itself off again. Based on these symptoms, what are the MOST likely causes of the projector continually turning off after just a few minutes of usage with a new bulb? (Select TWO)
OBJ-5.4: Most projectors keep track of the life of a bulb/lamp using a life counter. If you forget to reset the life counter after replacing the bulb/lamp, the projector can often turn itself off since it believes the bulb/lamp still needs to be replaced. Another cause of a project turning itself off is when it overheats. This can be caused by an overly dirty cooling fan or a failed cooling fan. To solve this issue, simply clean or replace the cooling fan to prevent the projector from overheating.
Your computer keeps losing track of time and the date in the system. Which of the following is MOST likely causing this issue?
OBJ-5.2: Most motherboards (especially older ones) have a small coin-sized battery installed on them to power the CMOS RAM when the computer is powered down. This is where the BIOS settings and date/time are saved when power is removed from a workstation. If a computer continually loses track of the day/time, this is a classic sign that the CMOS battery is dead and needs to be replaced. Please note that some newer motherboards have replaced the need for a CMOS battery by replacing it with an area of nonvolatile memory used instead to store the BIOS settings and the date/time.
Which type of internet connection allows for high-speed bi-directional data communication over a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) connection?
OBJ-2.7: A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG), and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband internet access as cable internet, taking advantage of an HFC and RFoG network’s high bandwidth. “Fiber to the X” (FTTx) is commonly used to describe where the fiber connection ends between the service and the subscriber. The closer the fiber is to the user’s network, the faster the service. FTTH (fiber to the house) provides fiber directly to the user’s home network making it the fastest option. Traditionally, you will find a 1 Gbps connection or higher with FTTH. FTTN (fiber to the node) or FTTC (fiber to the curb/cabinet) provides fiber only to the local area or neighborhood but then uses copper cabling from the node/cabinet/curb to the home network, which slows down the network (generally, 100-200 Mbps). Satellite systems provide far bigger areas of coverage than can be achieved using other technologies. A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) microwave antenna is aligned to an orbital satellite that can either relay signals between sites directly or via another satellite. DSL is a technology used to transmit multimedia traffic at high-bit rates over twisted-pair copper wire (over ordinary telephone lines). This allows the telecommunications company to connect a user’s home to the local switching center using normal telephone lines, then connect that local switching center (using a DSLAM to multiplex the connections) to the central office over a single high-speed cable (such as a fiber connection).
John is setting up 100 Windows 10 computers for a new corporate office. He wants to ensure that unauthorized applications are prevented from being installed during the bootup process. What feature should he ensure is enabled?
OBJ-3.5: The purpose of Secure Boot is to prevent malicious and unauthorized apps from loading into the operating system (OS) during the startup process. Secure Boot is enabled by default in Windows 10. When the PC starts, the firmware checks the signature of each piece of boot software, including UEFI firmware drivers (also known as Option ROMs), EFI applications, and the operating system. If the signatures are valid, the PC boots and the firmware gives control to the operating system. The OEM can use instructions from the firmware manufacturer to create Secure boot keys and to store them in the PC firmware. When you add UEFI drivers, you’ll also need to make sure these are signed and included in the Secure Boot database. Full disk encryption is used to encrypt the user and system data stored in the device’s internal storage. RAM integrity checking is conducted by default on most systems during the initial boot process but it doesn’t check the contents of the memory for malware. The BIOS password would prevent the system from booting up without the correct password being entered, but this would not prevent unauthorized applications from being installed during the bootup process.
You have been assigned a trouble ticket for a workstation that is unable to boot. When you arrive at the workstation, you recognize an error message on the screen that reads, “Error loading operating system, BOOTMGR is missing, Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart.” Which of the following actions should you take first?
OBJ-5.3: To troubleshoot the failed boot, you must reboot the computer and enter into recovery mode. In Windows 10, you will need to boot from the installation disc, select “Repair your computer”, and then enter the command-line interface (CLI). From the CLI, enter the command “bootrec /fixmbr” to repair the master boot record. Once completed, reboot the computer and allow it to load into Windows.
(This is a simulated PBQ. If you had this question on the real exam, you would be asked to drag-and-drop a label with the component’s name onto the proper location on the port cluster.) Using the image above, which of the following correctly indicates the port labeled as F?
OBJ-3.1: This port is the DVI-D connection. This is not a DVI-I since there is only a dash and not a cross on the right side of the port. This means it only supports digital and not analog connections. The digital video interface (DVI) came in three models: DVI-A (analog), DVI-D (digital), and DVI-D (analog and digital known as integrated). DVI adapters were designed to replace the VGA ports used in legacy CRT monitors but they were themselves replaced by HDMI. While this is an older technology, you will still see them commonly used in corporate environments. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of a motherboard’s rear port cluster by sight.
Which of the following devices should be installed as an intermediary between your clients and the web servers they want to connect to make an HTTP request from the client, check it, and then forward it to its destination?
OBJ-2.5: A proxy server takes a whole HTTP request from a client, checks it, then forwards it to the destination computer on the Internet. When the reply comes back, it checks it and then shuttles it back to the LAN computer. A proxy can be used for other types of traffic too. A proxy server can usually operate either as a transparent service, in which case the client requires no special configuration or as a non-transparent service that requires configuration. A proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server that provides that resource. A proxy server can be used to filter content and websites from reaching a user. A file server is used to host and control access to shared files and folders for the organization. A dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server is a server configured with a range of addresses to lease. Hosts can be allocated an IP address dynamically or be assigned a reserved IP address based on the host’s MAC address. The server can also provide other configuration information, such as the location of DNS servers. A domain name system (DNS) server is a server that hosts the database of domain names and the IP addresses mapped to those names. Each DNS server is authoritative for certain domain names that their organization owns.
