Exam 3

Question 1

What RAID level requires at least three hard disks to operate?

Answer 1

OBJ-5.3: RAID 5 requires at least three hard disks to operate. There is no maximum number of disks required. The parity data is spread across all drives to provide redundancy, which allows the array to operate even with one of the drives fails. RAID 5 is considered one of the most popular and widely used RAID configurations. A RAID 5 provides block-level striping with distributed parity to provide redundancy using a minimum of three 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 10 combines disk mirroring and disk striping to protect data stored in the array and required a minimum of four disks.

Question 2

Which of the following cables is NOT used by Android smartphones and tablets?

Answer 2

OBJ-1.5: Android devices do NOT use the lightning cable because it is a proprietary 8-pin port and connector used solely by Apple devices. The Lightning connector is reversible and can be inserted in either direction. 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. USB-C is the default standard used in USB 3.1 with a 24-pin connector. The connector is reversible and can be inserted in either direction. Micro USB is a miniaturized version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface developed for connecting compact and mobile devices such as smartphones, Mp3 players, GPS devices, photo printers, and digital cameras. Micro USB connectors exist or have existed in three forms: micro A, micro B, and micro USB 3. Mini USB was introduced with USB 2.0 and was used with digital cameras and early tablets. Mini USB is not commonly used in modern devices.

Question 3

You have connected your laptop to the network using a CAT 5e cable but received an IP address of 169.254.13.52 and cannot connect to www.DionTraining.com. What is most likely the cause of this issue?

Answer 3

OBJ-5.7: A DHCP Server is a network server that automatically provides and assigns IP addresses, default gateways, and other network parameters to client devices. It relies on the standard protocol known as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or DHCP to respond to clients’ broadcast queries. Since you have received an APIPA address (169.254.13.52), this signifies a DHCP failure. If a user is unable to access a website by using its domain name but can by its IP address, then this indicates a DNS resolution issue instead. ARP caches rely on layer 2 addresses known as MAC addresses, not IP addresses. Duplicate IP addresses will create an error on the screen instead of issuing an APIPA address as shown in this example.

Question 4

You want to buy a new computer that will allow you to run at least 3 virtual machines (VMs) at the same time to practice for your CompTIA exams. You also know in the future that you would like to set up a virtual ethical hacking lab with numerous VMs to study for the CompTIA PenTest+ exam. Which TWO of the following components is the MOST important to upgrade if you want to simultaneously run numerous VMs?

Answer 4

OBJ-3.8: If you want good performance for a computer used for extensive virtualization (such as multiple virtual machines running at once), you should maximize the CPU and the RAM. The CPU should support virtualization and be a multicore processor. The memory should be fast and contain at least 16 GB of RAM to host numerous VMs effectively. These are the most important components when building a virtualization machine to support numerous VMs.

Question 5

Which of the following ports is used by LDAP by default?

Answer 5

OBJ-2.1: The lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) is a protocol used to access and update information in an X.500-style network resource directory. LDAP uses port 389. The service location protocol (SLP) is a protocol or method of organizing and locating the resources (such as printers, disk drives, databases, e-mail directories, and schedulers) in a network. This is an alternative protocol to LDAP in newer networks. SLP uses port 427. 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. The domain name system (DNS) protocol is the protocol used to provide names for an IP address based on their mappings in a database using TCP/UDP port 53.

Question 6

A workstation is having intermittent issues and continues to receive system errors or freeze. You believe that the problem is being caused by the workstation’s motherboard, not getting the proper amount of power to it, and you want to perform a test to confirm your theory. Which of the following tools should you use to determine if the proper amount of power is being supplied to the motherboard?

Answer 6

OBJ-2.8: A multimeter can measure the voltage, amperage, and resistance of a circuit. A multimeter can be a hand-held device useful for basic fault finding and field service work or a bench instrument that can measure electricity with a high degree of accuracy. Using a multimeter, you can determine the exact voltage being supplied to the motherboard from the workstation’s power supply. A POST card is a plug-in diagnostic interface card that displays progress and error codes generated during the power-on self-test of a computer. A loopback plug is used to test a port. When you connect a loopback plug to a port, you should see a solid connection LED. You can also use the loopback plug in conjunction with diagnostic software. 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.

Question 7

A penetration tester wants to build a workstation that will be used to brute force hash digests. Which of the following is the BEST option to ensure sufficient power and speed to crack them?

Answer 7

OBJ-3.5: Dedicated GPUs are designed to conduct complex mathematical functions extremely quickly. If you want to build a system to perform the cracking of a password, hash, or encryption algorithm, it is important to have a high-speed, dedicated GPU. The reason to use a GPU instead of a CPU for password cracking is that it is much faster for this mathematically intensive type of work. Cracking passwords, hashes, and encryption is a lot like mining cryptocurrency in that using dedicated GPUs will give you the best performance.

Question 8

A user wants to run Windows 10 on their new Macbook without dual booting with Boot Camp. What software would allow the user to run Windows inside of OS X by using a Type 2 hypervisor?

Answer 8

OBJ-4.2: Virtual Box is a Type 2 hypervisor that allows you to install the software inside your existing operating system. You can then install a virtual machine containing another guest operating system. For example, a macOS system can have Virtual Box installed and then utilize Windows as a guest operating system inside a virtual machine hosted by Virtual Box. Vmware ESXi, Hyper-V, and RHEV are all Type 1, bare-metal hypervisors.

Question 9

Which of the following types of data should you transmit over UDP?

Answer 9

OBJ-2.1: UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a connectionless, non-guaranteed method of data communication. It does not provide any sequencing or flow control. Data sent over UDP could be lost and never resent. For this reason, UDP is not used for general web browsing or activity over HTTP/HTTPS (Ports 80 and 443). UDP is very good at delivering streaming media, though, since UDP is faster than TCP. Streaming videos or making Voice over IP (VoIP) calls are examples of use cases that rely upon UDP for their transmission.

Question 10

Which of the following hard drive form factors would be connected to your laptop internally using a Micro SATA connection?

Answer 10

OBJ-1.1: A laptop hard drive usually comes in either the 2.5” form factor or the 1.8” form factor. When a 1.8” form factor is used, the drive is connected to the laptop using a Micro SATA connector since a regular SATA connector will not fit due to the connector’s larger size. An M.2 is a new set of form factors for an SSD that uses a mini card interface that is faster than a SATA connection. A 3.5” drive is only used in desktops and some networked file servers.

Question 11

Which option would you MOST likely use to configure PXE to set up remote imaging on a computer during a deployment?

Answer 11

OBJ-3.5: To configure a computer to utilize the PXE boot option, you need to configure it under the BIOS boot option. The Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) is an industry-standard client/server interface that allows networked computers that are not yet loaded with an operating system to be configured and booted remotely by an administrator. Secure boot is a security system offered by UEFI that is designed to prevent a computer from being hijacked by malware. Power management allows Windows to reduce or turn off the power supplied to hardware components to save energy.

Question 12

You have just finished installing a virtual machine on a workstation. Your boss asks you to install a second virtual machine with the same settings. To save time, which of the following functions should you use?

Answer 12

OBJ-4.2: Cloning is a function that allows you to fully copy an existing virtual machine and its current configuration. This allows you to quickly deploy an exact copy without having to reconfigure everything again manually. Virtual machine migration is the task of moving a virtual machine from one physical hardware environment to another. Secure copy protocol is a means of securely transferring computer files between a local host and a remote host or between two remote hosts over port 22. Shadow Copy is a technology included in Microsoft Windows that can create backup copies or snapshots of computer files or volumes, even when they are in use.

Question 13

You had just bought a top-of-the-line smartphone 2 months ago. In the last week, though, the smartphone seems to be running slowly. About 3 weeks ago, a new version of the phone’s operating system was installed. At first, everything was still working fine, but this week the smartphone is very sluggish. You brought the smartphone back to the store to diagnose the problem. They have run a full set of diagnostics on the smartphone’s hardware, but no issues were found to exist with the hardware. What do you think is MOST likely causing the poor performance with this smartphone?

Answer 13

OBJ-5.5: The most likely cause for the slowdown of this top-of-the-line smartphone is that too many apps are simultaneously trying to perform an update, and it is overwhelming the processor and memory. This commonly occurs within a week or two of a newly installed OS version. For example, if we upgrade from iOS 14 to iOS 15, all of the apps are updated and recoded to support the newer OS version. They are usually released within 1-2 weeks of the newly released version. Since the hardware passed all the diagnostics, the problem cannot be the internal storage. The OS update isn’t too resource-intensive since it is only a two-month-old top-of-the-line device.

Question 14

You are troubleshooting a workstation for a customer. The workstation will not boot. When it is powered on, an error message of “OS not found” is displayed on the screen. What is the MOST likely solution to fix this error?

Answer 14

OBJ-5.3: The “OS not found” error at boot time is an indication that the MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (Globally Unique ID Partition Table) is corrupted or faulty. If this occurs, you should reboot into the Windows recovery mode and use the ‘bootrec /fixmbr’ command to fix the MBR.

Question 15

Your son accidentally knocked his laptop off his desk while it was charging. Your son picks up the laptop and notices that the laptop’s battery will no longer charge. You begin to troubleshoot the problem to identify the cause. You ensure the laptop is connected to the power adapter and that the power adapter is plugged into a power outlet, but the laptop’s battery will still not charge. Which of the following components was MOST likely damaged when the laptop was knocked off of the desk?

Answer 15

OBJ-5.5: One of the most important parts of any good laptop is the DC power jack. This item allows you to charge your battery and provides you with a steady source of electricity. If it fails, your laptop will lose power and eventually be unable to turn it on. If your battery won’t charge or will only charge if the connection is made at a certain angle, this is usually an indication that the DC power jack has failed. To rule out the battery or power adapter as the source of the problem, you can use a multimeter to ensure they are providing the right amount of power.

Question 16

(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 I?

Answer 16

OBJ-3.2: This port is the RJ-45 connection or network interface card (NIC) port that is used to connect a computer to a wired network. An RJ-45 connector is used to terminate a copper twisted-pair Ethernet cable. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of a motherboard’s rear port cluster by sight.

Question 17

Sally just purchased a new iPhone and AirPods to listen to her music. After setting up the new iPhone, she can get online and watch YouTube, but her wireless headphones aren’t working. Which of the following is MOST likely the problem?

Answer 17

OBJ-5.5: Since Sally can connect to the internet, either her cellular or WiFi is enabled, and the phone would not be in airplane mode. Since AirPods work over Bluetooth, it is most likely that the Bluetooth is not enabled on the new phone and should be turned on. Once Bluetooth is enabled, the Airpods will need to be paired to the device to begin using them.

Question 18

Your company has recently migrated much of your data center to the cloud. Now, your boss needs a method to monitor all services used in supporting your customers to be properly billed based on their usage. Which of the following cloud computing concepts is your boss describing?

Answer 18

OBJ-4.1: 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. 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. 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. Resource pooling refers to the concept that allows a virtual environment to allocate memory and processing capacity for a VMs use.

Question 19

What type of connector is used to terminate a coaxial cable?

Answer 19

OBJ-3.2: The F type connector is used with coaxial cables. Both RG-6 and RG-59 are cable types used for coaxial cable connections. RG-6 cabling is recommended for your Cable TV, satellite, TV antennas, or broadband internet. RG-59 cabling is generally better for most CCTV systems and other analog video signals. An RJ-45 connector is used to terminate a copper twisted-pair Ethernet cable. A DB-9 connector is used to terminate an RS-232 serial cable. An RJ-11 connector is used to terminate cables used for phone lines.

Question 20

Rick, a computer technician, was contacted by a customer who wants to reduce his office computer’s footprint to save space. Which of the following cases is the smallest form factor?

Answer 20

OBJ-3.5: Since the customer wants to save space and reduce the computer’s overall size, Rick should use an mITX (Mini-ITX). The mITX contains a smaller footprint than the other options presented and measures only 6.7” x 6.7” in size. The mATX (microATX) motherboard’s form factor is 9.6” x 9.6” in size (24 cm x 24 cm). The mATX form factor is commonly used in smaller computer systems with a small form factor (SFF) case. An mATX motherboard is backward-compatible with the larger ATX motherboard since it contains the same mounting point locations as the full-size board. An ATX motherboard’s form factor is 12” x 9.6” in size (305mm x 244mm). ITX is a series of form factors which began with the mini-ITX, but there is no specific size called ITX.

Question 21

You are building a new server and want to ensure that its memory can allow the server to continue working even if there is an issue that corrupts data held within the memory modules. Which of the following types of memory should you select for the server?

Answer 21

OBJ-3.3: Error checking and correcting or error correcting code (ECC) is a type of system memory that has built-in error correction security. ECC is more expensive than normal memory and requires support from the motherboard. ECC is commonly used in production servers and not in standard desktops or laptops. Single-channel memory is any memory using one 64-bit bus between the CPU and the RAM. Dual-channel memory is a memory controller with two primary pathways through the bus to the CPU to transfer 128-bits of data in each transaction. Non-parity memory is a type of system memory that does not perform error checking except when conducting the initial startup memory count.

Question 22

You are working on a customer’s laptop. The image on the display suddenly becomes very dark and hard to see. You attempt to adjust the brightness and contrast of the laptop’s display using the special function keys, but this doesn’t brighten the display much. You pull out a bright flashlight and can see the image displayed a little better when using it. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty and needs to be replaced?

Answer 22

OBJ-1.2: 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. 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. 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.

Question 23

Which port is used to connect to a POP3 server?

Answer 23

OBJ-1.6: 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 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 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.

Question 24

Which of the following types of connectors are used to terminate a CAT 5e network cable?

Answer 24

OBJ-3.2: RJ-45 refers to a cable termination specification that specifies physical male and female connectors and the pin assignments of data jacks that can be used for networks and VOIP telephone cables. RJ-45 is an 8-pin/8-position plug or jack commonly used to connect computers onto Ethernet-based local area networks (LAN) and consists of two wiring schemes: T568A and T568B. An RJ-11 connector is used to terminate cables used for phone lines. A Molex connector is used to provide power to internal components of a computer from the power supply.

Question 25

Which of the following ports is used by the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol to share files and printers on a Windows network?

Answer 25

OBJ-2.1: The server message block (SMB)/common internet file system (CIFS) is a protocol used for requesting files from Windows servers and delivering them to clients. SMB allows machines to share files and printers, thereby making them available for other machines to use. Samba software allows UNIX and Linux servers or NAS appliances to run SMB services for Windows clients. SMB operates on port 445. The hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is a secure protocol used to provide web content to browsers using SSL/TLS encryption over port 443. The file transfer protocol (FTP) is the protocol used to transfer files across the internet over ports 20 and 21. 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.

Question 26

While troubleshooting a switch at the Dion Training offices, you believe that one of the ports on a switch is defective. To prove your hypothesis, which of the following tools should you use?

Answer 26

OBJ-2.8: A loopback plug is used to test a port. It involves connecting pin 1 to pin 3 and pin 2 to pin 6. You can do this either by rewiring the jack or twisting the relevant pairs together on a cable stub. Alternatively, you can purchase a prefabricated loopback plug. When you connect a loopback plug to a port, you should see a solid connection LED. You can also use the loopback plug in conjunction with diagnostic software. 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. 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.

Question 27

You are building a Desktop PC for a newly hired employee at Dion Training. The computer’s motherboard doesn’t have a wireless network adapter integrated into it, so you need to purchase an expansion card to provide this functionality. Which of the following motherboard connections will most likely be used to connect the wireless network adapter card?

Answer 27

OBJ-3.5: PCIe (peripheral component interconnect express) is an interface standard for connecting high-speed components. Every desktop PC motherboard has several 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. Network adapters and Wi-Fi network cards almost exclusively rely on PCIe x1 expansion slots or a USB connection for their connectivity. Graphics cards usually rely on a PCIe x16 expansion slot. eSATA is an external SATA port used to connect an external storage device such as a hard drive. The accelerated graphics port (AGP) is a parallel expansion card standard that was originally designed for attaching a video card to a computer system to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. AGP has been replaced with PCIe due to its faster speeds.

Question 28

Which of the following is an APIPA or link-local address?

Answer 28

OBJ-2.6: IP addresses are either public, private, localhost, or APIPA addresses. 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. An APIPA address is also referred to as a link-local address. 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. All others are considered public IP addresses.

Question 29

Both Apple and Samsung have released their own version of contactless mobile payment solutions. For example, Apple Pay allows users to place their iPhone or Apple Watch within an inch of a credit card machine at a store to make a payment. Which of the following wireless technologies do these types of payment systems rely upon?

Answer 29

OBJ-1.5: NFC, or near-field communication, 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. 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). Bluetooth is commonly used when connecting wireless devices like mice, trackpads, headphones, and other devices. 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. Wi-Fi is the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless networking based on spread spectrum radio transmission in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The standard has six main iterations (a, b, g, n, ac, and ax), describing different modulation techniques, supported distances, and data rates.

Question 30

Which RAID solution will provide the BEST speed and redundancy for a backup and disaster recovery server?

Answer 30

OBJ-3.4: RAID 10 provides the system with both speed and efficiency. With RAID 10, the system has a mirror of striped disks for full redundancy and double fault tolerance. RAID 10 configuration (also known as RAID 1+0) requires a minimum of four disks and mirrors data across a striped disk pair. This is not only the best option presented in this question but also the most expensive option. 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.

Question 31

(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?

Answer 31

OBJ-3.5: The area circled indicates the AGP slot on this motherboard. The accelerated graphics port (AGP) is a parallel expansion card standard that was originally designed for attaching a video card to a computer system to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. AGP has been replaced with PCIe due to its faster speeds. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of the motherboard by sight.

Question 32

What material is first applied to a CPU during installation to help draw excess heat away from the processor?

Answer 32

OBJ-3.5: Thermal paste is a paste used to connect a heat sink to a CPU that provides a liquid thermally conductive compound gel to fill any gaps between the CPU and the heat sink to transfer heat more efficiently to the heat sink from the CPU. 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. Liquid cooling uses a system of pumping water throughout the chassis to dissipate the heat generated by the processors. Liquid cooling is more effective at removing the heat than a fan-based system and quieter, too.

Question 33

You just bought a new Virtual Reality headset to use with your computer. To ensure your computer is ready to support the new VR games, which of the following should you install?

Answer 33

OBJ-1.4: Virtual Reality (VR) requires a fast processor, lots of memory, and, most importantly, a dedicated graphics card. To support lag-free virtual reality and reduce headaches/eye pain, you need to ensure you have a high-end dedicated graphics card or GPU in your system. 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). Bluetooth is commonly used when connecting wireless devices like mice, trackpads, headphones, and other devices. A hard disk drive (HDD) is a device providing persistent mass storage for a workstation or laptop by saving data even when the computer is turned off. Data is stored using platters with a magnetic coating that are spun under disk heads that can read and write to locations on each platter known as sectors.

Question 34

A student wants to use their workstation to run several virtual machines. The workstation currently has an i7 quad-core processor, 4 GB of DDR3 memory, a 512 GB SSD, and a gigabit network interface card. Which of the following components should the student upgrade to support multiple virtual machines running simultaneously on the Windows workstation?

Answer 34

OBJ-5.2: This workstation is sufficient to run multiple virtual machines as long as the RAM is upgraded. Windows 10 requires at least 2 GB of memory, so only having 4 GB of memory for the entire system is too little to run multiple VMs. It is recommended to upgrade to at least 16 GB of RAM to allow this workstation to support multiple VMs. A virtualization machine needs a lot of memory, multiple processor cores (this already has 4 cores), adequate storage (512 GB of SSD is adequate), and a high-speed network card (1 Gbps is sufficient).

Question 35

Which of the following is the virtualization technology supported by most modern Intel processors?

Answer 35

OBJ-4.2: To use virtualization and have virtual machines running on a single workstation, you need to have a CPU specifically designed to support virtualization. For Intel processors, they must support VT or Virtualization Technology. If you are using an AMD processor, it should support AMD-V (AMD’s virtualization technology). HyperThreading (HT) is an Intel CPU architecture implemented to expose two or more logical processors to the OS to deliver performance benefits. Intel-V is a made-up term used as a distractor on this question.

Question 36

Which of the following internet connection types utilizes analog, audible signals being passed over a traditional phone line to connect two computer systems?

Answer 36

OBJ-2.7: Dial-up is simply a telephone conversation between two computers. Whereas with DSL, this “conversation” is pushed to the higher frequency parts of the phone line, with dial-up, it occupies the whole frequency range, but not very efficiently. Ordinary telephone charges apply for each session’s duration, and the phone line cannot be used for voice calls at the same time. A dial-up link is a very low bandwidth.

Question 37

A workstation in Dion Training’s conference room is experiencing an issue when trying to boot into Windows. When the workstation is powered on, the workstation is booting up into Kali Linux instead of Windows 10. The workstation is in a closed wooden cabinet under a large television. The technician shutdown the workstation, opened the case, and verified that the memory modules and cables are properly connected. There is only one hard drive installed in the workstation, but the technician does observe an 8GB USB thumb drive connected to a rear USB 3.0 port. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for the workstation booting into Kali Linux instead of Windows?

Answer 37

OBJ-5.3: The most likely reason for the workstation booting into Kali Linux instead of Windows is that the boot order of the devices is incorrect. If the boot order is set to boot from USB before the internal hard disk drive, the system will check for any connected bootable USB drives before attempting to boot from the internal hard disk drive. Kali Linux is commonly run from an external USB thumb drive as a Live distribution, therefore, it is likely that someone connected the USB drive to perform a demonstration and forgot to unplug it when they were done. If the system was overheating, it would cause intermittent reboots instead of booting into the incorrect operating system. Each motherboard will only support certain types of memory modules, so it is not possible to use both DDR3 and DDR4 in the same workstation. DDR3 and DDR4 are two different form factors that use different notches, therefore, they will physically not fit into a different type of slot. If the hard drive was failing, the workstation would experience data loss or a failure to boot up.

Question 38

What describes how many times the image on the monitor changes per second?

Answer 38

OBJ-3.6: Refresh rate is defined by the vertical scan frequency of a monitor and how many times in one second an image can be redrawn on the screen. LCD monitors have a fixed refresh rate based on the specifications of their panel. Generally, a monitor is rated with a refresh rate of 60 Hz, 72 Hz, or 120 Hz, with the higher refresh rate being considered better quality and easier on the user’s eyes. For high-performance gaming systems, a 120 Hz monitor is desired for smoother motion and graphics. The aspect ratio is defined as the ratio of width to height in a display. The frame rate is defined as the number of times the image in a video stream changes per second as expressed in Hertz (Hz) or Frames per Second (fps). The yaw rate is a made-up term for the exam and is used as a distractor in this question. The resolution is the measure of the number of picture elements (pixels) that an imaging device can use to sample or display the image as measured in pixels per inch (PPI).

Question 39

Which of the following protocols operates over port 110 by default?

Answer 39

OBJ-2.1: 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 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 server message block (SMB)/common internet file system (CIFS) is a protocol used for requesting files from Windows servers and delivering them to clients. SMB allows machines to share files and printers, thereby making them available for other machines to use. Samba software allows UNIX and Linux servers or NAS appliances to run SMB services for Windows clients. SMB operates on port 445. The domain name system (DNS) protocol is the protocol used to provide names for an IP address based on their mappings in a database using TCP/UDP port 53.

Question 40

Tony, a system administrator, set up a printer on John’s workstation. During the setup, Tony was able to print a test page. Later, when John attempted to print a document, an error message was displayed that indicates access was denied to the printer. John tried to restart the printer and workstation, but the same error message is displayed when he attempts to print a document. Which of the following MOST likely caused this issue?

Answer 40

OBJ-5.6: A printer needs the user to have the proper permissions to print. Since Tony was a system administrator, he had adequate permissions to print the test page. But, if Tony neglected to add the proper permissions to John’s account, then John would be unable to print. This is indicated by the access denied error message received when he attempts to print a document. The printer is not offline since it is powered on and properly connected to the workstation. The print spooler is not hung as evidenced by the system administrator can print to it. Memory limitations can be a factor, but that produces a different error message.

Question 41

Which of the following types of data should you transmit over TCP?

Answer 41

OBJ-2.1: TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a slower but more reliable data delivery protocol. TCP is responsible for ensuring that packets arrive error-free and without loss. If you are doing something that must get to the destination without errors or data loss, such as a banking transaction or stock trade, it should be sent over TCP. The transmission control protocol (TCP) is a protocol in the TCP/IP suite that operates at the transport layer to provide connection-oriented, guaranteed delivery of packets. Hosts must first establish a session to exchange data and then confirm the delivery of packets using acknowledgments when using TCP. TCP is relatively slow in comparison to UDP.

Question 42

Which of the following devices would you configure an access control list (ACL) to implement a security policy within your network?

Answer 42

OBJ-2.2: A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules called an access control list (ACL). A firewall typically establishes a barrier between a trusted internal network and an untrusted external network, such as the internet. A switch is a network device that receives incoming data into a buffer, then the destination MAC address is compared with an address table so that data is only sent out to the port with the corresponding MAC address. In a switched network, each port is in a separate collision domain. A switch is a network device that receives incoming data into a buffer, then the destination MAC address is compared with an address table so that data is only sent out to the port with the corresponding MAC address. In a switched network, each port is in a separate collision domain. A hub provides no intelligence in its interconnection functions so that whatever is received on one port is repeated out every other port. This leads to many collisions occurring on the hub and increases the number of rebroadcasts which can slow down the entire network.

Question 43

Natalie just bought a new mobile Android phone, but her current phone is an iPhone. She needs to move all of her phone’s existing contacts and appointments from her calendar from her current phone to her new phone. Natalie’s iPhone was configured to use her Dion Training corporate account to save all her contacts and appointments to their cloud-based service, as well. Which of the following is the BEST way for Natalie to migrate her data from her old iPhone to her new Android device?

Answer 43

OBJ-1.7: Since Natalie has a corporate account used to synchronize data from her device to the cloud, the easier and quickest method would be to fully synchronize her contacts and appointments to her corporate cloud-based account from her old device first. Then, she can configure her new Android device to access her corporate account. It will automatically download and synchronize the data from the cloud-based servers onto her new Android device. Moving data over Bluetooth from an iPhone to an Android can be complicated, so using the cloud synchronization option would be easier and faster. You cannot use iTunes to move data from an iPhone to an Android device since iTunes only supports iPhone and iPad devices. While NFC can transfer data between two phones that are placed close together, it is not the optimal way to transmit large amounts of data such as all of the contacts or appointments from a previous phone.

Question 44

You have been asked to set up the corporate email on several mobile devices for Dion Training’s employees. The employees will use their mobile devices to send their emails when out of the office. Which of the following mail protocols should you configure to allow the employees to send their mail?

Answer 44

OBJ-1.6: You should configure SMTP since it is the only protocol used to send emails. POP3 and IMAP are used to receive emails. HTTPS is used for web browsing, not for receiving emails. 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 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 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.

Question 45

What type of services can allow you to get more storage and more resources added to the cloud as fast as possible?

Answer 45

OBJ-4.1: Rapid elasticity allows users to automatically request additional space in the cloud or other types of services. Because of the setup of cloud computing services, provisioning can be seamless for the client or user. Providers still need to allocate and de-allocate resources that are often irrelevant on the client or user’s side. This feature allows a service to be scaled up without purchasing, installing, and configuring new hardware, unlike if you had to install more physical storage into a server or datacenter. Resource pooling refers to the concept that allows a virtual environment to allocate memory and processing capacity for a VMs use. 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. 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.

Question 46

Your desktop computer is currently running out of internal storage space. You want to upgrade the workstation with more internal storage to store additional videos, photos, and backups. Which of the following is the BEST storage solution to avoid having to expand again next year while still meeting your need to store more data?

Answer 46

OBJ-3.4: Since you need an internal storage solution, you cannot use a NAS or SAN (since these are both network storage solutions). Instead, you have to select from the SSD or the HDD. In this question, we are primarily worried about the size of the storage being installed and not the storage speed. Therefore, we should choose the 3 TB HDD (hard disk drive) over the 1 TB SSD (solid-state drive) due to its larger size.

Question 47

A customer has asked you for the best way to watch videos from their network-attached storage device when they are away from home using their smartphone. Which of the following should you configure on their smartphone to BEST meet this requirement?

Answer 47

OBJ-3.8: The best method of watching television on a mobile device is to use a media streaming application. By installing a compatible media streaming application on the mobile device, the customer can access streaming content whenever and wherever they want. While other solutions like remote access or file sharing may also work, a media streaming application is the BEST solution for this customer’s needs. A file server is used to host and control access to shared files and folders for the organization, but they are not configured on the smartphone itself. Remote access applications like RDP and SSH are better for remote administration of a device than for media streaming. For media streaming, a dedicated application should be used instead for the best performance and minimal lag.

Question 48

Dion Training’s file server uses a RAID 5 for its main data store. Recently, the RAID began flashing from green to yellow. Additionally, an alert was received that stated, “RAID ARRAY DISK1 FAILURE”. Unfortunately, the company no longer has any spare 1 TB, 5400 RPM Seagate drives, so a technician replaces DISK1 with a 1 TB, 7200 RPM Western Digital drive. When the technician attempts to rebuild the array, the drive stays in degraded operation and continues to alert that “RAID ARRAY DISK1 FAILURE” is occurring. What is the most likely cause of this issue?

Answer 48

OBJ-5.3: In this scenario, likely, the replacement HDD may not be compatible with the RAID. This will cause the RAID to stay degraded and the alert to continue to display. Whenever you need to replace a disk in a RAID, it is considered a best practice to replace it with the same brand and model of the hard drive. For this reason, most professionals purchase spare hard drives when initially building out their RAID array.

Question 49

What is the smallest and fastest cache level that is located closest to the processor?

Answer 49

OBJ-3.5: Level 1 (L1) cache is the fastest and closest memory to the processor core. A CPU cache is a hardware cache used by the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer to reduce the average cost (time or energy) to access data from the main memory. A cache is a smaller, faster memory located closer to a processor core, storing copies of the data from frequently used main memory locations. Most CPUs have a hierarchy of multiple cache levels (L1, L2, L3, L4, etc.), with separate instruction-specific and data-specific caches at Level 1.

Question 50

Tim’s laptop was recently upgraded to Windows 11 but is now running more slowly due to the increased memory requirements. He has decided to install some additional RAM to speed up the laptop. Which of the following should he install?

Answer 50

OBJ-1.1: 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. 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. VRAM (video RAM) refers to any type of random access memory (RAM) specifically used to store image data for a computer display. GDDR5 is the DDR5 memory for a graphics card, not a laptop. 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.

Question 51

Several users from the Sales & Marketing department have called the service desk complaining that they cannot access the internet from their workstations. You arrive at the salesperson’s workstation, open the command prompt, and enter the command IPCONFIG. The command returns an IPv4 address of 10.1.2.3, a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and a default gateway of 10.1.2.1. You attempt to run the command “ping 8.8.8.8” but get the message “Request timed out” displayed four times on the screen. You attempt to ping the IP of the salesperson’s workstation sitting next to this workstation and receive four successful replies from the command. You then try to ping the gateway (10.1.2.1) but again receive the message of “Request timed out” on your screen. Which of the following is MOST likely the problem with the salespeople’s internet connectivity?

Answer 51

OBJ-5.7: Since you can ping other workstations within the Sales & Marketing department, but you cannot successfully ping the gateway device (the router), this indicates that the router is non-functioning at this time. If the router is not functioning, the workstations will be unable to access any devices or servers outside of the Sales & Marketing department since the router is necessary to connect them to those devices.

Question 52

An employee at Dion Consulting is configuring their Android smartphone to synchronize their email with their corporate Office 365 account. What type of credentials will the employee need?

Answer 52

OBJ-4.1: To configure the email client on an Android device with an Office 365 account, the employee will need their email and password. Since Office 365 is a mainstream service, it is well supported on both Android and iPhone smartphones. If your company is running its own email servers, though, then you would be required to enter the domain name, appropriate mail protocols, and authentication codes.

Question 53

Which of the following is a security concern when dealing with virtual machines?

Answer 53

OBJ-4.2: The process of developing, testing, and deploying images brings about the first major security concern with the virtual platform itself. This is the problem of rogue VMs. A rogue VM is one that has been installed without authorization. The uncontrolled deployment of more and more VMs is referred to as VM sprawl. After all, it is a lot easier to add a guest image to a server than it is to plug a new hardware server into the network. Resource pooling refers to the concept that allows a virtual environment to allocate memory and processing capacity for a VMs use. Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) is the processing of programs by multiple processors that share a common operating system and memory. 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.

Question 54

Your boss has asked you to select the technology for a new wireless network for the office. She stated that the new network must allow users to connect their laptops, smartphones, and tablets wirelessly. The technology selected should utilize the longest range possible without signal loss. Which of the following wireless technologies should be selected to meet these requirements?

Answer 54

OBJ-2.4: To meet these requirements, you should recommend 802.11ac because it allows for faster speeds than wireless b, g, and n, and it provides the longest ranges of the options provided. The 802.11ac can reach 115 feet (35 meters) using 8 MIMO streams for higher bandwidth, or up to 230 feet (70 meters) using only 4 MIMO streams to provide greater coverage at a lower 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 802.11n (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 802.11g (Wireless G) standard utilizes a 2.4 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.

Question 55

You have been dispatched to a customer’s office to help them fix their printer. You have asked the customer what the issue is, and the customer states, “The printer will not work.” You ask a few follow-up questions to understand the situation better and ask if any error messages were displayed. Which of the following steps of the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology best describes the actions you are currently taking?

Answer 55

OBJ-5.1: Based on the description in the question, it appears you are trying to gather more information about the problem and its symptoms for you to identify the problem. 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.

Question 56

You are configuring a new printer for a small real estate office. There are only 4 computers in the network, and they are all connected to a single 4-port switch/router/cable modem device. There are no additional open ports on the device and no servers configured within the network. All the computers operate as part of a single workgroup with no domain controller. You need to configure the printer to allow all 4 computers to print to it as long as they are connected to the switch. Which of the following methods would BEST allow the users to print to the printer based on this network’s configuration?

Answer 56

OBJ-3.10: Due to the small size of the network and the lack of additional open switch ports, it would BEST to connect the printer to one of the workstations and configure it as a shared printer. This will allow any of the other workstations to print to the shared printer via the connected workstation. This allows the workstation to act as a print server, which means that the computer must always be left on or the rest of the users would be unable to print. Bluetooth printing is set up as a one-to-one pairing between a single computer and a single printer that is located within 10 feet. Since this is a small office, they do not have a dedicated server to configure for use as a print server. Cloud printing is only supported by some printers and the question doesn’t specify if this printer supports this feature.

Question 57

You are trying to select the best device to install to proactively stop outside attackers from reaching your internal network. Which of the following devices would be the BEST for you to select?

Answer 57

OBJ-2.5: An intrusion prevention system (IPS) is a form of network security that detects and prevents identified threats. Intrusion prevention systems continuously monitor your network, looking for possible malicious incidents, and capturing information about them. An IPS can block malicious network traffic, unlike an IDS, which can only log them. A proxy server is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server providing that resource. System Logging Protocol (Syslog) uses port 514 and is a way network devices can use a standard message format to communicate with a logging server. It was designed specifically to make it easy to monitor network devices. Devices can use a Syslog agent to send out notification messages under a wide range of specific conditions.

Question 58

A customer is complaining that they smell a foul odor coming from their computer. If you open up the PC’s case and look inside, which of the following would you expect to see?

Answer 58

OBJ-5.2: A distended capacitor on a motherboard is an indication of a fault on the motherboard. Capacitors can bulge and release a substance that has a foul smell when they fail. Capacitors are tiny electrical components that are soldered onto the motherboard and aid in the storage and use of DC voltage. An unplugged Molex connection, broken LED light, or unseated RAM module would not produce any kind of odor or smell.

Question 59

You want to build a new gaming computer but intend to reuse as many of the parts as possible from your old computer. You have determined that the motherboard and the case will be reused, and you will purchase a new graphics card, sound card, network interface card, and a USB 3.0 expansion card to increase your system’s overall speed and performance. You are a bit worried that your old computer’s power supply may not be able to support all of these new expansion cards. Which of the following cards is MOST likely to consume the most power during operations and require you to purchase a new power supply to support it?

Answer 59

OBJ-3.7: The power consumption of today’s graphics cards has increased a lot. The top models demand between 110 and 270 watts from the power supply; in fact, a powerful graphics card under full load requires as much power as the rest of the components of a PC system combined. If your old computer didn’t have a dedicated graphics card, it is unlikely that the power supply will be powerful enough to support one without replacing the power supply. Most business computers have a 300-watt power supply. Most low-end gaming computers have a power supply of 450 to 500 watts. If you are building a high-end gaming workstation, you may require a power supply with 750 watts to 850 watts to support all processing power, graphics processing, and other expansion cards installed in the system.

Question 60

A customer is upset that their laptop is too slow during the bootup process and when loading programs. The laptop is configured with an Intel i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 500 GB HDD operating at 5400 RPM, and a dedicated GPU with 8 GB of RAM. Which of the following upgrades should you install to best increase the system’s performance?

Answer 60

OBJ-3.4: Based on the system specifications, the system’s slowest part appears to be the 5400 RPM hard disk drive (HDD). Therefore, replacing the HDD with a solid-state device (SSD) would dramatically increase the loading speeds as the operating system and other programs are read from the storage device during bootup and when loading programs. Another viable option would be to purchase a faster HDD, such as operating at 7200 RPM or 10,000 RPM. Still, though, an SSD would be faster than a higher RPM HDD, so it remains the best answer. If the laptop had 4GB or less of memory then it would be appropriate to increase the memory to 8GB or 16GB to increase the speed. An integrated GPU cannot be upgraded on a laptop since the integrated GPU is built into the CPU of the laptop, nor could a dedicated GPU be added to most modern laptops.

Question 61

What type of cloud model would allow the sharing of resources by multiple organizations to create a service that benefits all of its members?

Answer 61

OBJ-4.1: A community cloud in computing is a collaborative effort in which infrastructure is shared between several organizations from a specific community with common concerns, whether managed internally or by a third party and hosted internally or externally. Community Cloud is a hybrid form of private cloud. They are multi-tenant platforms that enable different organizations to work on a shared platform. Community Cloud may be hosted in a data center, owned by one of the tenants, or by a third-party cloud services provider and can be either on-site or off-site. A public cloud contains services offered by third-party providers over the public Internet and is available to anyone who wants to use or purchase them. They may be free or sold on-demand, allowing customers to pay only per usage for the CPU cycles, storage, or bandwidth they consume. A private cloud contains services offered either over the Internet or a private internal network and only to select users instead of the general public. A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment that uses a mix of on-premises, private cloud, and third-party public cloud services with orchestration between these platforms. This typically involves a connection from an on-premises data center to a public cloud.

Question 62

You want to boot from a removable USB device to troubleshoot your Windows 10 laptop. During your rebooting of the machine, which key should you press to enter the boot order menu?

Answer 62

OBJ-5.2: F12 is the most commonly used key used to enter the boot order selection screen. The boot order is a menu that allows you to select which device you wish to boot from, such as the hard drive, DVD, or a removable USB device. If you wanted to boot to USB, you would use the up and down arrow, and press Enter to tell the boot command to boot from USB. This works for Windows and Linux machines, but not for macOS since it uses a different boot manager.

Question 63

You are troubleshooting a laser printer and noticed the paper’s image has a white streak running across the face of the paper. Which of the following should be performed to fix this issue?

Answer 63

OBJ-5.6: A corona wire is a charged wire in a laser printer that draws the toner off the drum onto the paper. It must be cleaned when the toner cartridge is replaced. A dirty corona wire can cause a portion of the drum not to be charged properly and lead to a white streak appearing on the printed image. Some laser printers combine the toner and drum into a single replaceable item. The drum on a laser printer should be changed after printing 10,000 to 15,000 pages to prevent issues during printing.

Question 64

(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 C?

Answer 64

OBJ-3.2: This port is the SPDIF (Sony-Philips Digital Interface Format) connection. This is a fiber optic port used to transmit digital audio. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of a motherboard’s rear port cluster by sight.

Question 65

Which of the following is categorized as an APIPA address?

Answer 65

OBJ-5.7: IP addresses are either public, private, localhost, or APIPA addresses. 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. 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. All others are considered public IP addresses.

Question 66

What type of cloud service provides instant access to servers and switches, quickly provisioned, and available for management over the internet?

Answer 66

OBJ-4.1: Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is an instant computing infrastructure, provisioned, and managed over the internet. 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. IaaS quickly scales up and down with demand, letting you pay only for what you use. It helps you avoid the expense and complexity of buying and managing your physical servers and other data center infrastructure. Each resource is offered as a separate service component, and you only need to rent a particular one for as long as you need it. A cloud computing service provider manages the infrastructure while you purchase, install, configure, and manage your software. 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 a cloud 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.

Question 67

Which of the following ports is used for the request and distribution of DHCP configuration information?

Answer 67

OBJ-2.1: The dynamic host control protocol (DHCP) is a protocol used to allocate IP addresses to a host when it joins a network. DHCP utilizes UDP ports 67 and 68. The domain name system (DNS) protocol is the protocol used to provide names for an IP address based on their mappings in a database using TCP/UDP port 53. The hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) is a protocol used to provide web content to browsers using port 80. The simple network management protocol (SNMP) is a protocol for monitoring and managing network devices over UDP ports 161 and 162. A management system collates data sent by agents running on each device. The agents maintain a Management Information Base of configuration and usage data. An agent can also generate a trap, alerting the management system of some notable event (such as a printer that is out of paper).

Question 68

Which of the following types of encryption should be selected on a SOHO access point if you are running a coffee shop and want all of your customers to be able to join it by default?

Answer 68

OBJ-2.3: An “open” wireless network is one in which no password or encryption is being used. If you have a public hotspot, such as in a library or coffee shop, then you may wish to configure it as “open.” Wired equivalent privacy (WEP) is an older mechanism for encrypting data sent over a wireless connection. WEP is considered vulnerable to attacks that can break its encryption. WEP relies on the use of a 24-bit initialization vector to secure its preshared key. 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. 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.

Question 69

You are working as part of a PC refresh team installing 150 desktop computers in Dion Training’s new offices. When you boot up the 72nd desktop you installed, you smell a foul-smelling chemical odor. You sniff the air again and confirm the smell isn’t a burning smell. Upon opening the case, which component should you inspect for damage and expect to replace?

Answer 69

OBJ-5.2: A foul smell is usually indicative of a distended capacitor. Capacitors are small electrical components on the motherboard. Therefore you should inspect the motherboard for replacement. If there was a burning smell, then the power supply should be the first component inspected.

Question 70

A user wants to print 2 copies of a 3-page report at once. The user would like the pages to come out of the printer in the order of pages 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 instead of pages 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3. What printer setting should the user enable for this print job to achieve this result?

Answer 70

OBJ-3.10: 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. Page orientation is how a rectangular page is oriented for normal viewing. The two most common types of orientation are portrait and landscape. The term transparency was made up as a distractor for this question.

Question 71

Dion Training’s video editing laptop has a defective keyboard. You have been asked to replace the keyboard. What type of cable should be connected to the internal laptop keyboard during your replacement?

Answer 71

OBJ-1.1: A ribbon cable is any cable with wires that run parallel on a flat plane down the length of the cable. Ribbon cables are typically used to connect internal components in laptops to save space. These laptop ribbon cables are usually hardwired into one component and connect to the motherboard or other components with a small connector clip. A zero insertion force (ZIF) socket is a processor socket type that allows the chip to be placed in the socket with as little risk of damaging the pins on the processor chip. 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. 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.

Question 72

You are working as a Managed Service Provider for a large chain of doctor’s offices. The company is opening a new office downtown. The office needs 2 computers to be installed at the receptionists’ desk to schedule appointments, read email, browse the web, and conduct basic word processing tasks. Which of the following type of computers would BEST meet the needs of this doctor’s office?

Answer 72

OBJ-3.8: A thick client (also called a fat client) is a computer that will perform the bulk of the data processing in client/server applications on the local computer. There is no need for continuous server communications with thick clients as it is mainly communicating archival storage information to the server. The thick client has an operating system and applications installed directly on its own hard drive. Thick clients are considered a standard workstation in most business environments and can support email, web browsing, word processing, and other basic tasks.

Question 73

You have been asked to set up the email on a corporate laptop. The employees of Dion Training are only allowed to receive their email on one device. The email should be removed from the server’s mailbox whenever the client connects to the server to download the messages. Which of the following mail protocols should you configure to allow an employee to receive their mail on their laptop and meet these requirements?

Answer 73

OBJ-1.6: You should configure POP3 because the mail is downloaded to the device and removes mail from the server’s mailbox by default. IMAP does not remove the mail from the server when the client connects but instead maintains a copy on the server indefinitely until the user forces it to be deleted. SMTP is used to send emails, not receive them. HTTPS is used for web browsing, not for receiving emails. 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 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 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.

Question 74

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 large multifunction devices across the network?

Answer 74

OBJ-2.5: Most of the options provided are reasonable next steps, but the question specifically states that you want to allow the users to access multifunction devices on the networks. This indicates that the users will need access to a print server since printers are multifunction devices. A print server is a type of server that connects printers to client computers over a computer network. Print servers act as an intermediary between the computers and printers by accepting print jobs and then sending them to the correct printer when it is ready to accept new jobs. A file server is used to host and control access to shared files and folders for the organization.

Question 75

Which of the following is categorized as a private IP address?

Answer 75

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. An APIPA address is 169.254.x.x. All others are considered public IP addresses.

Question 76

A customer’s Android smartphone is only 6 months old but is becoming excessively slow. When questioned, the customer states it was acting fine until they recently installed a new stock market tracking app. What action should you take to troubleshoot the slow performance on this phone?A customer’s Android smartphone is only 6 months old but is becoming excessively slow. When questioned, the customer states it was acting fine until they recently installed a new stock market tracking app. What action should you take to troubleshoot the slow performance on this phone?

Answer 76

OBJ-5.5: The best option in this scenario is to uninstall and reinstall the stock market app. When apps are updated automatically, they can sometimes become faulty or corrupted and slow down performance on the device. With Android phones, much like iPhones, apps can run in the background and may begin to take up excess resources. If the app is removed, the phone is rebooted, and the app is reinstalled, and the issue persists, then the app should be removed, and an alternate app selected to replace it. Remember, in the CompTIA troubleshooting method we should always question the obvious. In the question, the thing that recently changed was the installing of a new app, so it is likely the issue.

Question 77

Susan, a computer technician, received a complaint from a client about an issue with their laptop. Based on the symptoms observed, she believes that there is an issue with the laptop’s memory. Which of the following symptoms was MOST likely observed during their troubleshooting?

Answer 77

OBJ-5.2: A bad or faulty RAM module can cause system reboots, diminished system performance, and slow loading of websites and programs. This gradual deterioration of performance, especially with memory-intensive programs, may indicate a problem with the laptop’s system memory. The system memory should be tested and replaced (if needed) to allow the laptop to begin working efficiently.

Question 78

Which of the following operating systems has the built-in capability to install and run Hyper-V?

Answer 78

OBJ-4.2: Hyper-V can be run natively on Windows servers (2008, 2012, 2016, and 2019) and desktops (8, 8.1, and 10). Hyper-V is a Microsoft technology that allows users to create virtual computer environments and run and manage multiple operating systems on a single physical server or computer.

Question 79

You are troubleshooting an issue with multiple workstations that are having network connectivity issues. The network also has two servers connected to the network, but they do not have any connectivity issues. You look at the network configuration of the two servers and notice they are using static IP addresses. Based on what you know so far, what is most likely the cause of the workstation’s network connectivity issue?

Answer 79

OBJ-5.7: Based on the symptoms provided, it appears that the servers are using static IP addresses, and the workstations are using dynamically assigned ones. If the DHCP is not functioning properly for the network, any workstations that rely on a dynamically assigned IP address will have connectivity problems. This issue would not affect statically assigned machines such as the servers. To fix this issue, the DHCP services need to be restored and be available to accept connections from the clients on the network who require dynamic IP assignments.

Question 80

Which of the following is used to capture the logs from different devices across the network to correlate different events across multiple servers and clients?

Answer 80

OBJ-2.5: A Syslog server is used to capture logs from different devices. It allows for the correlation of logs to simplify log review and an analyst’s ability to respond to alerts. For example, Syslog messages can be generated by Cisco routers and switches, servers and workstations, and collected in a central database for viewing and analysis. A proxy server is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server providing that resource. The Domain Name System (DNS) uses port 53 and is a hierarchical and decentralized naming system for computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet or a private network. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) uses port 67 and is a network management protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters to devices connected to the network using a client-server architecture.

Question 81

You have been asked to recommend a RAID for use in a video editing workstation. The workstation must be configured to allow the highest speed operation and use 100% of the available drive free space. The workstation has no requirement for redundancy within this configuration. Which configuration do you recommend?

Answer 81

OBJ-5.3: RAID 0 (disk striping) is the process of dividing a body of data into blocks and spreading the data blocks across multiple storage devices, such as hard disks or solid-state drives (SSDs), in a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) group. Unlike other RAID levels, RAID 0 does not have parity or redundancy. It will provide faster performance and speed, as well as use 100% of the available drive space. 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 RAID 10 combines disk mirroring and disk striping to protect data stored in the array and required a minimum of four disks.

Question 82

A client claims that their computer keeps rebooting itself without warning. Which of the following is the BEST action you should take to investigate and troubleshoot this issue?

Answer 82

OBJ-5.2: A computer that keeps rebooting itself is a symptom of a faulty power supply or a computer that is overheating. If the power supply is faulty, the computer will reboot itself. If the issue is caused by an overheating issue (such as a cooling fan failure), the computer will usually reboot itself after running for 15-20 minutes (once enough heat is built-up). Therefore, you should test the power supply first to determine if that is the root cause of the issue, and then replace the power supply, if required.

Question 83

What type of cable should be used to connect a laptop directly to another laptop to form an Ethernet network?

Answer 83

OBJ-3.1: A crossover cable should be used to connect two similar devices (PC to PC, Router to Router, Switch to Switch, etc.) to create a network. For an ethernet cable, this should be a network cable with a T568A wiring standard on one end and a T568B wiring standard on the other end of the cable to create a crossover cable. A straight-through or patch cable is a network cable that uses the same wiring standard on both ends such as T568A to 5T568A or T568B to T568B. A serial cable is a data cable that transmits data a single bit at a time. A DB-9 connector is used to terminate an RS-232 serial cable.

Question 84

(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?

Answer 84

OBJ-3.5: The area circled indicates the port cluster on the rear of the motherboard. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of the motherboard by sight.

Question 85

(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?

Answer 85

OBJ-3.5: The area circled indicates the reset jumper on this motherboard. A reset jumper is a small plastic block with a metal connection inside. To reset the motherboard’s BIOS, you would connect the jumper over this area to make an electrical connection between the two pins. For the exam, it is important that you can identify the different parts of the motherboard by sight.