N10-009 CompTIA Network+ Certification Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2026 Updated)

A jump box is a hardened system that provides secure access to isolated or sensitive devices on a separate network.

Breakdown of Options:

A. Jump box – ✅ Correct answer. Acts as a middle point for secure remote access.

B. API gateway – Used for managing API calls, not remote access to isolated devices.

C. Secure Shell (SSH) – Requires direct connectivity, which may not be available for an isolated device.

D. Clientless VPN – Allows web-based VPN access, but does not guarantee access to isolated devices.

The correct answer is Test the theory, which aligns directly with the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 troubleshooting methodology. According to the official troubleshooting steps, once a problem has been identified and relevant information gathered, the next step is to establish a theory of probable cause and then test that theory to determine whether it is valid.

In this scenario, the engineer has already completed the problem identification phase by confirming that all users are experiencing latency and correlating the issue with the installation of a new switch. The engineer has also formed a theory: that a network loop caused by the lower bridge ID of the new switch may be impacting Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), resulting in congestion and latency. Because this theory has already been developed, the next logical and required step is to test the theory—for example, by reviewing STP states, temporarily disabling ports, or adjusting bridge priorities.

Implementing a solution would be premature without validating the theory, and verifying full system functionality occurs only after a fix has been applied. The Network+ objectives stress following a structured methodology to avoid unnecessary changes and minimize network disruption. Testing the theory ensures accuracy before corrective action is taken, reducing risk and downtime.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (aligned to N10-009):

An ad hoc wireless network allows devices to connect directly to each other without an access point. This is suitable for small, temporary setups like two laptops and a printer.

A. Mesh requires multiple nodes forming a larger distributed network.

B. Infrastructure requires an AP, which is not available here.

D. Point-to-point is typically for long-distance wireless links between two fixed endpoints.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Networking Concepts — Wireless network types: infrastructure, ad hoc, mesh.

When a DHCP server is installed and not enough IP addresses are provisioned, users may start experiencing network outages once the available IP addresses are exhausted. DHCP servers assign IP addresses to devices on the network, and if the pool of addresses is too small, new devices or those renewing their lease may fail to obtain an IP address, resulting in network connectivity issues.References: CompTIA Network+ study materials.

Packet loss occurs when network packets fail to reach their destination, leading to disruptions in connectivity and performance issues. In this scenario:

Users report connectivity issues and lag during video meetings.

The administrator detects increased retransmissions in tcpdump, which is a strong indicator of lost packets that must be resent.

Video meetings are particularly sensitive to packet loss, leading to buffering, frozen screens, and dropped calls.

Latency (Option A) refers to delayed data transmission but does not necessarily cause retransmissions.

Bottlenecking (Option C) happens when a network component (e.g., router, switch) cannot handle the traffic load, but packet retransmissions are more directly related to packet loss.

Jitter (Option D) affects the consistency of packet arrival times, but the symptoms described here are more aligned with packet loss rather than timing variations.

? Reference: CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) Official Study Guide – Section: Troubleshooting Connectivity Issues

The netstat output shows that multiple ports are open, including Telnet (23), FTP (20), and TFTP (69), which are potential security risks. Disabling unused ports minimizes the attack surface, reducing security vulnerabilities.

Breakdown of Options:

A. Disable the unused ports – Correct answer. Unused ports should be closed to prevent unauthorized access.

B. Enforce access control lists – ACLs help control access but do not disable unnecessary services.

C. Perform content filtering – Content filtering controls web traffic, not port security.

D. Set up a screened subnet – A DMZ (screened subnet) improves security but does not address open ports.

DHCP Options: DHCP options allow additional configuration parameters, such as the address of a TFTP server, to be provided to clients during the DHCP lease process. This is essential for VoIP phones to locate the server for configuration files.

Exclusions (A): Prevents certain IP addresses from being assigned by DHCP but does not direct devices to servers.

Lease time (B): Determines how long an IP address is assigned but does not impact TFTP settings.

Scope (D): Defines a range of IP addresses but does not include additional server information.

SSH (Secure Shell) is the best and most secure method for accessing a network appliance from an external location, according to the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives related to secure management protocols and network security. SSH provides encrypted remote command-line access, ensuring that authentication credentials, commands, and session data are protected from interception, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Telnet is an insecure legacy protocol that transmits all data, including usernames and passwords, in cleartext, making it unsuitable for any external or untrusted network access. RDP is primarily used for graphical remote desktop access to Windows systems and is not commonly used for managing network appliances such as routers, switches, firewalls, or load balancers. Additionally, RDP introduces a larger attack surface if exposed externally. FTPS is a secure file transfer protocol and is designed for transferring files, not for interactive device management or configuration.

The Network+ N10-009 exam emphasizes the use of secure administrative access methods, and SSH is the industry-standard protocol for managing network infrastructure devices. It supports strong encryption, key-based authentication, and secure tunneling, making it ideal for remote administration over untrusted networks such as the internet.

The technician should inspect the client’s firewall configuration. Since only one specific user is unable to access the server while other users can access it successfully, the issue is most likely isolated to that user’s device, account, local configuration, or local security settings. After switch and router logs show no network infrastructure issue, the next logical step is to examine the affected client.

The CompTIA Network+ N10-009 troubleshooting methodology emphasizes identifying the scope of the problem, testing the most likely causes, and isolating whether the issue is client-side, server-side, or network-side. A local firewall could block outbound connections to the server, block a required application, restrict ports, or apply a profile that prevents communication.

Updating network firmware is not an appropriate next step because there is no evidence of a widespread infrastructure problem. Checking the server’s DNS configuration is unlikely because other users can access the same server. Checking the server’s event logs may be useful later, but the scenario points first to the single affected client. Therefore, inspecting the client’s firewall configuration is the best next troubleshooting step.

Site-to-Site VPN: A site-to-site VPN is used to securely connect two networks, such as a company ' s headquarters and a branch location, over the internet. This type of VPN creates a secure tunnel for data transmission, ensuring confidentiality and integrity.

Split-tunnel VPN (A): Allows some traffic to bypass the VPN tunnel, which may not secure all communications.

Clientless VPN (B): Used for individual users to access the network without VPN client software.

Full-tunnel VPN (C): Typically used for individual user traffic rather than connecting two networks.

The correct answer is D. SVI. When traffic must move between multiple VLANs, some Layer 3 function has to exist so each VLAN can have a gateway. A Switched Virtual Interface (SVI) provides a logical Layer 3 interface for a VLAN and is commonly used to support inter-VLAN communication. In exam wording, when the question points to communication across multiple VLANs, the important idea is that each VLAN needs a Layer 3 presence.

The other answer choices do not fit this requirement. Static routing is used to define network paths, but it does not by itself create the VLAN gateway interfaces needed for inter-VLAN traffic. NAT translates addresses, usually for internet access, not for switching between local VLANs. Full duplex is a link operation mode and has nothing to do with routing traffic between VLANs.

The phrase “communicating over multiple VLANs” is the key clue. VLANs are separate broadcast domains, so devices in different VLANs cannot communicate without Layer 3 intervention. Among the choices given, SVI is the only answer that provides that Layer 3 function in a switched environment. That is why D is the best answer.

If the three new employees can communicate with each other’s devices, that strongly suggests their local Layer 2/Layer 3 connectivity is working (same VLAN/subnet, switching is fine, and they have IP addressing that allows local communication). The fact that they cannot access company resources (often on other subnets, servers, or the internet via internal routing) points to a problem with how these new endpoints are being addressed or routed beyond their local segment.

The most likely shared root cause affecting only “new employees” is DHCP scope/pool configuration. If the DHCP pool is exhausted, mis-scoped, or handing out incorrect options (such as an incorrect default gateway, wrong subnet mask, or an address range tied to an isolated VLAN), users could still talk locally but fail to reach resources outside their subnet. Modifying the DHCP server pool (expanding the scope, correcting the scope network, or ensuring the correct options are assigned) would resolve this with minimal changes.

A gateway routing table issue would typically affect many users, not just three new ones. DNS misconfiguration on the router would more commonly cause name-resolution problems, not block all resource access (and wouldn’t be isolated to only new employees). A workstation firewall would not usually prevent access to “company resources” in a way that consistently affects three new devices while still allowing peer connectivity.

OSPF is the most suitable routing protocol because it provides fast convergence and is commonly used as an interior gateway protocol within organizations. OSPF is a link-state routing protocol that builds a topology database and calculates the best path using cost. When a network change occurs, OSPF can converge much faster than older distance-vector protocols such as RIPv2. It is also widely supported by enterprise routing equipment and is appropriate for campus, school, and organizational networks.

The CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives include routing technologies, dynamic routing protocols, administrative distance, convergence, and routing protocol selection. OSPF is often preferred in internal networks because it scales better than RIP and can be configured in a single area for relatively simple deployments, reducing configuration complexity.

IS-IS is also a link-state protocol and can converge quickly, but it is less commonly used in typical small or medium enterprise environments and may require more specialized knowledge. RIPv2 has simpler configuration but slower convergence and hop-count limitations. BGP is mainly used for external routing between autonomous systems and is not the best choice for an internal school network. Therefore, OSPF is correct.

An evil twin attack is when an attacker sets up a rogue access point (AP) with the same SSID as a legitimate one to trick users into connecting. Once users connect, attackers often present fake login pages or capture unencrypted session data to steal login credentials.

A. DNS poisoning manipulates DNS resolution but is not inherent to evil twin.

C. ARP spoofing is a Layer 2 attack involving MAC/IP mapping manipulation.

D. Denial of service can be a side effect but is not the primary objective of evil twin attacks.

The main purpose of an evil twin is credential theft, enabling further unauthorized access to networks or systems.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Security — Wireless attacks, rogue APs, evil twins.

Bottlenecking occurs when a device in the network (such as an IPS) cannot process traffic efficiently, resulting in a dramatic drop in throughput. The significant difference between the firewall ' s speed (48.8 Mbps down) and the end-user devices’ speeds (4.8 - 5.2 Mbps down) indicates a bottleneck caused by the IPS.

•Why not the other options?

•Packet loss (A) – Would typically cause connection timeouts, not just slow speeds.

•Channel overlap (C) – Affects only wireless networks, but the wired desktop is also experiencing slow speeds.

•Network congestion (D) – Would show fluctuations in both upload and download speeds, but upload speeds remain unaffected.

Confidentiality with Data at Rest: Confidentiality is a core principle of data security, ensuring that data stored (at rest) is only accessible to authorized individuals. This protection is achieved through mechanisms such as encryption, access controls, and permissions.

Privileged Access: The statement " Data can be accessed after privileged access is granted " aligns with the confidentiality principle, as it restricts data access to users who have been granted specific permissions or roles. Only those with the appropriate credentials or permissions can access the data.

Incorrect Options:

A. " Data can be accessed by anyone on the administrative network. " This violates the principle of confidentiality by allowing unrestricted access.

B. " Data can be accessed remotely with proper training. " This focuses on remote access rather than restricting access based on privileges.

D. " Data can be accessed after verifying the hash. " This option relates more to data integrity rather than confidentiality.

CompTIA Network+ materials on data security principles, particularly sections on confidentiality and access control mechanisms​​.

Understanding Spanning Tree Protocol (STP):

STP is used to prevent network loops in Ethernet networks by creating a spanning tree that selectively blocks some redundant paths.

Default Priority Value:

Bridge Priority: STP uses bridge priority to determine which switch becomes the root bridge. The default bridge priority value for most switches is 32768.

Priority Range: The bridge priority can be set in increments of 4096, ranging from 0 to 61440.

Configuration and Verification:

When deploying a new switch, the network administrator can verify the bridge priority using commands such as show spanning-tree to ensure it is set to the default value of 32768.

Comparison with Other Values:

4096 and 8192: Lower than the default priority, indicating these would be manually configured for higher preference.

36684: A non-standard value, likely a result of specific configuration changes.

For a web server that requires all connections to be encrypted, port 80 (HTTP) should be disabled. Port 80 is used for unencrypted web traffic, whereas port 443 is used for HTTPS, which provides encrypted communication.

Port 80 (HTTP): This port is used for unsecured web traffic. Disabling this port ensures that all web traffic must use HTTPS, which encrypts the data in transit.

Port 443 (HTTPS): This port is used for secure web traffic via SSL/TLS encryption. Keeping this port open ensures that secure connections can be made to the web server.

Other Ports:

Port 22: Used for SSH, providing secure remote access and file transfers.

Port 587: Used for secure email submission (SMTP) with encryption.

Network References:

CompTIA Network+ N10-007 Official Certification Guide: Discusses the roles and security implications of various ports and protocols.

Cisco Networking Academy: Provides training on secure web server configuration and port management.

Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide: Covers port security and best practices for securing web servers.

A signal power of -97dB indicates a very weak signal, which can cause connectivity issues and slow speeds. Splitters on a coaxial line can degrade the signal quality further, so removing them can help improve the signal strength and overall connection quality.

Signal Quality: Splitters can reduce the signal strength by dividing the signal among multiple lines, which can be detrimental when the signal is already weak.

Direct Connection: Ensuring a direct connection from the modem to the incoming line can maximize signal quality and reduce potential points of failure.

Network References:

CompTIA Network+ N10-007 Official Certification Guide: Discusses troubleshooting connectivity issues and the impact of signal strength on network performance.

Cisco Networking Academy: Provides insights on maintaining optimal signal quality in network setups.

Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide: Covers common network issues, including those related to signal degradation and ways to mitigate them.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (paraphrased, aligned to N10-009):

A proxy server (specifically a caching HTTP/HTTPS proxy) stores frequently accessed web objects and serves them locally to clients, reducing external bandwidth consumption and improving response times.

B. Load balancer distributes traffic across servers but does not inherently cache internet content.

C. Open relay is a misconfigured mail server that permits unauthorized relaying—this is a security issue, not a caching solution.

D. Code repository (e.g., for source control) isn’t related to web content caching.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Standards, Protocols, and Implementations — Application-layer services (HTTP/HTTPS), proxies and caching behavior, performance optimization.

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Packet Capture: This method captures and inspects network traffic to identify unauthorized downloads or malicious behavior. It provides detailed insight into the data being transmitted, making it the best tool for this scenario.

Anomaly alerts (A): Alerts may indicate unusual activity but do not provide detailed traffic analysis.

Port mirroring (B): Port mirroring can redirect traffic for analysis but requires a packet capture tool for deeper inspection.

Performance monitoring (C): Focuses on system performance metrics, not detailed traffic content.

The correct solution is to establish a trunk connection between Switch A and Switch B. Computer A and Computer B are both connected to access VLAN 1 on their local switches. However, the inter-switch link appears to be configured as an access port in VLAN 8. Because the link between the switches is not carrying VLAN 1 traffic, devices in VLAN 1 on separate switches cannot communicate across that connection.

The CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives include VLANs, switching, trunking, access ports, and troubleshooting Layer 2 connectivity. Access ports carry traffic for a single VLAN. Trunk ports carry traffic for multiple VLANs between switches, usually using tagging such as IEEE 802.1Q. To allow VLAN 1 devices on both switches to communicate, the inter-switch connection must carry VLAN 1 traffic. A trunk would allow VLAN 1 and other required VLANs to pass between the switches.

Link aggregation is not the issue, and Gi0/10 is administratively down. Spanning Tree Protocol prevents loops but does not fix missing VLAN transport. Changing both hosts to a /24 would not solve the VLAN separation problem and could make IP reachability worse. Therefore, trunking is required.

SSO (Single Sign-On) allows an organization to use an identity provider (IdP) to centrally manage authentication and access across multiple SaaS applications. In the Network+ (N10-009) objectives, identity and access management concepts include federated authentication, centralized account control, and reducing password sprawl. With SSO, users authenticate once to the IdP, and the IdP then provides assertions/tokens to SaaS services (commonly using federation standards such as SAML or OIDC in real environments). This improves security (fewer reused passwords, easier MFA enforcement), streamlines user experience, and simplifies administration (provisioning/deprovisioning from one place).

PKI supports certificates and encryption/signing, but it is not the core mechanism for managing access across many SaaS apps via an IdP. TACACS+ is typically used for device administration (AAA) on network equipment, and RADIUS commonly supports network access (802.1X, VPN) AAA—both are important AAA protocols but do not describe the SaaS-wide “one login across many apps” capability. Therefore, SSO is the best answer.

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Port 587 is the standard default port for sending email (SMTP) with TLS encryption, which is used to secure email transmissions between mail servers or between clients and mail servers. Allowing traffic over port 587 enables secure email sending while maintaining standard protocol usage. (Reference: CompTIA Network+ Study Guide, Chapter on Ports and Protocols)

An IDS is less disruptive during initial deployment because it is normally deployed out of band or passively. An intrusion detection system monitors traffic and generates alerts when suspicious or malicious activity is detected. Since it does not usually sit inline between the source and destination, it can observe network activity without directly blocking production traffic. This makes IDS deployment safer during testing, tuning, and baselining.

The CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives include network security appliances, monitoring, detection, prevention, and operational impact. An IPS, or intrusion prevention system, is usually inline and can actively block, drop, or reset traffic. While that provides stronger prevention capability, it also creates a higher risk of disrupting legitimate traffic if signatures, rules, or thresholds are misconfigured.

An IDS does not necessarily require less processing power because it still analyzes traffic and may inspect large volumes of data. It is not inherently easier to restrict access, and it is not automatically more accurate than an IPS. Both IDS and IPS technologies can experience false positives depending on tuning and signatures. Therefore, the best advantage of IDS over IPS is lower disruption during initial deployment.

On Core-SW01, the ports are configured with LACP (mode active) for link aggregation. On Core-SW02, the ports are configured as independent trunks, not as part of an LACP group. Because of this mismatch, LACP cannot form the bundle, and the aggregated ports on SW01 will go into a suspended state.

A. CRC errors suggest cabling or signal integrity issues, not config mismatch.

B. Error disabled occurs when a violation (like BPDU guard or port security) disables the port, not LACP mismatch.

C. Administratively down indicates a shutdown command, not the case here.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Troubleshooting — Port-channel/LACP configuration issues, interface states.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (paraphrased, aligned to N10-009):

SSH provides secure, scriptable remote access used by automation/orchestration tools (e.g., leveraging CLI, NETCONF over SSH, or Ansible modules) to push configurations at scale.

A. RDP is primarily for Windows GUI sessions and is not commonly used for network device automation.

B. Telnet can be scripted but is insecure (plaintext); modern best practice is to use SSH.

D. GUI access is typically manual and not ideal for scalable, repeatable automation.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Operations — Configuration management, automation/orchestration, secure management protocols (SSH vs. Telnet), change at scale.

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In the router route selection process, the first priority is the longest prefix match, also known as prefix length. According to CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) routing concepts, routers examine the destination IP address in the packet and compare it to entries in the routing table. When multiple routes exist, the router selects the route with the most specific match, meaning the route with the longest subnet mask (largest number of matching bits). For example, a /30 route is preferred over a /24, and a /24 is preferred over a /16 if all match the destination.

Only after the longest prefix match is determined do other factors come into play. Administrative distance (AD) is used to determine which routing source is more trustworthy when the same network is learned from different routing protocols (e.g., OSPF vs. RIP). Metric is then used within the same routing protocol to determine the best path (e.g., hop count, cost, bandwidth). A default route (0.0.0.0/0) is used only when no more specific match exists.

Therefore, prefix length is always evaluated first in route selection.