Troubleshooting Practice Questions: Networking Hardware

1. A network administrator is installing a new switch in the server room and needs to connect it to the existing network infrastructure using fiber optic cables. The switch has SFP ports available. Which component does the administrator MOST likely need to install first before connecting the fiber cables?
(a) Media converter
(b) RJ45 connector
(c) SFP transceiver module
(d) Patch panel

2. Which networking device operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model and uses MAC addresses to forward frames to the appropriate destination port?
(a) Router
(b) Hub
(c) Modem
(d) Switch

3. A small business owner wants to provide wireless internet access to customers in their coffee shop while keeping the business network completely separate and secure. The owner has a wireless router that supports multiple SSIDs. What is the BEST solution to accomplish this goal?
(a) Enable MAC address filtering on the wireless router
(b) Configure a guest network with a separate SSID and VLAN isolation
(c) Reduce the wireless signal strength to limit coverage area
(d) Change the default administrator password on the router

4. A technician is troubleshooting connectivity issues in an office where users report intermittent network disconnections. Upon inspection, the technician finds that a 10-year-old hub is being used to connect 15 workstations. What issue is MOST likely causing the connectivity problems?
(a) Collision domain limitations causing excessive packet collisions
(b) Insufficient PoE power budget for connected devices
(c) Incompatible fiber optic cable types
(d) VLAN configuration errors

5. Which type of cable connector is commonly used for terminating Ethernet cables in a patch panel or wall jack?
(a) BNC connector
(b) ST connector
(c) 110 block
(d) F-type connector

6. An IT technician needs to extend a network connection to a newly renovated section of the building that is 125 meters away from the main network closet. Standard Cat6 Ethernet cables are available in the supply room. What should the technician do FIRST to ensure reliable connectivity?
(a) Install a network switch or repeater at the 90-meter mark
(b) Use multiple Cat6 cables connected with couplers to reach the distance
(c) Replace all existing Cat6 cables with Cat5e for better range
(d) Configure QoS settings on the router to prioritize traffic

7. A network engineer is configuring a new office network that requires support for both data transmission and IP phone power delivery over the same cables. The phones are rated at 15.4W each, and 24 phones need to be installed. Which switch feature is required?
(a) Port mirroring capability
(b) Gigabit Ethernet ports
(c) Power over Ethernet (PoE) support
(d) STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) enabled

8. A home user reports that their wireless network speed has significantly decreased over the past week. The user lives in an apartment building and uses a 2.4 GHz wireless router. Using a Wi-Fi analyzer app, the technician discovers 12 other networks operating on channels 1, 6, and 11. What should the technician recommend as the BEST solution?
(a) Upgrade to a dual-band router and configure devices to use the 5 GHz band
(b) Change the wireless security from WPA2 to WEP
(c) Increase the transmission power to maximum on the router
(d) Switch the router to channel 8 to avoid interference

9. What is the maximum data transfer rate supported by the 802.11ac wireless standard under optimal conditions?
(a) 54 Mbps
(b) 600 Mbps
(c) 1.3 Gbps
(d) 9.6 Gbps

10. A technician is setting up a network monitoring system and needs to capture all traffic passing through a specific switch port for analysis. The traffic from port 12 needs to be copied to port 24 where the monitoring device is connected. Which switch feature should be configured?
(a) VLAN trunking
(b) Link aggregation
(c) Port security
(d) Port mirroring (SPAN)

11. A company is experiencing broadcast storms on their network, causing periodic network outages. The network has multiple switches connected in a redundant topology for fault tolerance. Which protocol should the network administrator enable to prevent these broadcast storms while maintaining redundancy?
(a) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
(b) Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
(c) Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
(d) Network Time Protocol (NTP)

12. Which device would be used to convert digital signals from a computer network into analog signals suitable for transmission over traditional telephone lines?
(a) Network switch
(b) Wireless access point
(c) Modem
(d) Repeater

13. A technician is installing network cabling in a manufacturing facility with significant electromagnetic interference from heavy machinery. The network needs to support Gigabit Ethernet speeds up to 100 meters. Standard Cat6 UTP cable keeps experiencing data corruption and packet loss. What cable type should the technician use instead?
(a) Cat5e UTP cable
(b) Cat6 STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) cable
(c) Coaxial cable with BNC connectors
(d) Cat3 UTP cable

14. An office network uses a router to connect to the internet and segment the internal network into multiple subnets for different departments. At which layer of the OSI model does the router primarily operate when making forwarding decisions?
(a) Layer 1 - Physical
(b) Layer 2 - Data Link
(c) Layer 3 - Network
(d) Layer 7 - Application

15. A network administrator needs to provide wireless connectivity to a large warehouse with concrete walls and metal shelving. A single wireless access point at the front office provides insufficient coverage. Users at the back of the warehouse report weak signals and frequent disconnections. What is the MOST effective solution?
(a) Replace the existing access point with one that has a higher gain antenna
(b) Deploy multiple access points throughout the warehouse with overlapping coverage
(c) Change the wireless channel to one with less interference
(d) Increase the beacon interval on the existing access point

16. A technician replaces a failed network interface card in a desktop computer. After installation, the computer can connect to local network resources but cannot access the internet. Other computers on the same network have internet access. Which configuration is MOST likely missing or incorrect on the replaced NIC?
(a) MAC address assignment
(b) Subnet mask configuration
(c) Default gateway address
(d) DNS suffix search order

17. Which wireless encryption standard provides the strongest security for modern wireless networks and is recommended for business environments?
(a) WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
(b) WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
(c) WPA2 with AES encryption
(d) Open network with MAC filtering

18. A company is upgrading their network infrastructure to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections between server room switches located 250 meters apart. The budget does not allow for fiber optic installation. Which cable type would support this requirement?
(a) Cat5e UTP cable
(b) Cat6 UTP cable
(c) Cat6a or Cat7 cable
(d) RG-6 coaxial cable

19. A network technician is troubleshooting a fiber optic connection between two buildings. The link uses multimode fiber with LC connectors. After cleaning the connectors, the connection still fails. Using an optical power meter, the technician measures -35 dBm at the receiver, while the specification requires -25 dBm minimum. What is the MOST likely cause?
(a) Excessive attenuation or signal loss in the fiber cable
(b) Incorrect VLAN configuration on the switches
(c) Duplex mismatch between connected devices
(d) IP address conflict on the network

20. A small business has 8 networked computers that need to share a single cable modem internet connection. The modem has only one Ethernet port. What device should be installed between the cable modem and the computers to allow all devices internet access?
(a) Network hub
(b) Cable tester
(c) Wireless access point
(d) Router with built-in switch