The CompTIA Network+ Certification Exam (N10-009)

If a switch has port security enabled (such as sticky MAC or a configured allowed MAC), the port will only allow the original NIC’s MAC address. When a new NIC with a different MAC address is installed, the port rejects traffic, preventing network connectivity.

B. BPDU guard protects against rogue switches, not end hosts.

C. Link aggregation applies when bundling multiple uplinks, not a single PC connection.

D. PoE budget applies to powered devices like APs, not PCs.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Troubleshooting — Port security, MAC address filtering, switch security features.

TCP port 443 is reserved for HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), which uses TLS encryption to secure web traffic. It is the standard port for encrypted web communications.

A. Telnet uses TCP port 23.

B. SMTP commonly uses TCP ports 25, 465, or 587.

D. SNMP typically uses UDP ports 161 (queries) and 162 (traps).

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Standards, Protocols, and Implementations — Common ports and services.

A screened subnet, also commonly called a DMZ, is the best and most cost-effective deployment for isolating an external-facing web server from the internal organization. A screened subnet places publicly accessible systems in a separate network segment between the internet and the trusted internal network. Firewall rules can then strictly control what traffic is allowed between the internet, the screened subnet, and the internal network. This reduces the risk that a compromised public web server can directly communicate with or attack internal systems.

The CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives include network segmentation, security zones, screened subnets, firewalls, and access control. A screened subnet is a standard design for services that must be reachable from untrusted networks while protecting internal resources.

An IPS can detect or block malicious traffic, but it does not provide the same segmentation design by itself. A WAF protects web applications from application-layer attacks, but it does not necessarily prevent the web server from communicating with internal systems. An ACL may help, but a screened subnet provides the better architectural control. Therefore, the correct answer is a screened subnet for the web server.

The correct answer is golden configuration. This is a reference standard or baseline that defines the approved settings and rules devices should follow. Any deviation from the golden configuration indicates drift or misconfiguration that must be remediated.

A. Production refers to the live environment but doesn’t define a standard.

B. Backup configurations are stored copies, not the standard rules.

C. Candidate configuration is a proposed change being tested, not the final baseline.

By enforcing golden configurations, administrators ensure compliance, maintain security standards, and improve consistency across the enterprise.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Operations — Configuration standards, golden images/configs.

When an organization moves its DNS servers to new IP addresses, the NS (Name Server) records must be updated. The NS record defines which DNS servers are authoritative for a domain. Ifthese records still point to the old IP addresses, clients will continue to query the outdated servers, leading to connectivity issues.

Breakdown of Options:

A. AAAA – This record maps a domain name to an IPv6 address. Since the issue is with DNS resolution, not IP versioning, this is incorrect.

B. CNAME – A CNAME (Canonical Name) record is used for domain aliasing, not for defining authoritative name servers.

C. MX – Mail Exchange (MX) records direct email traffic to the correct mail server, which does not impact general website accessibility.

D. NS – Correct answer. NS records must be updated to reflect the new authoritative DNS servers.

A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) platform is built to collect, correlate, and alert on security-relevant events across many sources, which is exactly what’s needed to identify patterns such as brute force attempts, port scanning, and DDoS indicators. In Network+ (N10-009) security operations concepts, correlation is key: a SIEM can ingest logs from firewalls, IDS/IPS, servers, authentication systems, endpoint agents, and network devices, then apply rules/analytics to detect suspicious behavior that might not be obvious from a single log source. It can also generate real-time alerts, dashboards, and incident timelines—helping the engineer respond quickly and prioritize threats.

Packet capture provides deep visibility into traffic but is not inherently designed for enterprise-wide correlation and alerting without significant additional tooling and expertise. SNMPv3 is used for secure device monitoring (status, counters, performance) rather than detecting coordinated attack patterns. A syslog collector centralizes logs but generally does not provide the same level of correlation, enrichment, and automated alerting capabilities as a SIEM. Therefore, SIEM is the best answer.

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RTO stands for Recovery Time Objective, which defines the maximum acceptable amount of time that a system, application, or function can be down after a failure or disaster. It helps prioritize which systems need to be recovered first based on their importance to business operations.

SLA (Service Level Agreement) refers to an agreement between a service provider and a customer regarding expected performance and availability, but it does not dictate recovery order.

MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) is a measure of reliability and time between hardware or system failures.

SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a centralized tool for logging and alerting but not relevant to DR recovery prioritization.

???? Reference:

CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Official Objectives: 4.4 – Summarize business continuity and disaster recovery concepts.

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The correct answer is SSO (Single Sign-On) because it enables a user to authenticate once and gain access to multiple systems or resources without being prompted to log in again. According to CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) security objectives, SSO improves usability and productivity while maintaining centralized authentication control. After the initial authentication, a trust relationship between systems allows the user to access additional applications seamlessly.

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) enhances security by requiring two or more authentication factors (something you know, have, or are), but it does not inherently provide access to multiple systems without repeated authentication events.

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is an authentication and authorization protocol commonly used to implement SSO in web-based environments. While SAML supports SSO functionality, it is the underlying protocol rather than the access method itself.

RADIUS is a centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) protocol used for network access control but does not specifically provide seamless multi-resource authentication without additional logins.

Therefore, SSO best describes authentication to multiple resources without requiring additional passwords.

Servers shut down due to overheating, not loss of electrical power. Although UPS units had battery life, without cooling systems (HVAC/air conditioning) running on backup power, server rooms overheated. Backup power for air-conditioning is essential in data center design.

B. Door locks are unrelated to server shutdown.

C. Increasing UPS capacity won’t help cooling.

D. IoT thermostats may monitor temperature but won’t prevent overheating.

References (CompTIA Network+ N10-009):

Domain: Network Infrastructure — Environmental controls, power redundancy, HVAC systems.