CompTIA Network+ N10-007 Exam: Troubleshooting Network Connectivity

Troubleshooting Network Connectivity

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Question

A technician needs to add ten additional Ethernet ports to a small office network.

A new basic function switch is added.

Hosts connected to the new switch are unable to see any computers on the network other than those connected to the new switch.

Which of the following should the technician perform to ensure the hosts on the new switch can communicate with the existing network?

A.

Replace the new switch with a hub to ensure Layer 1 connectivity on the new network segment. B.

Move the straight-through Ethernet cable connecting the switches to the first port on both switches. C.

Connect the switches with a cable that has a TIA/EIA 586A wired connector end and a TIA/EIA 586B wired end. D.

Add a second cable connecting the switches for redundancy and disabling STP on both switches.

C.

Explanations

A technician needs to add ten additional Ethernet ports to a small office network.

A new basic function switch is added.

Hosts connected to the new switch are unable to see any computers on the network other than those connected to the new switch.

Which of the following should the technician perform to ensure the hosts on the new switch can communicate with the existing network?

A.

Replace the new switch with a hub to ensure Layer 1 connectivity on the new network segment.

B.

Move the straight-through Ethernet cable connecting the switches to the first port on both switches.

C.

Connect the switches with a cable that has a TIA/EIA 586A wired connector end and a TIA/EIA 586B wired end.

D.

Add a second cable connecting the switches for redundancy and disabling STP on both switches.

C.

Option C is the correct answer. To ensure that hosts on the new switch can communicate with the existing network, the technician needs to ensure that both switches are using the same type of cabling standard. TIA/EIA 568A and 568B are two wiring standards for Ethernet cabling.

When connecting two switches, it is important to use the same wiring standard on both ends. The TIA/EIA 568A standard uses a green-white wire combination for the first wire and a solid green wire for the second wire. The TIA/EIA 568B standard uses an orange-white wire combination for the first wire and a solid orange wire for the second wire.

The technician should ensure that the cable connecting the two switches has a TIA/EIA 568A wired connector on one end and a TIA/EIA 568B wired connector on the other end. This will allow the switches to communicate properly and ensure that all hosts can see each other.

Option A is incorrect because hubs are no longer commonly used in modern networks as they are less efficient than switches. A hub will not resolve the issue of hosts on the new switch not being able to see the existing network.

Option B is incorrect because the physical port used for the connection between the switches does not affect network communication between the hosts.

Option D is incorrect because disabling STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) can result in network loops and cause network communication issues, rather than resolving them. Adding a second cable for redundancy may be a good practice, but it is not relevant to this scenario where the hosts on the new switch are unable to communicate with the existing network.