TheoryCOMPTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
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30 free CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep questions
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CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which network configuration allows remote users to securely access a company's internal network through the internet?
Correct — D. Answer: VPN (Virtual Private Network) A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure, encrypted connection over the internet between the remote user and the company's internal network. This allows employees to access resources and data securely from any device, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of the transmitted information. Network Address Translation (NAT), VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network), and DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) all perform distinct networking tasks. NAT translates private IP addresses to a public IP address for internet access. VLAN segments a network into different broadcast domains. DMZ provides an additional layer of security by isolating external services from the internal network. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which component of a network cable does the 802.3af PoE (Power over Ethernet) standard affect?
Correct — A. The 802.3af PoE standard is specifically designed to supply power over Ethernet cables to power devices such as IP cameras and wireless access points. It does not affect the color coding, bandwidth, or speed of the network cables. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
In a network, what type of route is manually entered into a router's routing table to define a path for packets destined to an unknown network?
Correct — C. Answer: Static route A static route is manually configured by a network administrator to specify the path that packets should take to reach a particular network. This type of route is used when automatic routing is not desired or possible. A dynamic route is learned automatically through routing protocols, a connected route is automatically added for directly connected networks, and a default route specifies the path for any addresses not found in the routing table but is usually not manually configured for specific external networks. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following is NOT a valid characteristic of an IP address?
Correct — B. Answer: MAC address An IP address is used to uniquely identify a device on a network. It consists of a Network ID, a Host ID, and is associated with a Subnet mask. A MAC address, on the other hand, is a hardware identifier used at the data link layer for network communication. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
What is the maximum length supported by a Cat6 cable for 10GBase-T Ethernet?
Correct — C. Answer: 55 m Cat6 cables can support 10GBase-T Ethernet speeds up to a maximum distance of 55 meters. Beyond this distance, the signal quality degrades and higher category cables, like Cat6a or Cat7, are recommended for longer distances. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which type of IPv6 address range is FC00::/7?
Correct — D. Answer: Unique local unicast Unique local addresses are non-routable IPv6 addresses in the FC00::/7 range. They are used within a private network, similar to private IP addresses in IPv4 (e.g., 192.168.x.x). Global unicast addresses are routable on the Internet and are in the range 2000::/3. Link-local unicast addresses are used on a single link and have the prefix FE80::/10. IPv6 multicast addresses, used to send packets to multiple interfaces, are in the FF00::/8 range. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
The Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) uses which of the following as a metric for selecting the best path?
Correct — B. Answer: Reliability and Delay EIGRP uses a combination of metrics including reliability, delay, load, and bandwidth, with reliability and delay being two of the main factors. In contrast, OSPF uses bandwidth and RIP uses hop count as their metrics. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following is a model that allows businesses to lease virtual computing resources from a service provider?
Correct — C. Answer: IaaS Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a service model that allows businesses to lease virtualized computing resources from a cloud provider. Desktop as a Service (DaaS) offers a virtual desktop infrastructure managed by a third-party provider. Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a managed environment for developers to build, test, and deploy software applications. Software as a Service (SaaS) offers software solutions provided over the internet on a subscription basis, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which type of cloud topology is most prone to data leakage due to its shared infrastructure?
Correct — D. Public cloud deployments are more prone to data leakage because multiple different organizations share the same infrastructure. Private clouds have dedicated infrastructure, reducing this risk. Hybrid clouds, being a mix of public and private clouds, can have both shared and dedicated components. In a community cloud, infrastructure may be shared only among organizations with similar needs, which may reduce the risk compared to the public cloud. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following network security audits can be entirely carried out by software without human intervention?
Correct — C. Correct answer: Automated security audit An automated security audit is a type of review performed entirely by software tools to scan and verify the security state of a network without human intervention. Manual configuration reviews, security policy compliance checks, and risk analyses require human input to interpret findings and make decisions based on complex data sets and organizational context. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following is NOT primarily an attack on confidentiality?
Correct — A. Answer: DDoS attack A DDoS attack targets availability by attempting to overwhelm a network or service, rendering it unavailable to legitimate users. On-path attacks, phishing, and man-in-the-middle attacks are all aimed at compromising confidentiality. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following is NOT a commonly implemented firewall security best practice?
Correct — D. Answer: Disabling stateful inspection Stateful inspection is a core feature of many firewalls that tracks the state of active connections and helps distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate traffic. Other best practices include enabling logging and alerting, implementing ACLs, and conducting regular vulnerability assessments. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
What type of attack involves overwhelming a network with excessive traffic causing legitimate users to experience delays or denied access?
Correct — B. Answer: Distributed denial of service A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack aims to disrupt normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic. Such attacks often use multiple compromised computer systems as sources of attack traffic. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following security practices helps in preventing an insider threat by ensuring critical tasks are distributed among multiple people?
Correct — D. Answer: Separation of duties Separation of duties ensures that critical tasks, especially those prone to fraud or misuse, are divided among multiple individuals. This makes it harder for any single user to abuse their access. Least privilege grants users only the permissions necessary for their job functions, thereby minimizing the potential damage from compromised accounts. Zero trust is a security model that requires strict identity verification and assumes that threats could be both inside and outside the network. Role-based access controls assign permissions based on user roles, streamlining access management within an organization. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following concepts are associated with ensuring the authenticity and integrity of emails using cryptographic techniques?
Correct — A. Answer: PGP Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) uses cryptographic techniques to provide security services such as email authentication and integrity verification. FTP is a protocol for transferring files, IPsec is used for securing internet communication, and SMTP is used for sending email, all of which do not directly provide email authentication or integrity. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following tools can be used for creating and managing cryptographic keys for network security?
Correct — A. Answer: OpenSSL OpenSSL is an open-source toolkit for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols. It provides various cryptographic functions including the management of cryptographic keys, certificate generation, and encryption. Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer, not a cryptographic toolkit. Splunk is a security information and event management (SIEM) system. A honeypot is a decoy system designed to detect and distract attackers. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following protocols is utilized to securely exchange keys over an insecure network?
Correct — B. Answer: Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Internet Key Exchange (IKE) is a protocol used to set up a secure and authenticated communication channel over an insecure network by securely exchanging encryption keys. Transport Layer Security (TLS) ensures data privacy between client and server communication. Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) provides a way to send encrypted email messages. RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) is a public-key cryptosystem used for secure data transmission. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following is NOT a valid ping command?
Correct — B. Answer: ping unknown ping 127.0.0.1, ping google.com, and ping -t are all valid commands. ping unknown is not a valid command. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
When fiber optic cables have their glass core fractured, resulting in loss of signal transmission, this is referred to as which of the following?
Correct — D. Answer: Break When the glass core of a fiber optic cable is fractured, it results in a 'break', disrupting the signal transmission. An attenuation occurs when the signal strength decreases over distance. A reflection happens when light bounces back towards the source, causing loss of signal clarity. A dispersion is when light pulses spread out over time within the fiber, affecting the signal quality. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which command should you use with the ifconfig utility to bring down a network interface in a Linux system?
Correct — A. Answer: down The down command deactivates a network interface on a Linux system using ifconfig. The commands disable, stop, and deactivate are not valid for the ifconfig utility. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
A small company is using a Linux-based server for authentication, but one of the users cannot log in due to authentication failures. What could be the most likely cause?
Correct — D. Answer: Misconfigured time settings Authentication services often require system clocks to be closely synchronized for security tokens to be validated. A time discrepancy could prevent a user from logging in even if other network services appear to function normally. Incorrect permissions would prevent access to specific resources but would not necessarily block the user from logging in. An expired user account would typically give a clear message about account status. A duplicate hostname might cause network conflicts but would usually not prevent a user from authenticating. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following is NOT a common practice for ensuring network security in an enterprise environment?
Correct — C. Answer: Regular physical equipment replacement Securing a network typically involves practices like implementing firewall rules, enforcing strong password policies, and conducting regular security audits. Regular physical equipment replacement is not a standard security practice but rather a maintenance activity for hardware lifecycle management. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Your organization is planning to enhance its disaster recovery plan by focusing on system availability. Which of the following metrics is MOST relevant for this?
Correct — D. Answer: MTBF Mean time between failures (MTBF) measures the average amount of time between failures of a particular component. This is relevant to system availability because it helps in understanding how frequently components are likely to fail, thus aiding in planning for redundancy and maintenance. The recovery point objective (RPO) measures how far back you have to go to fully recover from an outage. The recovery time objective (RTO) defines how long a component can be down without causing unacceptable consequences. Mean time to repair (MTTR) is the average amount of time between a component failing and the system being restored to normal operation; this should be minimized. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
When configuring a redundant power supply for a critical server, which option provides the most immediate failover but is the costliest?
Correct — B. Answer: Online UPS Different types of UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) solutions offer varying levels of protection and failover capabilities: Standby UPS: The least expensive type, which only switches to battery power when mains supply fails, causing a brief interruption. Line-Interactive UPS: Offers better regulation against power fluctuations by using an autotransformer, but still has a brief switch-over time. Online UPS: Provides continuous power from its battery, eliminating switchover time entirely. This is the costliest option but offers the most immediate failover capability. Generator Backup: Provides long-term power but has the longest delay before becoming operational. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following stages in the disaster recovery process involves restoring critical business functions and verifying the integrity of restored data?
Correct — C. Answer: Recovery Typical disaster recovery plans include the following stages: Stage Description Preparation **Prepare**: Organizations ensure that they have the resources and plans to handle a potential disaster. Detection **Detect**: Identification of a disaster event. Containment **Contain**: Steps to prevent the disaster from escalating. Mitigation **Mitigate**: Reducing the impact of the disaster through initial response actions. Recovery **Recovery**: Restoring affected systems and data to normal operations, including verification of data integrity. Review **Review**: Analyzing the response to improve future disaster recovery processes. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
In the context of wireless networks, which Wi-Fi security protocol observes and monitors for potential threats without allowing client access to the network?
Correct — A. Answer: WIDS (Wireless Intrusion Detection System) WIDS monitors a wireless network for malicious activity or policy violations but does not allow client access. It observes network traffic and detects potential security issues. WEP is an outdated security protocol that provides minimal protection. WPA2 and WPA3 are current security protocols that offer strong protection by allowing client access while securing the network. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
In a wireless network, the frequency bands used for Wi-Fi communication are measured in which units?
Correct — B. Answer: Gigahertz. The frequency bands used in Wi-Fi communication are measured in gigahertz (GHz). Most common Wi-Fi standards use either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which protocol operates on Data Link Layer to automatically configure the switches in a local network?
Correct — C. Answer: Spanning Tree Protocol The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is used at the Data Link Layer to prevent network loops and ensure efficient and reliable network communications by allowing switches to dynamically learn the network topology. The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used in IPv4 networks to map IP addresses to MAC addresses. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to automatically assign IP addresses to hosts. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is used to exchange routing information between autonomous systems on the internet. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
In the context of wireless networking, which of the following devices always operates in multiple collision domains but a single broadcast domain?
Correct — C. Answer: Wireless Access Point (WAP). WAPs create multiple collision domains, as each connected device communicates with the WAP independently. However, the WAP itself maintains a single broadcast domain for all connected devices. Repeaters operate within a single collision and broadcast domain because they simply amplify signals. Hubs also have a single collision and broadcast domain. Routers have multiple collision domains and can belong to multiple broadcast domains. -
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep
Which of the following Wi-Fi technologies allows simultaneous dual-band operation, enabling devices to use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies concurrently?
Correct — A. Answer: 802.11ac The 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology allows for simultaneous dual-band operation, which means devices can use both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies concurrently. This provides higher bandwidth and better performance. 802.11b only operates in the 2.4 GHz band and offers slower speeds. 802.11g also operates in the 2.4 GHz band but offers improved speeds compared to 802.11b. 802.11a operates in the 5 GHz band but does not support dual-band operation.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep sample questions
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CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep Your organization is planning to enhance its disaster recovery plan by focusing on system availability. Which of the following metrics is MOST relevant for this?
A. RPO
B. RTO
C. MTTR
D. MTBF ✓
Correct — D. Answer: MTBF Mean time between failures (MTBF) measures the average amount of time between failures of a particular component. This is relevant to system availability because it helps in understanding how frequently components are likely to fail, thus aiding in planning for redundancy and maintenance. The recovery point objective (RPO) measures how far back you have to go to fully recover from an outage. The recovery time objective (RTO) defines how long a component can be down without causing unacceptable consequences. Mean time to repair (MTTR) is the average amount of time between a component failing and the system being restored to normal operation; this should be minimized.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep When configuring a redundant power supply for a critical server, which option provides the most immediate failover but is the costliest?
A. Generator Backup
B. Online UPS ✓
C. Standby UPS
D. Line-Interactive UPS
Correct — B. Answer: Online UPS Different types of UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) solutions offer varying levels of protection and failover capabilities: Standby UPS: The least expensive type, which only switches to battery power when mains supply fails, causing a brief interruption. Line-Interactive UPS: Offers better regulation against power fluctuations by using an autotransformer, but still has a brief switch-over time. Online UPS: Provides continuous power from its battery, eliminating switchover time entirely. This is the costliest option but offers the most immediate failover capability. Generator Backup: Provides long-term power but has the longest delay before becoming operational.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep Which of the following stages in the disaster recovery process involves restoring critical business functions and verifying the integrity of restored data?
A. Analysis
B. Containment
C. Recovery ✓
D. Mitigation
Correct — C. Answer: Recovery Typical disaster recovery plans include the following stages: Stage Description Preparation **Prepare**: Organizations ensure that they have the resources and plans to handle a potential disaster. Detection **Detect**: Identification of a disaster event. Containment **Contain**: Steps to prevent the disaster from escalating. Mitigation **Mitigate**: Reducing the impact of the disaster through initial response actions. Recovery **Recovery**: Restoring affected systems and data to normal operations, including verification of data integrity. Review **Review**: Analyzing the response to improve future disaster recovery processes.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep In the context of wireless networks, which Wi-Fi security protocol observes and monitors for potential threats without allowing client access to the network?
A. WIDS (Wireless Intrusion Detection System) ✓
B. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
C. WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2)
D. WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3)
Correct — A. Answer: WIDS (Wireless Intrusion Detection System) WIDS monitors a wireless network for malicious activity or policy violations but does not allow client access. It observes network traffic and detects potential security issues. WEP is an outdated security protocol that provides minimal protection. WPA2 and WPA3 are current security protocols that offer strong protection by allowing client access while securing the network.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep In a wireless network, the frequency bands used for Wi-Fi communication are measured in which units?
A. Terahertz
B. Gigahertz ✓
C. Kilohertz
D. Megahertz
Correct — B. Answer: Gigahertz. The frequency bands used in Wi-Fi communication are measured in gigahertz (GHz). Most common Wi-Fi standards use either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep Which protocol operates on Data Link Layer to automatically configure the switches in a local network?
A. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
B. Border Gateway Protocol
C. Spanning Tree Protocol ✓
D. Address Resolution Protocol
Correct — C. Answer: Spanning Tree Protocol The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is used at the Data Link Layer to prevent network loops and ensure efficient and reliable network communications by allowing switches to dynamically learn the network topology. The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used in IPv4 networks to map IP addresses to MAC addresses. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to automatically assign IP addresses to hosts. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is used to exchange routing information between autonomous systems on the internet.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep In the context of wireless networking, which of the following devices always operates in multiple collision domains but a single broadcast domain?
A. Hub
B. Router
C. Wireless Access Point (WAP) ✓
D. Repeater
Correct — C. Answer: Wireless Access Point (WAP). WAPs create multiple collision domains, as each connected device communicates with the WAP independently. However, the WAP itself maintains a single broadcast domain for all connected devices. Repeaters operate within a single collision and broadcast domain because they simply amplify signals. Hubs also have a single collision and broadcast domain. Routers have multiple collision domains and can belong to multiple broadcast domains.
CompTIA Network+ 2026 Prep Which of the following Wi-Fi technologies allows simultaneous dual-band operation, enabling devices to use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies concurrently?
A. 802.11ac ✓
B. 802.11b
C. 802.11g
D. 802.11a
Correct — A. Answer: 802.11ac The 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology allows for simultaneous dual-band operation, which means devices can use both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies concurrently. This provides higher bandwidth and better performance. 802.11b only operates in the 2.4 GHz band and offers slower speeds. 802.11g also operates in the 2.4 GHz band but offers improved speeds compared to 802.11b. 802.11a operates in the 5 GHz band but does not support dual-band operation.
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