CompTIA A+ Certification Exam: Core 1 (2026) 220-1201 Practice Questions

Answer : D

CompTIA A+ teaches that S.M.A.R.T. warnings indicate imminent drive failure. Even if the RAID controller reports the array as ''healthy,'' a S.M.A.R.T. alert means the drive should be replaced immediately.

RAID 5 provides redundancy for one drive failure, but technicians should replace the degrading drive before it fails fully, ensuring the rebuild happens proactively.

Running chkdsk affects file systems, not drive health. Disabling write caching is unrelated. Rebuilding the array should only occur after replacing the faulty drive.

Replacing the drive prevents a catastrophic dual-drive failure scenario, which RAID 5 cannot survive.

This approach aligns with CompTIA troubleshooting guidelines for RAID maintenance and S.M.A.R.T. diagnostics.

Answer : D

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network service used to automatically assign IP addresses and other network configuration details (such as subnet masks and default gateways) to devices on an enterprise-wide network.

Why Not A (DNS): DNS resolves domain names to IP addresses but does not allocate IP addresses.

Why Not B (Syslog): Syslog is used for logging system events, not IP address management.

Why Not C (Telnet): Telnet is a protocol for remote access, not for IP allocation.

CompTIA A+ Exam Reference: Core 1 (220-1201), Section 2.6, DHCP concepts.

Answer : C

C . Installing redundant PSUs (Power Supply Units):

Redundant PSUs provide fault tolerance by ensuring that if one power supply fails, another will take over seamlessly.

This is a cost-effective way to increase uptime while waiting for the UPSs to arrive.

Incorrect Options:

A . Purchasing backup generators: Generators are costly and are typically used for long-term outages, not as an immediate or cost-effective solution.

B . Increasing input voltage: This is not a practical solution to hardware failures or power issues.

D . Activating a hot site: A hot site is an expensive, fully operational backup facility that would not be a cost-effective solution for this scenario.

Key Takeaway: Installing redundant PSUs is a cost-effective way to balance uptime requirements in case of power or hardware failure.

Answer : A

The correct answer is WAN (Wide Area Network). According to CompTIA Core 1 (220-1201) networking fundamentals, a WAN is used to connect devices or networks over large geographic areas, typically through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). A WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) delivers internet connectivity wirelessly over long distances, which clearly falls under WAN technology.

In this scenario, the technician connects a WISP modem to a portable router to provide Ethernet connectivity to a laptop. The WISP modem represents the WAN link, as it connects the local device to an external network (the internet) managed by the service provider. The portable router then distributes that WAN connection locally via Ethernet.

A SAN (Storage Area Network) is used for high-speed storage communication between servers and storage devices and is unrelated to internet connectivity. A PAN (Personal Area Network) is limited to very short-range connections, such as Bluetooth between personal devices. A MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) covers a city or campus-scale area and is not applicable to a single modem-to-router setup.

CompTIA emphasizes identifying network types based on scope and provider involvement. Since a WISP connection extends beyond the local environment and connects to an ISP, it is classified as a WAN.

Answer : C

The IEEE standard for Wi-Fi 7 is 802.11be, also known as Extremely High Throughput (EHT). According to CompTIA Core 1 (220-1201) networking standards objectives, each Wi-Fi generation corresponds to a specific IEEE 802.11 amendment. Wi-Fi 7 builds upon Wi-Fi 6/6E by offering significantly higher throughput, lower latency, and improved performance in high-density environments.

Option 802.11be is the only choice that represents a wireless LAN (WLAN) standard. 802.1X is an authentication framework used for network access control, not a Wi-Fi standard. 802.3at defines Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+), which supplies electrical power over Ethernet cables. 802.15.1 is the IEEE standard for Bluetooth.

CompTIA expects candidates to recognize and differentiate wireless standards and their IEEE designations, especially newer technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 7. Identifying 802.11be as Wi-Fi 7 is essential for both exam success and real-world networking scenarios.

Answer : A

Dedicated resources (sometimes called single-tenant or bare metal) guarantee that physical hardware is allocated exclusively to one customer and not shared.

From CompTIA A+ 220-1101 Official Study Guide, Objective 3.7 -- Cloud deployment models:

''Dedicated resources ensure data isolation at the hardware level for compliance and security.''

Verified Source:

CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1101) Official Study Guide, Chapter 3: Cloud Deployment

CompTIA Exam Objectives 220-1101, Domain 3.7

============

Answer : B, D

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation

To enable file sharing across different operating systems, CompTIA A+ emphasizes the use of:

SMB (Server Message Block)

The primary file-sharing protocol used by Windows.

Also supported on macOS and Linux (via Samba).

Allows shared folders, printers, and network browsing.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

A cross-platform file transfer service supported by all major OSs.

Commonly used to upload/download files between systems of different types.

These two protocols are explicitly listed in CompTIA objectives under network protocols and file services.

Why the other options are incorrect

A . NTP -- Time synchronization, not file sharing.

C . IMAP -- Email protocol, not related to file sharing.

E . ROP -- Not a file-sharing protocol (Return-Oriented Programming = security exploit).

F . LDAP -- Directory service for authentication, not file sharing.

Final Answe r: B, D