Welcome to today’s CompTIA Network+ practice test!

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Today’s practice test is based on Subdomain 1.1 (Explain concepts related to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model.) from the CompTIA Network+ N10-009 objectives.

This beginner-level practice test is inspired by the CompTIA Network+ (N10-009) exam and is designed to help you reinforce key networking concepts on a daily basis.

These questions are not official exam questions, nor are they brain dumps, but they reflect topics and scenarios relevant to the Network+ certification. Use them to test your knowledge, identify areas for improvement, and build daily cybersecurity habits.

Note: CompTIA and Network+ are registered trademarks of CompTIA. This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA.

To choose CompTIA Network+ practice tests based on specific domains/subdomains, click that link.

Recommended read: Ultimate CompTIA Network+ Study Guide (2026)

CompTIA Network+ Practice Test for Subdomain 1.1 #01
10 questions • Single best answer
Question 1
A network engineer at a financial services firm is troubleshooting why users cannot access the company's internal web portal using their browsers. The engineer confirms that the destination server is reachable via ping and that TCP port 443 successfully accepts connections. Despite confirmed connectivity at lower layers, the browser continues to display an application-level error when users attempt to log in. At which OSI layer does the HTTPS protocol primarily operate, making it the correct starting point for further investigation of this specific error?
    Question 2
    A systems administrator at a manufacturing company notices that two workstations on the same network segment are experiencing intermittent communication failures with each other. Upon reviewing the managed switch's MAC address table, the administrator discovers that both devices are listed with identical hardware addresses, causing frames intended for one workstation to be periodically forwarded to the wrong destination. The administrator must determine at which OSI layer this type of addressing conflict originates in order to apply the correct fix. Which OSI layer uses hardware (MAC) addresses to identify devices and deliver data frames within a local network segment?
      Question 3
      A junior network engineer reviewing a network diagram at a regional ISP notices that packets traveling between two geographically separated branch offices must traverse multiple intermediate routing devices before reaching their destination. The engineer's supervisor explains that logical addressing and path determination — deciding the best route for data across different networks — are handled by a specific OSI layer that routers primarily operate at. The engineer is asked to identify this layer before assisting with a route configuration task. Which OSI layer is primarily responsible for logical (IP) addressing and path determination between networks?
        Question 4
        A help desk analyst receives a ticket reporting that a proprietary file transfer application used by the accounting department is frequently dropping data mid-transfer, resulting in incomplete or corrupted files at the destination. The developer who submitted the ticket confirms that the application is built on a connection-oriented protocol specifically chosen to provide ordered, reliable delivery with acknowledgment and retransmission of lost data. The analyst must identify the correct OSI layer where this type of reliability mechanism is managed in order to begin proper troubleshooting. Which OSI layer is responsible for end-to-end reliability, flow control, and data segmentation using connection-oriented protocols such as TCP?
          Question 5
          A field technician is dispatched to a remote branch office after multiple employees report a complete loss of network connectivity following a weekend construction project that involved work in the network closet area. The technician suspects that the copper cabling runs connecting the patch panel to the access layer switch may have been physically damaged or disconnected during the construction work. Using a cable tester, the technician checks each run for continuity, signal attenuation, and shorts before proceeding further. At which OSI layer does the physical transmission of raw binary bits over cables, electrical signals, and other physical media occur?
            Question 6
            A security analyst at a healthcare organization is reviewing a packet capture of traffic flowing between a clinical workstation and an internal application server. She observes that TLS encryption is applied to the data payload before transmission and that the receiving server decrypts the data and converts it from one character encoding format into the format expected by the backend application. Her manager asks her to identify which OSI layer is responsible for these functions — encryption, decryption, compression, and translation between data formats. Which OSI layer handles data encryption, decryption, and ensures information is presented in a mutually understandable format between systems?
              Question 7
              A network operations center analyst at a logistics company is investigating a recurring problem where a warehouse management application loses its connection to the backend database server every few minutes during normal business operations. Physical connectivity tests confirm that cables, switches, and NICs are all functioning correctly, and IP routing shows no packet loss. The analyst determines that the application is not properly maintaining its communication channel above the transport layer and that the session teardown is occurring prematurely. Which OSI layer is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and gracefully terminating communication sessions between two applications?
                Question 8
                A network instructor at a training academy is teaching a class on the OSI model's data encapsulation process and asks students to correctly match each layer with its corresponding Protocol Data Unit (PDU) name. The instructor explains that as data travels down the OSI stack from the Application layer toward the Physical layer, headers and trailers are added at each layer, and the resulting data unit takes on a different name. A student is specifically asked to identify the PDU name that corresponds to Layer 2 of the OSI model. Which PDU name correctly corresponds to the Data Link layer (Layer 2)?
                  Question 9
                  The IT team at a mid-sized e-commerce company receives reports that users can successfully ping remote servers by IP address and reach external websites when typed directly as IP addresses into their browsers. However, all attempts to use domain names — such as www.example.com — fail, and no websites load via hostnames. The team verifies that physical cabling, switch configurations, and IP routing are all functioning without error, and that DNS server addresses are correctly configured on the client workstations. An engineer begins troubleshooting the name resolution service and must confirm at which OSI layer DNS operates. At which OSI layer does the Domain Name System (DNS) protocol primarily function?
                    Question 10
                    A senior network engineer is onboarding a new hire at a data center operations company and is walking him through the OSI encapsulation process step by step. The engineer explains that as data travels from the sending application down through each OSI layer, headers and trailers containing layer-specific control information are added at each stage before the data is ultimately transmitted. The new hire is asked to identify which specific OSI layer is responsible for appending the source and destination IP address header to the data unit during the downward encapsulation process. Which OSI layer adds the IP address header when encapsulating data for transmission across an internetwork?

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