Welcome to today’s CompTIA Network+ practice test!

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Today’s practice test is based on Subdomain 1.6 (Compare and contrast network topologies, architectures, and types) 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.

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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 1.6 #01
10 questions • Single best answer
Question 1
A network engineer at a financial institution is designing a new campus LAN infrastructure to support several thousand endpoint devices across three buildings. The design team is reviewing a hierarchical approach that segments the network into distinct functional layers, each responsible for specific tasks such as device aggregation, policy enforcement, and high-speed backbone switching. The chief information officer asks the engineer to explain what role each layer in the standard three-tier model plays before the design is approved for budgeting. In the three-tier hierarchical network model, which layer is specifically responsible for connecting end-user devices such as workstations, IP phones, and printers to the network infrastructure?
    Question 2
    A data center architect at a cloud hosting company is designing a new network fabric for a facility that will host thousands of virtual machines requiring high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity between servers. The architect wants a topology that eliminates performance bottlenecks associated with traditional hierarchical designs and ensures that all servers are the same number of hops away from each other regardless of their physical location. The design must also support easy horizontal scaling as compute capacity is added. Which network topology is specifically designed for data center environments and guarantees a consistent, predictable hop count between any two endpoints regardless of which leaf switch they are connected to?
      Question 3
      A network operations team at an e-commerce company is planning a major upgrade to the data center switching infrastructure. The team's architect explains that the existing three-tier design was originally built to optimize traffic between external clients and internal servers, but the current workloads consist largely of microservices that communicate extensively with each other within the same data center. The team must select an architecture that performs well under these heavy internal communication patterns before issuing a request for proposals. Which term describes the traffic pattern characterized by lateral communication between servers or virtual machines within the same data center, as opposed to traffic entering or leaving the data center from external clients?
        Question 4
        A network consultant is evaluating connectivity options for a critical utility company that requires a WAN design offering the highest possible level of redundancy between six core sites distributed across a metropolitan area. The operations manager states that no single link failure should ever result in a loss of communication between any two sites, and the company has the budget to support dedicated WAN circuits between every pair of locations. The consultant must document the topology type that fully satisfies this requirement in the project proposal. Which network topology provides direct, dedicated connections between every node and every other node, ensuring that no single link failure can isolate any site from the rest of the network?
          Question 5
          A technician is reviewing a network design proposal for a newly established branch office of a retail chain with approximately 50 employees and a small server closet containing two application servers. The proposed design calls for a single aggregation switch that handles both inter-VLAN routing and high-speed backbone functions, eliminating the need for separate core and distribution layer devices to keep costs down. The IT director asks the technician to confirm and correctly name the design model being implemented before the bill of materials is finalized. Which network design model combines the core and distribution layers into a single device or layer, and is most commonly used in smaller campus or branch office deployments?
            Question 6
            A junior network engineer is reviewing a legacy network diagram at a manufacturing plant and notices that all workstations, IP cameras, and barcode scanners on the production floor each have exactly one cable run returning to a single centrally located switch in the equipment room. The diagram shows no direct device-to-device connections among the endpoints themselves. The engineer needs to correctly identify and document the topology type for an upcoming infrastructure audit and replacement planning initiative. Which network topology is characterized by all devices connecting individually to a single central device, such as a switch, with no direct connections between the end devices themselves?
              Question 7
              The network team at a logistics company is reviewing the WAN topology that connects the organization's central headquarters in Dallas to 12 regional distribution centers across the country. Each distribution center has a single dedicated WAN circuit connecting it back to Dallas, but the regional sites have no direct circuits to each other. When a distribution center in Phoenix needs to send data to one in Atlanta, the traffic must first travel to Dallas before being forwarded to the destination site. The team is evaluating whether this design still meets current performance and latency requirements. Which WAN topology describes a design where all remote sites connect back to a single central location and have no direct connections to one another?
                Question 8
                A network administrator at a regional ISP is configuring a dedicated connection between two core routers located in separate physical facilities 30 kilometers apart. There are no intermediate switches or routers on the path between the two devices, and the leased circuit provides private, dedicated bandwidth that is not shared with any other customers or services. The administrator is updating the network documentation and must accurately classify this specific link type for a compliance review. Which topology term describes a network connection that links exactly two nodes with a dedicated path between them and no other devices sharing that specific connection?
                  Question 9
                  A systems integrator is documenting the network topology for a university campus infrastructure project. The central administrative building connects to all other campus buildings using dedicated fiber runs in a pattern where all connections radiate outward from the central building. Within the research wing, three specialized lab buildings are additionally connected to each other in a circular redundant pattern to maintain connectivity during scheduled link maintenance. The project documentation must accurately reflect the overall network design strategy. Which term correctly describes a network topology that intentionally combines two or more distinct topology types within a single network design?
                    Question 10
                    A network engineer is performing a design review for a large enterprise campus LAN using a traditional three-tier hierarchical architecture. During the review, the engineer identifies that the layer between the access switches and the core switches is responsible for aggregating multiple access-layer uplinks, performing inter-VLAN routing, enforcing access control lists, and summarizing routes before traffic is forwarded to the high-speed backbone. The engineer must correctly label each component in the updated network diagram that will be submitted for management sign-off. Which layer in the three-tier hierarchical network model is responsible for aggregating access-layer connections, performing inter-VLAN routing, and applying policy enforcement before forwarding traffic to the core layer?

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