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AP Networking FRQ Practice

Practice free-response analysis on realistic networking artifacts.

Practice AP Networking FRQ 1

BranchOfficeConnectivity

A small branch office was re-addressed over a weekend. On Monday some devices work and some do not. Read the configuration output, the address plan, and the connectivity results, then identify what is wrong, justify it from the evidence, and recommend a fix you could verify.

Recommended time

35 minutes

Difficulty

Medium

Self-check coverage

0 / 4

What to write

  • Part A: Using Source 2, identify the specific misconfiguration on frontdesk-pc-02. Quote the value that is wrong and state what it should be.
  • Part B: Explain why that single misconfiguration produces exactly the pattern in Source 3 — one destination reachable and three not. Address each result.
  • Part C: The front desk PC can still reach another front desk PC. Explain what that tells you about which parts of the network are working, and what it therefore rules out.
  • Part D: Recommend the change you would make, and describe the specific check you would run afterwards to confirm the problem is resolved rather than assuming it.

Starter shape

SOURCE 1: Intended address plan (from the change record)

  GROUP        RANGE              MASK             GATEWAY
  Staff        10.20.1.1-254      255.255.255.0    10.20.1.1
  Front desk   10.20.2.1-254      255.255.255.0    10.20.2.1
  Printers     10.20.3.1-254      255.255.255.0    10.20.3.1

SOURCE 2: Configuration reported by three devices

  DEVICE            ADDRESS        MASK             GATEWAY
  staff-laptop-04   10.20.1.57     255.255.255.0    10.20.1.1
  frontdesk-pc-02   10.20.2.31     255.255.255.0    10.20.1.1
  printer-lobby     10.20.3.12     255.255.255.0    10.20.3.1

SOURCE 3: Connectivity results reported by the front desk PC

  reaching 10.20.2.45  (another front desk PC)  -> reply received
  reaching 10.20.3.12  (lobby printer)          -> no reply
  reaching an external site by address          -> no reply
  reaching an external site by name             -> no reply

Common traps

  • Blaming the printer or the internet connection when the same device fails to reach both.
  • Saying the address is wrong. The address is inside the intended range; the gateway is not.
  • Claiming the device has no connectivity at all, when Source 3 shows one successful result.
  • Recommending a change with no way to tell afterwards whether it worked.

Your response

Cleared when this page reloads. 93 words.

Rule-based feedback

This checks for common structural signals. It is not official scoring.

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