Appendix A Real-World Scenarios The purpose of this section is to help prepare you for the performancebased questions on the CompTIA A+ Exams as well as prepare you for the real world of computer configuration and troubleshooting. While these questions will not be exact representations of the questions on the CompTIA exams, they will give you an idea of the typical kinds of things you will be called on to answer. CompTIA can ask you anything that was covered in the book; plus, they can change the questions at any time. The goal of this section is to get you into the habit of practicing everything in a hands-on manner. Do this for any of the concepts I discuss in the book. The more you practice this way, the better you will do on the exams and the more prepared you will be for the IT field.
740 220-901 Scenarios Let s go through some hands-on scenarios based on the 220-901 objectives. Read through each scenario and answer the following items on paper. Afterward, watch the video solution and perform the simulation. Scenario 1: Design a CAD Workstation Computer You have been tasked with building a computer that will be used for computeraided design. It needs to be powerful enough to run CAD software programs. Remember! That means a high-end multicore CPU, lots of fast RAM, and a professional video card. Think about the type of software that it will be running and answer the following questions, providing as many specifications as possible. Then watch the corresponding video and complete the simulation. 1. Which type of CPU will you select? Research the manufacturer (Intel or AMD) on the Internet and specify the exact model of CPU you want to use. 2. Which type of RAM will you use, and how much? 3. Which type of video card will you install?
741 4. Think about the rest of the devices and connections to the motherboard that are required. Which type of motherboard and power/data connections will you use? Watch the corresponding video: Video-01. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-01. Scenario 2: Select the Best Components for Three Computers You are a technician working on a PC bench. Your job today is to build three computers: a Gaming PC, an HTPC, and a typical thick client. Write down the types of components you think should go into each type of computer. Then watch the corresponding video and complete the simulation. 1. Gaming PC 2. HTPC 3. Thick Client Watch the corresponding video: Video-02. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-02.
742 Scenario 3: Identify Video Ports Your organization needs you to purchase several types of video cards to be used with various computers, monitors, and external video equipment. Do the following for each of the ports listed in the table below: 1. Identify the port visually by researching each port on the Internet. 2. Write out the complete name of the port and any other identifying characteristics that you think are important. 3. Research actual video cards from manufacturers that have the ports. 4. Identify monitors, projectors, or other equipment online that might use each port. Video Port Full Name Usage HDMI DVI DisplayPort Thunderbolt S-Video VGA Watch the corresponding video: Video-03. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-03. Scenario 4: Configure Wi-Fi on a SOHO Router Now you ve been tasked with configuring Wi-Fi settings on a typical SOHO router. The default settings on these devices leave a lot to be desired. You are in charge of making the device more secure. Answer the following questions and then watch the corresponding video. 1. What should you do first on a SOHO router? 2. What is the SSID?
743 3. What is the best encryption to use? 4. What are the different channel ranges for the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz frequencies? 5. What is MAC filtering? 6. Why would you disable the SSID? Watch the corresponding video: Video-04. Scenario 5: Identify Various Wireless Ranges Your boss wants to implement all kinds of different wireless technologies, but she isn t sure about the maximum ranges for each of them. Explain to your boss what the different technologies are used for and what their respective ranges are (providing the distance in feet and meters). 1. What is Bluetooth used for? 2. What are the ranges for Bluetooth Class 1, 2, and 3 devices? 3. What is NFC used for? 4. What is the range for NFC? 5. What is Infrared used for? 6. What is the range for Infrared?
744 7. What is WLAN (Wi-Fi) used for? 8. What are the ranges for 802.11a, b, g, n, and ac? Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-05. Scenario 6: Identify IP Addresses You will be interviewing for a junior network administrator position at your organization. To get the job, you will need to know TCP/IP very well, especially the different types of IP addresses that exist. Answer the following questions, and then complete the corresponding video and simulation. 1. What is the difference between a private and a public IP address? 2. What is an example of a public IP address? 3. What are the private IP ranges for Classes A, B, and C? 4. What is the definition of a loopback address? 5. What are the loopback addresses for IPv4 and IPv6?
745 6. What is an example of an APIPA/link-local address? 7. What is CIDR? 8. Define the parts of the CIDR address below: 10.10.251.189/24 Watch the corresponding video: Video-06. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-06. 220-902 Scenarios Let s move onto the 220-902 scenarios. Here are some more hands-on scenarios based on the 220-902 objectives. Read through each scenario and answer the following questions on paper. Afterward, watch the video solution and perform the simulation. Scenario 7: Troubleshoot an IP Issue with Ipconfig You are troubleshooting a computer that cannot connect to the network. Use the ipconfig command in the Windows Command Prompt to help identify and solve the problem. Also use the command to test your solution. Answer the following questions and then complete the video and simulation. 1. What does the ipconfig command do? 2. Which option can be used with ipconfig to find out advanced information, such as the DNS server and whether DHCP is enabled?
746 3. Which option can be used to discharge an IP address that was obtained automatically from a DHCP server? 4. Which option can be used to apply an IP address automatically from a DHCP server? 5. Which commands should be used to verify and test the connection? Watch the corresponding video: Video-07. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-07. Scenario 8: Sharing and Mapping in the Command Prompt Your next task: Share a folder on one computer and map to it from another. But do it in the Command Prompt. Why? As you increase in speed in the Command Prompt (or any command line, for that matter) you will find that you can accomplish what you need to do faster than in the GUI. Answer the following questions and then complete the video and simulation. 1. Which command enables you to share data on a computer? 2. Write the syntax for sharing a folder as data1 on a computer named workstationa. 3. Which command enables you to map to a share on a computer? 4. Write the syntax for mapping to the folder mentioned in question #2 using drive letter F:. Watch the corresponding video: Video-08. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-08.
747 Scenario 9: Troubleshooting a System with Msconfig One of the applications loaded on a Windows 7 computer is causing the system to behave erratically, sometimes locking up. Your task is to disable the application and its underlying service using the Msconfig command. Answer the following questions, and then watch the corresponding video. 1. What is the proper name for the msconfig application? 2. How do you open the msconfig application? 3. Which tab is used to disable the application? (Note that this is done in Task Manager in Windows 8/8.1.) 4. Which tab is used to disable the application s underlying service? (This is an easy one.) 5. What do you need to do after the configuration is complete? Watch the corresponding video: Video-09. Scenario 10: Fixing a Computer That Won t Boot One of your customer s computers can t boot into Windows. You need to fix the problem using the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and the Boot Recovery command. Answer the following items, and then complete the corresponding video and simulation. 1. How can you access the Windows Recovery Environment?
748 2. How do you get to the Command Prompt in Windows RE? 3. Write the syntax you would type to rewrite the boot sector of the hard drive. 4. Write the syntax you would type to rewrite the master boot record of the hard drive. 5. Bonus: Write the syntax you would type to rebuild the Boot Configuration Data store. Watch the corresponding video: Video-10. Complete the corresponding simulation: Simulation-10. Note That s the end of this section, but make sure you watch the brief wrap-up video as well. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at www.davidlprowse.com.