WGU D315 Network and Security – Foundations
EXAM
EXAM COVERAGE AREAS — MOSTLY TESTED AREAS
1. Networking Fundamentals, Architectures, and Topologies — LAN, WAN, WLAN, PAN, MAN,
network protocols, network types, star, bus, ring, mesh, and topology characteristics.
2. OSI and TCP/IP Models — Seven OSI layers, TCP/IP mapping, encapsulation, layer responsibilities,
and protocol-to-layer relationships.
3. Network Devices and Infrastructure — Routers, switches, hubs, bridges, repeaters, access points,
modems, NICs, patch panels, and firewalls.
4. Ethernet, Cabling, and Wireless Networking — UTP, fiber, Ethernet categories, 802.11 standards,
SSIDs, wireless security, and physical connectivity.
5. IP Addressing, Routing, NAT, VLANs, and Network Services — IPv4/IPv6, public/private
addressing, MAC addresses, DHCP, DNS, NAT/PAT, VLANs, and routing.
6. Network Protocols, Ports, and Diagnostic Utilities — TCP, UDP, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, DNS,
DHCP, ICMP, ping, traceroute, nslookup, netstat, ipconfig, and nmap.
7. Network Security Fundamentals and Access Controls — CIA triad, authentication, authorization,
least privilege, access controls, firewalls, VPNs, system hardening, and security controls.
8. Threats, Vulnerabilities, Malware, and Social Engineering — phishing, brute force, denial-of-
service, spoofing, sniffing, buffer overflow, malware, zero-day vulnerabilities, and social engineering.
9. Cryptography, Wireless Security, Cloud, and Virtualization — symmetric/asymmetric encryption,
hashing, digital signatures, WPA, cloud deployment/service models, virtualization, and hypervisors.
10. Security Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Business Continuity — security policies, security
awareness, incident prevention, compliance, continuity, availability, and organizational security
practices.
250 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1.
Which OSI model layer is primarily responsible for logical addressing and determining the best path for
packets between different networks?
A. Data Link
B. Network
C. Transport
D. Session
Answer: B. Network
1
,Rationale: The Network layer handles logical addressing, routing, and packet forwarding between different
networks.
2.
A company wants employees in several buildings to communicate using the same organizational network
infrastructure. Which network type best describes this environment?
A. PAN
B. LAN
C. MAN
D. WAN
Answer: C. MAN
Rationale: A Metropolitan Area Network connects networks across a city or large metropolitan area.
3.
Which networking device primarily forwards frames using destination MAC addresses and normally
operates at OSI Layer 2?
A. Router
B. Switch
C. Modem
D. Repeater
Answer: B. Switch
Rationale: Switches examine MAC addresses and forward Ethernet frames through appropriate switch
ports.
4.
A technician needs to determine whether a computer has received an IP address, subnet mask, and default
gateway. Which command is most appropriate?
A. nslookup
B. traceroute
C. ipconfig
D. netstat
Answer: C. ipconfig
Rationale: On Windows, ipconfig displays local TCP/IP configuration information such as addressing and
gateway details.
2
,5.
Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes TCP from UDP when applications require reliable delivery of
network data?
A. TCP provides connection-oriented reliable transport
B. TCP operates only on wireless networks
C. TCP never uses acknowledgments
D. TCP cannot retransmit lost information
Answer: A. TCP provides connection-oriented reliable transport
Rationale: TCP establishes a connection and provides sequencing, acknowledgments, flow control, and
retransmission.
6.
A network administrator wants to separate departments logically while allowing them to share the same
physical switching infrastructure. Which technology should be implemented?
A. VLAN
B. NAT
C. DNS
D. DHCP
Answer: A. VLAN
Rationale: VLANs logically segment switched networks into separate broadcast domains.
7.
Which protocol is primarily responsible for translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses
that computers can use?
A. DHCP
B. DNS
C. FTP
D. SMTP
Answer: B. DNS
Rationale: DNS resolves domain names such as example.com into corresponding IP addresses.
3
, 8.
A security administrator wants users to receive addresses automatically instead of manually configuring
every workstation. Which service provides this capability?
A. DNS
B. DHCP
C. HTTP
D. ICMP
Answer: B. DHCP
Rationale: DHCP automatically provides network configuration information including IP addresses,
gateways, and DNS servers.
9.
Which physical topology connects each endpoint to a central networking device, making modern switched
Ethernet networks commonly resemble this arrangement?
A. Bus
B. Ring
C. Star
D. Mesh
Answer: C. Star
Rationale: In a star topology, devices connect to a central switch or other networking device.
10.
Which security principle requires an organization to provide users only the permissions necessary for their
assigned responsibilities?
A. Availability
B. Least privilege
C. Nonrepudiation
D. Redundancy
Answer: B. Least privilege
Rationale: Least privilege minimizes unnecessary permissions and reduces the potential impact of
compromised accounts.
4
EXAM
EXAM COVERAGE AREAS — MOSTLY TESTED AREAS
1. Networking Fundamentals, Architectures, and Topologies — LAN, WAN, WLAN, PAN, MAN,
network protocols, network types, star, bus, ring, mesh, and topology characteristics.
2. OSI and TCP/IP Models — Seven OSI layers, TCP/IP mapping, encapsulation, layer responsibilities,
and protocol-to-layer relationships.
3. Network Devices and Infrastructure — Routers, switches, hubs, bridges, repeaters, access points,
modems, NICs, patch panels, and firewalls.
4. Ethernet, Cabling, and Wireless Networking — UTP, fiber, Ethernet categories, 802.11 standards,
SSIDs, wireless security, and physical connectivity.
5. IP Addressing, Routing, NAT, VLANs, and Network Services — IPv4/IPv6, public/private
addressing, MAC addresses, DHCP, DNS, NAT/PAT, VLANs, and routing.
6. Network Protocols, Ports, and Diagnostic Utilities — TCP, UDP, HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, DNS,
DHCP, ICMP, ping, traceroute, nslookup, netstat, ipconfig, and nmap.
7. Network Security Fundamentals and Access Controls — CIA triad, authentication, authorization,
least privilege, access controls, firewalls, VPNs, system hardening, and security controls.
8. Threats, Vulnerabilities, Malware, and Social Engineering — phishing, brute force, denial-of-
service, spoofing, sniffing, buffer overflow, malware, zero-day vulnerabilities, and social engineering.
9. Cryptography, Wireless Security, Cloud, and Virtualization — symmetric/asymmetric encryption,
hashing, digital signatures, WPA, cloud deployment/service models, virtualization, and hypervisors.
10. Security Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Business Continuity — security policies, security
awareness, incident prevention, compliance, continuity, availability, and organizational security
practices.
250 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1.
Which OSI model layer is primarily responsible for logical addressing and determining the best path for
packets between different networks?
A. Data Link
B. Network
C. Transport
D. Session
Answer: B. Network
1
,Rationale: The Network layer handles logical addressing, routing, and packet forwarding between different
networks.
2.
A company wants employees in several buildings to communicate using the same organizational network
infrastructure. Which network type best describes this environment?
A. PAN
B. LAN
C. MAN
D. WAN
Answer: C. MAN
Rationale: A Metropolitan Area Network connects networks across a city or large metropolitan area.
3.
Which networking device primarily forwards frames using destination MAC addresses and normally
operates at OSI Layer 2?
A. Router
B. Switch
C. Modem
D. Repeater
Answer: B. Switch
Rationale: Switches examine MAC addresses and forward Ethernet frames through appropriate switch
ports.
4.
A technician needs to determine whether a computer has received an IP address, subnet mask, and default
gateway. Which command is most appropriate?
A. nslookup
B. traceroute
C. ipconfig
D. netstat
Answer: C. ipconfig
Rationale: On Windows, ipconfig displays local TCP/IP configuration information such as addressing and
gateway details.
2
,5.
Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes TCP from UDP when applications require reliable delivery of
network data?
A. TCP provides connection-oriented reliable transport
B. TCP operates only on wireless networks
C. TCP never uses acknowledgments
D. TCP cannot retransmit lost information
Answer: A. TCP provides connection-oriented reliable transport
Rationale: TCP establishes a connection and provides sequencing, acknowledgments, flow control, and
retransmission.
6.
A network administrator wants to separate departments logically while allowing them to share the same
physical switching infrastructure. Which technology should be implemented?
A. VLAN
B. NAT
C. DNS
D. DHCP
Answer: A. VLAN
Rationale: VLANs logically segment switched networks into separate broadcast domains.
7.
Which protocol is primarily responsible for translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses
that computers can use?
A. DHCP
B. DNS
C. FTP
D. SMTP
Answer: B. DNS
Rationale: DNS resolves domain names such as example.com into corresponding IP addresses.
3
, 8.
A security administrator wants users to receive addresses automatically instead of manually configuring
every workstation. Which service provides this capability?
A. DNS
B. DHCP
C. HTTP
D. ICMP
Answer: B. DHCP
Rationale: DHCP automatically provides network configuration information including IP addresses,
gateways, and DNS servers.
9.
Which physical topology connects each endpoint to a central networking device, making modern switched
Ethernet networks commonly resemble this arrangement?
A. Bus
B. Ring
C. Star
D. Mesh
Answer: C. Star
Rationale: In a star topology, devices connect to a central switch or other networking device.
10.
Which security principle requires an organization to provide users only the permissions necessary for their
assigned responsibilities?
A. Availability
B. Least privilege
C. Nonrepudiation
D. Redundancy
Answer: B. Least privilege
Rationale: Least privilege minimizes unnecessary permissions and reduces the potential impact of
compromised accounts.
4
