N10-009 Question 286
Single answerA network technician is told that users in the accounting department cannot access a shared application hosted on an internal server. At the same time, one user reports that printing is also failing from their workstation. The outage began this morning after a routine maintenance window. Which action should the technician take FIRST to follow a proper troubleshooting methodology for identifying the problem?
- A
Reboot the application server and the affected user's PC to clear any temporary faults
- B
Gather information from the affected users, identify exactly which symptoms are occurring, determine what changed during the maintenance window, and separate the application issue from the printing issue
- C
Replace the network switch serving accounting because multiple users are affected
- D
Escalate immediately to the server team because the issue involves an internal application
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The best first action is to identify the problem by gathering information, questioning users, identifying symptoms, determining whether anything changed, attempting to duplicate the problem if appropriate, and approaching multiple reported problems individually. In this scenario, the key clue is that the outage started after a maintenance window, so recent changes must be investigated early. Also, the application outage affecting accounting and the single user's printing issue should not automatically be assumed to share the same cause. This aligns with common IT troubleshooting best practices and the CompTIA Network+ troubleshooting methodology, which begins with clearly identifying the problem before establishing a theory, testing, planning, implementing, verifying, and documenting.
- A. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because rebooting systems is an attempted fix, not the first step in identifying the problem. Network+ troubleshooting methodology begins with gathering information, questioning users, identifying symptoms, and determining whether anything changed. Rebooting too early can also erase useful evidence, such as active error messages or session states.
- B. Correct.
This is correct because it matches the first phase of the standard troubleshooting process: identify the problem. The technician should gather details from users, clarify whether all accounting users are affected or only some, document symptoms, ask what changed during the maintenance window, and treat the printing complaint as a separate issue until proven related. This avoids assumptions and helps narrow the scope before testing solutions.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because replacing hardware before identifying the problem is premature and not supported by the information given. Although multiple users are affected, the root cause could be application-related, server-related, DNS-related, VLAN-related, authentication-related, or a post-maintenance configuration issue. Swapping the switch at this stage would be guesswork.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect because immediate escalation skips required fact-finding. A technician should first collect basic information and identify the scope and symptoms. Escalation may be appropriate later, especially if the issue is traced to the server team, but not before the problem has been properly characterized.