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Question 540
An IOS router is synchronized to UTC by NTP, but a field team wants log timestamps displayed in Pakistan Standard Time (UTC+5) without altering the NTP reference. What should the engineer change?
- The time-zone display setting, leaving NTP synchronization intact
- The NTP reference IP address to a server physically located in Pakistan
- The device routing-table administrative distance for the NTP server
- The interface duplex mode, since syslog timestamps use link speed
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Clock timezone formatting is separate from UTC synchronization; an IOS time-zone setting changes presentation without requiring a different NTP source.
Incorrect Answers
B:NTP time synchronization does not depend on selecting a server in the desired civil time zone.
C:Administrative distance affects route preference and does not specify the time-zone offset applied to displayed timestamps.
D:Duplex mismatch affects Ethernet transmission, not the time offset used by the device clock formatting.
Question 541
An IOS router has a stable Loopback0 management address and two uplinks that can fail over. The NTP server’s allowlist accepts the loopback address, not either physical uplink address. Which global NTP command stabilizes the source IP?
- ntp source Loopback0
- ntp master 1, which makes the router a top-tier local time source
- ntp disable on Loopback0, which removes the accepted source address
- logging source-interface Loopback0, which applies to remote syslog messages
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The ntp source command selects the address of the specified interface for outgoing NTP packets; it can remain stable across uplink changes.
Incorrect Answers
B:Declaring a local NTP master changes the device’s time-reference role and does not choose the allowed source IP for upstream queries.
C:Disabling NTP service on the loopback does not configure the desired source address and may prevent the intended NTP exchange.
D:A logging source-interface option affects syslog packets rather than the source address used for NTP messages.
Question 542
Two already-synchronized NTP servers have strata 2 and 4. Ignoring other quality differences, which server is fewer synchronization steps away from a primary reference clock?
- The stratum-4 server, because higher stratum is higher clock authority
- The stratum-2 server, because lower positive strata are nearer the primary reference
- Both servers are guaranteed identical distance because they use UDP port 123
- Neither; NTP stratum measures syslog severity rather than clock reference distance
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Stratum increases with distance from the primary reference, so stratum 2 is closer than stratum 4 in that hierarchy.
Incorrect Answers
A:A larger NTP stratum counts more levels from the reference; it does not indicate greater time-source authority.
C:Matching UDP transport does not imply equal NTP strata, offset, dispersion or overall clock quality.
D:NTP stratum describes the clock-reference hierarchy, whereas the separate syslog zero-to-seven scale categorizes event-message urgency rather than time accuracy.
Question 543
The command `show ntp associations` displays multiple upstream peers, one marked with a leading asterisk. The engineer wants to identify the peer currently selected for synchronization. What does the asterisk indicate?
- The selected system peer currently used as the NTP synchronization source
- A peer that was rejected due to an invalid interface VLAN tag
- A server that always has stratum 1 regardless of reported data
- A peer whose remote clock is deliberately excluded from synchronization
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:The asterisk marks the system peer selected for synchronization; other entries may be configured, reachable or candidates without being selected.
Incorrect Answers
B:An Ethernet VLAN tag governs Layer 2 membership, not the NTP peer-selection status marker in time-association command output.
C:The selected source can have various appropriate strata; the marker does not force a stratum-1 reading.
D:An excluded peer is not the currently selected system peer, so the marker would not support that interpretation.
Question 544
A branch router can contact an NTP server, but corporate security policy requires authenticated time updates so an untrusted host cannot impersonate the approved time source. Which approach addresses the requirement?
- Use the platform-supported NTP authentication key and trusted-key configuration with an approved server
- Set the local clock manually once, then disable all clock correction permanently
- Rely only on the NTP server IP address, since an address alone authenticates every reply
- Enable SNMPv1 community strings so NTP time messages are encrypted
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Where supported, trusted NTP authentication verifies configured time exchanges; the correct method and keys must agree between the peer devices.
Incorrect Answers
B:A manually entered clock will drift and does not authenticate future synchronization packets or protect against malicious time data.
C:Source IP filtering alone does not cryptographically prove the NTP response came from a trusted clock.
D:SNMP community strings relate to monitoring and do not encrypt or authenticate NTP messages.
Question 545
A remote IOS router shows no reachable NTP association with its approved server. The server address is correct, but a firewall on the path drops UDP port 123. What should be checked first?
- Restore permitted NTP UDP 123 communication between the authorized peers
- Increase the Ethernet MTU of every interface to exactly 9000 bytes
- Change all routes to use administrative distance 255
- Change syslog severity to debugging so the server can send time
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:NTP normally uses UDP 123; restoring authorized bidirectional time traffic addresses the explicit path filter blocking synchronization.
Incorrect Answers
B:Jumbo Ethernet MTU changes are unrelated to a firewall denying normal NTP packets on UDP 123.
C:An administrative distance of 255 makes route candidates unusable and could worsen rather than repair NTP connectivity.
D:Syslog severity selects log messages but does not allow NTP data packets through a firewall.
Question 546
New laptops on VLAN 50 must automatically receive unique IPv4 addresses, masks, gateways, DNS values and a lease lifetime, rather than static host-by-host configurations. Which DHCP service/scope supplies that allocation?
- Configure only DNS A and AAAA records, with no DHCP address leases
- Use DHCPv4 leases with an appropriate scope
- Assign the same hard-coded IPv4 address to every laptop
- Use DHCP relay alone without any server scope or pool
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:A DHCP scope leases a client address plus options such as subnet mask and default gateway, reducing the need for manual host settings. The scope must match the intended subnet and exclude infrastructure addresses as appropriate.
Incorrect Answers
A:DNS maps names to records, not unique client IPv4 addresses and lease options on a LAN.
C:Reusing one address causes collisions and violates the dynamic unique-lease requirement.
D:A relay forwards client requests but a server scope/pool must supply addresses and options.
Question 547
A desktop can reach an application only when its hostname is resolved to a destination IPv4 address. The DNS zone contains both A and AAAA records for `app.example.test`. Which record should the engineer query to obtain the IPv4 destination?
- Query DNS for its A record
- Query the AAAA record, which contains the IPv6 address
- Query the PTR record, which maps an IP address back toward a name
- Renew the DHCPv4 lease instead of querying DNS
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:A DNS A record stores the name-to-IPv4 mapping needed for an IPv4 connection; a dual-stack name can also have AAAA but that supplies an IPv6 destination.
Incorrect Answers
B:AAAA contains an IPv6 128-bit address, not the IPv4 32-bit address required for this application path.
C:PTR supports reverse resolution and does not provide the requested forward hostname-to-IPv4 mapping.
D:DHCP can configure the client’s address and resolver settings but does not directly retrieve the A record associated with this FQDN.
Question 548
A dual-stack application service has the hostname `app.example.test`, and an IPv6-only client must look up a 128-bit IPv6 destination. The authoritative DNS zone supplies both address families. Which query type is appropriate?
- A, which carries the 32-bit IPv4 address
- Query DNS for its AAAA record
- PTR, which is used for reverse DNS name lookup
- Renew the DHCPv4 lease to obtain the server’s IPv6 address
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:AAAA is the DNS resource-record type that maps a hostname to its IPv6 address; the A record serves the parallel but distinct IPv4 lookup.
Incorrect Answers
A:An A record is insufficient for an IPv6-only client because it carries an IPv4 address rather than a 128-bit IPv6 destination.
C:PTR addresses the opposite lookup direction and does not directly map this hostname to an IPv6 address.
D:Client address lease renewal does not replace a DNS AAAA lookup for the specified remote service name.
Question 549
A reverse DNS lookup must map a known IPv4 address to its configured hostname rather than resolve a name to an A record. Which DNS record type should be queried?
- Query an A record to reverse-map an IPv4 address to a name
- Query an AAAA record for the IPv4 address
- Query an MX record because every host is an email server
- Query the appropriate DNS PTR record
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:PTR records are used for reverse name-to-address-zone lookup.
Incorrect Answers
A:A records map names to IPv4 addresses; a reverse lookup uses a PTR record in the appropriate in-addr.arpa zone.
B:AAAA holds IPv6 addresses for names and does not provide the reverse IPv4 host mapping.
C:MX identifies mail exchangers for a domain, not the hostname associated with a known IPv4 address.
Question 550
An existing DHCP client approaches lease expiry and needs to extend its assigned address without manually creating a static address. Which DHCP lease renewal exchange is appropriate?
- Send a fresh DNS query to the resolver and assume the lease timer resets
- Drop the existing lease and assign a manually chosen static IPv4 address
- Send the appropriate DHCPREQUEST renewal and accept the DHCPACK lease extension
- Send an ARP request for the router and treat the ARP reply as an address lease renewal
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:A client normally renews an existing DHCPv4 lease with DHCPREQUEST directed to its lease server and receives DHCPACK with updated lease parameters if accepted; it does not need manual static addressing.
Incorrect Answers
A:Name resolution has no role in renewing a DHCPv4 address lease.
B:The client is expected to extend the dynamically assigned address through DHCP renewal, not bypass the server.
D:ARP resolves local link-layer neighbors; it cannot update a DHCP lease expiration timer.
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) (200-301) Practice Tests
