Microsoft Networking Essentials Exam Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Microsoft Networking Essentials Exam facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What does the 'tracert' command do on a Windows system? → Shows the hop-by-hop path packets take to a destination
2. In the OSI model, at which layer does a router primarily operate? → Layer 3 – Network
3. Which command on a Windows PC would display the ARP cache, showing IP-to-MAC address mappings? → arp -a
4. After adding a new printer to the network, users can print from the same subnet but not from other subnets. What is the likely issue? → No route exists between subnets or a firewall is blocking printer ports
5. What is the valid host range for the subnet 10.0.0.128/25? → 10.0.0.129 – 10.0.0.254
6. What does the 'ping -l' parameter allow a technician to do when gathering evidence about MTU-related issues? → Set the size of the data payload in the ping packet
7. A user reports that file transfers are slow but web browsing is fast. Which QoS configuration is the likely cause? → HTTP traffic is prioritized over file transfer (SMB/FTP) traffic
8. Which IEEE standard defines the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) wireless networking specification? → IEEE 802.11ax
9. A company's email server blacklisted because it is sending spam. Investigation reveals a compromised workstation. What should be done first? → Isolate the compromised workstation from the network immediately
10. What does a high jitter value indicate about network quality? → Inconsistent packet delivery timing
11. A technician is working on a client site and notices an unrelated security vulnerability. What is the professional course of action? → Inform the client and document the finding appropriately
12. What is the purpose of a default gateway configured on a host device? → Forward packets destined for networks outside the local subnet
13. Which of the following IPv4 addresses is a Class A private address? → 10.200.50.1
14. What is the purpose of a network baseline in quality assurance? → To document normal performance for comparison during issues
15. In the context of network SLAs, what does 'five nines' availability refer to? → 99.999% uptime, equaling about 5.26 minutes of downtime per year
16. What is the total number of possible IPv4 addresses? → About 4.3 billion
17. Which IPv6 address type is equivalent to a private IPv4 address and is used only within a local network? → Unique local
18. Which US government authorization process must cloud service providers complete to offer services to federal agencies? → FedRAMP authorization
19. A company backs up its data to an offsite location to ensure recovery after a disaster. This practice primarily addresses which risk category? → Operational risk
20. Why is documentation important in Microsoft Networking Essentials Exam risk management? → It creates an audit trail, supports decision-making, and demonstrates due diligence
21. In a star topology, if the central connecting device fails, what happens? → The entire network goes down
22. An organization wants to monitor all traffic entering and leaving their network for security analysis. Where should a network tap or SPAN port be configured? → At the network perimeter on the core switch or router
23. Which of the following best describes the purpose of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)? → Requires parental consent before collecting personal data from children under 13
24. A private network that enables data sharing between members of an organization is: → Intranet
25. Which protocol is used to securely manage network devices remotely and encrypts all session traffic? → SSH
26. A network engineer is asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before starting a client engagement. What is the professional significance of this? → It legally obligates the technician to keep client information confidential
27. Which port number does HTTPS use by default? → 443
28. When writing a network incident report for executive leadership, which content style is most appropriate? → Use business impact language with minimal technical jargon
29. What is the primary function of a network switch? → Forward frames based on MAC addresses within a network
30. Which command would you use to display the routing table on a Windows computer? → netstat -r