PBQ lab
Performance-based questions you actually operate
Configure the device in front of you
A configuration task gives you a brief, like a three-person office that needs its new router hardened, and a settings screen to fix. There's no single button to press: you change what needs changing and leave the rest.
Each attempt changes the details, such as the address range, the printer's hardware address, or which fault is injected, so a retry tests the skill rather than your memory of the last layout.
Office router · Wireless and admin
220-1202Read the output, find the cause
WS-14 · Command Prompt
N10-009C:\> ipconfig IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.20.4.37 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.20.4.1C:\> ping 8.8.8.8 -n 1Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=117C:\> nslookup intranet.corp.exampleDNS request timed out.Server: UnKnownAddress: 10.20.9.99
The command line responds the way the real tools do, computed from the scenario's network. Here, the workstation reaches the internet by address but can't resolve an intranet name, and its DNS server never answers.
Nothing executes on a real machine. Scenarios use reserved documentation names and private address space, and an unknown command gets the shell's normal “not recognized” reply.
Partial credit, rule by rule
Each simulation is graded against a set of rules, and each rule carries its own feedback and source. The results use the same explanation screen as every other question, so a missed rule tells you what the setting does and what leaving it wrong would break.
CompTIA doesn't publish how it scores performance-based questions. The breakdown here is a study aid, not a mirror of CompTIA's scoring.
3 of 4 rules passed
- Passed: Changed the default admin password.
- Passed: Turned off WPS, whose PIN mode can be brute-forced.
- Passed: Chose WPA3-Personal.
- Missed: Firmware still needs the available update.
Simulation types
In the beta
Drag and match
Match cables to connectors, ports to protocols, or RAID levels to their properties.
In the beta
Ordering
Put a multi-step procedure in order, such as malware removal or a DHCP exchange.
In the beta
Configuration form
Change a small-office router, a firewall rule table, or a switchport's VLAN settings.
In the beta
Command line
Run ipconfig, ping, tracert, nslookup, and similar tools against a scripted network.
Added at launch
Topology
Place a firewall, access point, or IDS on a network diagram, with an equivalent list view.
Added at launch
Log review
Find the problem in event log entries, syslog lines, or interface counters.
A keyboard path for every task
Every drag has an equivalent you can do with a keyboard or a screen reader: select an item, then select where it goes. Network diagrams come with a list view, the command line is real selectable text that follows your font size, and new output is announced as it appears.
Simulations meet the same 4.5:1 contrast in light and dark themes as the rest of the app, and passed or missed is always written out, never shown by color alone.