CompTIA Network+ N10-009 Practice Question

Congestion and bottlenecking can occur when a network design does not adequately handle peak traffic loads, which leads to slow data transmissions and low throughput during high activity periods. High traffic volume is the correct answer because it directly impacts network performance by exceeding the designed capacity of network devices or links, leading to delays and reduced data throughput. Inaccurate subnet masking and duplicate IP allocation might cause connectivity issues but are less likely to affect network performance uniformly. Outdated firmware can impact device functionality but would not typically cause issues specifically in peak hours unless it leads to inefficient data handling. Incorrect VLAN tagging, while capable of segmenting and causing traffic issues, does not explain widespread performance degradation during peak times only.