Which NIC-teaming technology utilizes all available bandwidth?

SK0-005 By islever Editorial Last updated

Short answer

C Load balancing

Question

A server administrator is taking advantage of all the available bandwidth of the four NICs on the server. Which of the following NIC-teaming technologies should the server administrator utilize?
  1. Fail over
  2. Fault tolerance
  3. Load balancing Correct Answer
  4. Link aggregation

Key Takeaways

Candidates often confuse the mechanism (Link Aggregation) with the operational benefit/mode (Load Balancing); the key is recognizing that 'taking advantage of all available bandwidth' describes the load balancing function.

The question tests the distinction between fault tolerance and bandwidth utilization in NIC teaming. While Link Aggregation (LACP) is the underlying protocol, CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 specifically identifies Load Balancing as the functional mode that distributes traffic to maximize throughput across multiple interfaces.

Common mistake: Option D (Link Aggregation) is the most common wrong answer because it is technically the method used to combine links; however, exam questions often prioritize the functional outcome (balancing load) over the technical implementation when distinguishing from simple redundancy modes like Failover.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Load balancing is the specific NIC-teaming mode designed to distribute network traffic across multiple physical adapters to increase total throughput. By splitting the load, the server can utilize the aggregate bandwidth of all four NICs, directly addressing the scenario described. This differs from pure failover modes where only one link is active at a time.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Failover (A) and Fault Tolerance (B) are primarily about high availability; typically, only one NIC handles traffic while others sit idle as backups, meaning they do not utilize all available bandwidth simultaneously. Link Aggregation (D) is the standard protocol (like IEEE 802.3ad/LACP) that enables the teaming, but in the context of SK0-005 terminology, 'Load Balancing' is the preferred term for the behavior of utilizing bandwidth, whereas aggregation is often viewed as the configuration method or synonymous with bonding in Linux contexts.

Community Comment Notes

Comment [1] correctly highlights that load balancing distributes traffic to prevent bottlenecks and increase throughput. Comment [3] provides a nuanced view, noting that link aggregation provides load-balancing capabilities, which explains why many users chose D. However, the consensus leans toward C because the question asks what technology the administrator should utilize to achieve the specific goal of bandwidth maximization, which is the definition of load balancing.

Exam Strategy

When an option describes a benefit (like increased bandwidth) and another describes a technical standard (like LACP), look for keywords indicating the purpose of the action. If the goal is performance/throughput, choose Load Balancing; if the goal is simply combining links into one logical interface without specifying traffic distribution, consider Link Aggregation.

Community Votes

C
60%
D
40%

60% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 4 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 4

  1. surfuganda 👍 3 Answered C
    C. Load balancing Load balancing NIC-teaming technology allows the server to distribute network traffic across multiple network interfaces (NICs) to take advantage of all available bandwidth. This results in increased network throughput and improved performance. Load balancing distributes incoming network traffic evenly across the active NICs, preventing any single NIC from becoming a bottleneck.
  2. ompk 👍 1
    the answer is correct because Link aggregation increases bandwidth, provides graceful degradation as failure occurs, increases availability and provides load-balancing capabilities. Load balancing enables the device to divide incoming and outgoing traffic along multiple interfaces to reduce congestion in the network.
  3. Stache 👍 1 Answered D
    The only option here directly relating to increasing bandwidth is D.
  4. PaytoPlay 👍 1 Answered D
    Answer is D.

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