100-140 Question 215
Single answerYou are troubleshooting a network connectivity issue on a Windows computer. The user reports that they are unable to access the internet. You decide to use the 'ipconfig' command to identify the problem. After running the command, you notice the following output:
IPv4 Address: 169.254.15.23 Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0 Default Gateway: (blank)
Based on this output, what would be the most appropriate next step?
- A
Manually configure a static IP address and default gateway for the device.
- B
Run the 'ipconfig /release' and 'ipconfig /renew' commands to attempt to obtain a valid IP address from the DHCP server.
- C
Check the device's DNS server settings to ensure they are correctly configured.
- D
Verify the user's firewall settings to ensure they are not blocking internet access.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The 169.254.x.x IP address is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, which indicates that the device could not obtain an IP address from a DHCP server. The most appropriate next step is to attempt to obtain a valid IP address by running the commands 'ipconfig /release' and 'ipconfig /renew'. This will force the device to release its current IP configuration and request a new IP address from the DHCP server.
- A. Incorrect.
Manually configuring a static IP address may resolve the issue temporarily, but it does not address the root cause, which appears to be a failure to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server.
- B. Correct.
Running 'ipconfig /release' and 'ipconfig /renew' is the correct step because the 169.254.x.x address indicates that the device failed to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server. This command attempts to refresh the DHCP lease.
- C. Incorrect.
The DNS server settings are irrelevant at this stage since the device has not obtained a valid IP address. DNS configuration issues would typically manifest differently, such as the inability to resolve hostnames.
- D. Incorrect.
Firewall settings would not cause the device to have a 169.254.x.x address. Firewall issues would typically block specific traffic but not impact the assignment of an IP address.