220-1102 Question 178
Single answerStatic vs. dynamicA technician is configuring a small office workstation that must reliably host a shared folder for accounting software. Other PCs access the share by mapping a drive to the workstation's IP address. After a recent router reboot, users could no longer connect because the workstation received a different IP address from the DHCP server. The office wants the simplest change that will keep the workstation reachable at the same address without requiring manual reconfiguration on each reboot. What should the technician do?
- A
Configure a static IP address on the workstation outside the DHCP scope and with the correct subnet mask, gateway, and DNS settings
- B
Run ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew on the workstation so it requests a new dynamic address
- C
Enable APIPA on the workstation so it can automatically keep the same private address
- D
Set the workstation to obtain an IP address automatically and manually configure only the DNS server address
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This scenario tests the practical difference between dynamic and static addressing. DHCP provides dynamic IP addresses, which are convenient for most client devices because configuration is automatic and centrally managed. However, devices that must be consistently reachable at a known address, such as systems hosting shares, printers, or infrastructure services, often need a static IP address or a DHCP reservation. Because the question asks for the simplest change on the workstation itself that avoids reconfiguration after reboots, assigning a static IP is the best answer. Best practice is to choose an address outside the DHCP pool or otherwise excluded from DHCP assignment to prevent duplicate IP conflicts. Microsoft networking guidance and standard TCP/IP best practices support using static addressing for hosts that require predictable network identities.
- A. Correct.
Correct. A static IP address is appropriate when a device must be consistently reachable at the same address, such as a workstation hosting a shared resource that other systems access directly by IP. Placing the address outside the DHCP scope helps avoid conflicts with dynamically assigned addresses. The technician must also configure the proper subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS settings so the system can communicate normally on the network.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Releasing and renewing the DHCP lease only requests another dynamic address from the DHCP server. It does not guarantee the workstation will keep the same address after future renewals or router reboots. This is a common misunderstanding when troubleshooting DHCP-related connectivity problems.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. APIPA assigns an address in the 169.254.0.0/16 range when a DHCP server cannot be reached. It is not used to preserve a stable, routable office LAN address for shared resources. Systems using APIPA typically have limited local-network-only communication and would not be a proper solution for a business file-sharing scenario.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Leaving the workstation on automatic addressing means the IP address can still change when the DHCP lease is renewed or the router restarts. Manually setting DNS alone does not make the host consistently reachable at the same IP address. Someone might choose this if they confuse name resolution settings with IP address assignment.