IP Address Inquiry

If you are planning on taking the A+ practice test there are many technical questions you will have to become familiar with. The following is a dissection of a possible question you might have to answer. The question is as follows:

 

 

Which of the following IP addresses would a technician see if a computer is connected to a multifunction network device and is attempting to obtain an IP address automatically but is not receiving an IP address from the DHCP server?

A. 172.16.10.10

B. 192.168.0.10

C. 169.254.10.10

D. 192.168.10.10

I am not well versed in this type of technical jargon so to understand the question I had to look up some of the terminology. The first thing I looked up was “IP Address” and found the following definition:

[An] IP Address is a unique string of numbers separated by periods that identifies each computer using the Internet Protocol to communicate over a network.

Next I looked up “Multifunction Network Device and found this definition:

A multifuntion network device is product or device that has multiple functions. An example of this might be a printer that also makes copies, faxes, and scans.

I then looked up how to obtain an IP address automatically. These are the insructions I found:

• Click on your Start menu and select Control Panel

• Click on Network and Internet.

• Click on Network and Sharing Center.

• Click on Change adapter settings, located on the left-side menu.

• Right click on the Local Area Connection icon and select Properties. You will need to have administrator access.

• In the new window, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list of items and click Properties. If any IP or DNS information is listed in the new window, you may want to write it down in case you need to restore your settings at a later time.

• Ensure the radio buttons beside Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically are selected. Click OK. Close the remaining windows.

I then looked up Dynamic Host Configuration and found:

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network protocol used to assign IP addresses and provide configuration information to devices such as servers, desktops, or mobile devices, so they can communicate on a network using the Internet Protocol (IP).

Again, I am not very technical so I looked up the answer itself and this is what I found:

If the computer fails to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server, Windows will take over and apply an Automatic Private IP Address (APIPA). This address will be on the 169.254.0.0 network. All of the other addresses could possibly be obtained from a DHCP server. 172.16.10.10 is a Class B private IP. 192.168.0.10 and 192.168.10.10 are Class C private IP addresses.

So now I have a vague idea as to how to approach the initial question quoted above. Hopefully you (the reader) has a better grasp on this material when you take the A+ practice test.