Question 185 - N10-008 discussion

A VLAN is a virtual local area network that logically separates devices on the same physicalnetwork. VLANs can improve network performance, security, and management by reducingbroadcast domains and isolating traffic.

A DHCP reservation is a feature that allows a network administrator to assign a specific IPaddress to a device based on its MAC address. This ensures that the device always receives thesame IP address from the DHCP server, even if the lease expires or the device reboots.A networked printer is a device that can be shared by multiple users on the same network. Anetworked printer typically has a built-in network interface card (NIC) that allows it tocommunicate with other devices using TCP/IP protocols.A print server is a device or a software application that manages the printing requests frommultiple clients. A print server can also provide additional features such as print queuemanagement, printer driver installation, and printer status monitoring.A subnet is a logical division of an IP network that allows devices to communicate moreefficiently and securely. A subnet is defined by a network address and a subnet mask, whichdetermine the range of valid IP addresses within the subnet. Devices on the same subnet cancommunicate directly with each other without the need for a router.A ping is a network diagnostic tool that tests the connectivity and reachability between twodevices by sending and receiving echo packets. A ping request can fail for various reasons, suchas network congestion, firewall settings, routing issues, or device configuration errors.Based on the question, the networked printer is unavailable because it cannot be pinged fromthe print server in the same subnet. This means that there is a problem with the layer 2connectivity between the two devices, which is determined by the MAC addresses and theVLANs. The most likely cause of this problem is that the printer and the print server are ondifferent VLANs, which prevents them from communicating with each other. The other optionsare less likely because they affect the layer 3 connectivity, which is determined by the IPaddresses and the gateways. A DNS failure would not affect the ping request, since it uses IPaddresses and not hostnames. A DHCP scope exhaustion would not affect the printer, since ithas a DHCP reservation that guarantees its IP address. An incorrect gateway would not affectthe communication within the same subnet, since it is only used for routing packets to othernetworks.Reference:CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Network Devices and Technologies,Section 2.2: Network Device Functions and Features, Subsection: Print Servers, pp. 76-77.CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Study Guide, Chapter 3: Network Operations, Section 3.3:Network Configuration Management, Subsection: DHCP, pp. 144-146.CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Network Security, Section 4.2: NetworkSegmentation and Isolation, Subsection: VLANs, pp. 202-204.Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 1.5: NetworkTroubleshooting Methodology, Subsection: Identify the Problem, pp. 16-17.

Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 2.2: Network Devices,Subsection: Print Servers, p. 28.Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 2.6: NetworkAddressing, Subsection: DHCP, p. 38.Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 2.7: NetworkAddressing, Subsection: Subnetting, p. 39.Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 3.5: NetworkSegmentation, Subsection: VLANs, p. 58.