Question

Difficulty: MediumWired and Wireless Network Issues

Match each network troubleshooting scenario on the left with its most likely underlying cause on the right.

  • A workstation auto-assigns an IP address of 169.254.42.108 and cannot access network shares or the internet.DHCP server unreachability resulting in an APIPA address
  • A wireless client in a dense office setup experiences high packet loss and latency despite full Wi-Fi signal indicator.Wi-Fi co-channel interference and frequency overlap
  • An Ethernet connection experiences extreme interference and data corruption when running adjacent to high-voltage fluorescent lighting.Electromagnetic interference (EMI) on unshielded cabling
  • A computer can ping external IP addresses (e.g., 1.1.1.1) successfully but cannot load web pages using standard domain names.DNS server failure or local misconfiguration

Answer

The troubleshooting scenarios correctly match as follows: receiving a 169.254.x.x address indicates DHCP server unreachability (APIPA); Wi-Fi packet loss despite strong signal indicates channel interference; cable degradation near high-voltage lighting indicates EMI; and successful IP pings alongside failed domain navigation indicates DNS failure.
Each diagnostic symptom directly corresponds to a specific failure mode: 169.254.x.x addresses signify DHCP failure; degraded Wi-Fi with high signal strength signifies channel overlap; signal degradation near electrical fixtures signifies EMI; and successful IP connectivity with domain failures signifies DNS breakdown.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the APIPA scenario (169.254.42.108).
Identify that 169.254.0.0/16 is the APIPA address block.
When a client fails to communicate with a DHCP server to obtain a lease, Windows assigns an APIPA address automatically.
2
Analyze high latency and packet loss on a strong Wi-Fi signal.
Identify channel congestion or overlapping frequencies.
Nearby access points operating on the same non-overlapping channel (e.g., 2.4 GHz channel 6) cause radio frequency collisions.
3
Analyze interference near high-voltage fluorescent lighting.
Identify electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Unshielded copper cabling (UTP) is susceptible to electrical noise emitted by ballasts and high-voltage power lines.
4
Analyze successful IP ping vs. failed domain name navigation.
Identify DNS service breakdown.
DNS translates domain names into numerical IP addresses. Since IP routing is functional, the issue is isolated to domain resolution.

Key Concept

Diagnosing common wired and wireless symptoms and identifying their root network causes.
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