A network administrator is troubleshooting a PC that cannot connect to the LAN. The administrator runs the ipconfig command at the command prompt and gets the following output:
Which of the following is misconfigured?
Correct Answer: A
Explanation
The subnet mask is a binary value that defines how many bits of an IP address are used to identify the network and how many bits are used to identify the host. The subnet mask also determines the size and number of subnets in a network. The ipconfig command shows the current IP configuration of a device, including the subnet mask. In this case, the subnet mask is misconfigured because it does not match the network address of the device. The device has an IP address of 192.168.1.55, which belongs to the network 192.168.1.0/24 (with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0). However, the subnet mask is set to 225.225.225.224, which is an invalid value that does not correspond to any network prefix length. This causes the device to be unable to communicate with other devices on the same network or access the default gateway. References: CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Certification Study Guide, page 109; The Official CompTIA Network+ Student Guide (Exam N10-008), page 5-4.