40. A technician installed a new router at a small office. After the installation, the technician notices that all devices have a 169.254.X.X IP address. Printers and fileshares are still working, but PCs cannot access the internet. Which of the following should the technician configure on the router to enable devices to connect to the internet?
Answer: C
Configuring DHCP on the Router Will Enable Internet Access
To enable devices to connect to the internet, the technician should configure DHCP on the router. This will assign valid IP addresses to the devices on the network, as the current 169.254.X.X addresses indicate that they are using Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA), which does not provide internet access.
A) APIPA
APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) is a feature that allows devices to assign themselves an IP address when a DHCP server is not available. While it allows for local communication on the network, it does not facilitate internet access. Therefore, configuring APIPA will not resolve the connectivity issue.
B) DNS
DNS (Domain Name System) is responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses. While important for accessing websites by their names, simply configuring DNS on the router will not solve the issue of IP addresses being in the 169.254.X.X range. Without valid IP assignments, DNS configuration alone cannot enable internet connectivity.
C) DHCP
Configuring DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) on the router is essential for automatically assigning valid IP addresses to devices on the network. This will replace the 169.254.X.X addresses with proper IP addresses, allowing the PCs to access the internet. Thus, enabling DHCP is the required solution in this scenario.
D) SMB
SMB (Server Message Block) is a network file sharing protocol that allows applications to read and write to files and request services from server programs. While SMB is useful for local file sharing, it does not address the issue of internet connectivity. Therefore, configuring SMB will not help in resolving the network problem.
Conclusion
Configuring DHCP is crucial for ensuring that the devices receive appropriate IP addresses, enabling them to communicate with the internet. Options A, B, and D do not address the underlying issue of IP address assignment, making them ineffective solutions. Therefore, DHCP is the definitive answer needed to resolve the connectivity problem in this scenario.