300-410 Infrastructure Services Practice Question
A network engineer configures a Cisco IOS router with the command 'ip dhcp excluded-address 10.10.10.1 10.10.10.20'. The DHCP pool is defined as 'ip dhcp pool LAN' with network 10.10.10.0 /24. Which statement accurately describes the effect of the excluded-address command?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that excluded addresses are reserved for DHCP clients or that they become unavailable for static configuration.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The router will not assign addresses 10.10.10.1 through 10.10.10.20 to DHCP clients, but those addresses can still be manually configured on other devices.
The excluded-address command removes a range of addresses from dynamic DHCP allocation, ensuring they are not offered to clients. Those addresses can still be statically configured on other devices, such as routers, switches, or servers. This prevents IP address conflicts while allowing manual assignment where needed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The router will reserve addresses 10.10.10.1 through 10.10.10.20 for DHCP clients only, preventing static assignment on other devices.
Why it's wrong here
The excluded-address command does not reserve addresses for DHCP; it does the opposite by removing them from the DHCP pool. Static assignment on other devices is still possible because the addresses are not leased by DHCP. The router does not enforce any reservation for DHCP clients.
- ✗
The router will exclude the entire 10.10.10.0 /24 subnet from DHCP, so no addresses will be assigned from that pool.
Why it's wrong here
The excluded-address command only removes the specified range (10.10.10.1–10.10.10.20) from the pool. The rest of the subnet remains available for dynamic assignment. Excluding the entire subnet would require specifying the full range, which is not the case here.
- ✓
The router will not assign addresses 10.10.10.1 through 10.10.10.20 to DHCP clients, but those addresses can still be manually configured on other devices.
Why this is correct
The excluded-address range prevents the DHCP server from offering those specific IP addresses in the pool. It does not reserve them for any particular device; they remain available for static assignment. This is commonly used to avoid conflicts with gateways, servers, or printers that are manually configured.
- ✗
The router will assign addresses 10.10.10.1 through 10.10.10.20 only to clients that match a specific MAC address in a manual binding.
Why it's wrong here
Manual bindings are configured with the 'host' command inside a DHCP pool, not with excluded-address. The excluded-address command simply removes a range from dynamic allocation. It does not create any MAC-based assignment. Therefore, this statement is incorrect.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
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