hardMultiple Choice
Default DHCP Lease Time on Cisco IOS-XE: 86400 Seconds
What is the default DHCPv4 server lease time on a Cisco IOS-XE router configured as a DHCP server?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the default lease time to catch candidates who confuse common enterprise practices (like 12 hours or 7 days) with the actual IOS default of 1 day.
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
✓
86400 seconds (1 day)
The default DHCPv4 lease time on a Cisco IOS-XE router configured as a DHCP server is 86400 seconds (1 day). This is defined in the Cisco IOS DHCP server configuration and is the standard default value used when no lease duration is explicitly specified in the DHCP pool configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
3600 seconds (1 hour)
Why it's wrong here
One hour is the default lease time for Cisco IOS DHCP clients requesting addresses, not the server's default pool lease. It is tempting because client-side and server-side timers are easily conflated, but a server pool without an explicit 'lease' command uses 86400 seconds.
- ✗
43200 seconds (12 hours)
Why it's wrong here
Twelve hours is the default IP address lease duration on Microsoft DHCP servers, not Cisco IOS-XE. It is tempting because 43200 seconds is a widely quoted DHCP default, but Cisco IOS-XE server pools default to 86400 seconds unless the 'lease' command overrides it.
- ✓
86400 seconds (1 day)
Why this is correct
Cisco IOS-XE assigns a default DHCPv4 lease of 86400 seconds (24 hours) when no lease duration is specified in the pool configuration. This satisfies the stem's requirement for the out-of-box default, distinguishing it from the configurable `lease` command values an administrator might set.
- ✗
604800 seconds (7 days)
Why it's wrong here
Seven days is the default lease time on many Linux ISC dhcpd deployments, not Cisco IOS-XE. It is tempting because long leases reduce renewal traffic, but the IOS-XE DHCP server pool default remains 86400 seconds when no 'lease' statement is configured.
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