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220-1201 Practice Question: A customer reports that their new printer,…
A customer reports that their new printer, configured with a static IP of 192.168.1.100, cannot be accessed from any computer on the network. The technician pings 192.168.1.100 from a workstation and gets no reply. The workstation's IP is 192.168.1.50 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The 220-1201 exam often tests the misconception that a ping failure between two devices on the same subnet must be caused by a subnet mismatch or gateway issue, when in fact an IP address conflict is the more likely culprit given the static IP 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 printer's static IP address conflicts with another device on the network.
The most likely cause is that the printer's static IP address (192.168.1.100) conflicts with another device on the same subnet. When two devices share the same IP, the network becomes unreachable for one or both due to ARP table instability. The ping fails because the workstation's ARP cache may resolve the IP to the wrong MAC address, or the printer may not respond at all if it detects the conflict via gratuitous ARP.
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 printer's IP address is on a different subnet than the workstation.
Why it's wrong here
This statement is incorrect because both the workstation and the printer are configured with IP addresses within the 192.168.1.0/24 network. A subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 indicates that the first three octets (192.168.1) define the network portion. Since both devices share these first three octets, they reside on the same logical subnet, enabling direct local communication.
- ✓
The printer's static IP address conflicts with another device on the network.
Why this is correct
This is the correct answer. An IP address conflict occurs when two or more devices on the same network are assigned the identical IP address. When this happens, network communication becomes unreliable or impossible for one or both devices, as packets intended for one device may be routed to the other, or neither device can properly establish a connection. This is a common issue with statically assigned IPs if not carefully managed.
- ✗
The workstation's subnet mask is set to 255.255.0.0.
Why it's wrong here
This option is incorrect because the problem statement implies the workstation's subnet mask is correctly configured as 255.255.255.0. If the mask were actually 255.255.0.0, it would define a much larger network (192.168.0.0/16), but this would still place both 192.168.1.x devices on the same subnet. Therefore, an incorrect mask of 255.255.0.0 is not the issue preventing communication within the 192.168.1.x range.
- ✗
The printer's default gateway is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
This option is incorrect because the default gateway is only necessary for devices to communicate with hosts located on different subnets or the internet. For communication between a workstation and a printer that are both on the same local subnet, the default gateway configuration is irrelevant. Devices on the same subnet can communicate directly using their MAC addresses after ARP resolution, without needing to route through a gateway.
Visual reference
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Mobile Device Types and Features
Key term
Subnet mask
A subnet mask is a 32-bit number that helps a computer or network device determine which part of an IP address identifies the network and which part identifies the host device on that network.
Key term
Media Access Control
Media Access Control (MAC) is a sublayer of the Data Link Layer in networking that controls how devices on the same network share access to the physical medium and uniquely identifies each device with a hardware address.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.