hardMultiple Choice
FC0-U71 Practice Question: A technician is troubleshooting a workstation…
A technician is troubleshooting a workstation that cannot connect to a server at 192.168.1.100. The workstation's IP configuration shows: IP: 192.168.2.50, Subnet: 255.255.255.0, Gateway: 192.168.2.1. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the connectivity issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume any connectivity failure is due to an incorrect default gateway, but the gateway is actually correct for the workstation's subnet; the real issue is that the two devices are on different subnets with no router to bridge them.
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
✓
Workstation and server are on different subnets with no routing
The workstation's IP address (192.168.2.50) and the server's IP address (192.168.1.100) belong to different subnets (192.168.2.0/24 and 192.168.1.0/24, respectively). Without a router configured to forward traffic between these subnets, the workstation cannot reach the server, even though the default gateway (192.168.2.1) is correct for its own subnet.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Incorrect default gateway
Why it's wrong here
The gateway 192.168.2.1 is on the workstation's own subnet, so it is correctly configured; the fault is that 192.168.1.100 sits on a different subnet (192.168.1.0/24) unreachable without routing. An incorrect gateway applies when the configured address falls outside the host's subnet.
- ✗
Incorrect subnet mask
Why it's wrong here
The mask 255.255.255.0 is correct for a /24 network, so it does not cause the fault. The workstation sits in 192.168.2.0/24 while the server is in 192.168.1.0/24, and the gateway 192.168.2.1 cannot route there. An incorrect mask would be the cause only if the address and mask disagreed.
- ✗
Duplicate IP address on the network
Why it's wrong here
A duplicate IP would cause intermittent or complete loss of connectivity and ARP conflicts, but the configuration shows a valid unique address on 192.168.2.0/24. Duplicate addressing fits when the host intermittently drops connections or reports address-conflict errors, not a consistent cross-subnet failure.
- ✓
Workstation and server are on different subnets with no routing
Why this is correct
The workstation's /24 mask places 192.168.2.50 on the 192.168.2.0 network, while the server sits on 192.168.2.0's neighbour, 192.168.1.0. With no router bridging those subnets, traffic never leaves the local segment, so the ping fails. This directly satisfies the stem's different-subnet constraint.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.