* A DHCP scope is a range of IP addresses that a DHCP server can assign to clients on a network.
* If the DHCP scope is fully utilized, it means that there are no more available IP addresses to assign to new clients.
* This can cause some internal users who cannot connect to network resources, as they will not have a valid IP address to communicate with other devices on the network.
* The users may have been able to connect last week, but not today, because their previous IP address lease may have expired and they could not renew it due to the lack of available IP addresses.
* The other options are less likely to cause the issue, because:
* B. Electrical interference can affect the quality of the wired network, but it will not prevent users from obtaining an IP address.
* C. A captive portal is a web page that requires users to authenticate or accept terms of service before accessing the network. If the captive portal is down, it may prevent users from accessing the internet, but not the internal network resources.
* D. SNMP traps are messages sent by SNMP agents to SNMP managers to notify them of events or conditions on the network. They do not affect the connectivity of the users, unless they trigger some network management actions that block or limit the traffic.
* E. The packet counter on the router interface is a metric that shows how many packets have been sent or received on that interface. It does not indicate any problem with the network connectivity, unless it reaches a threshold that causes the interface to drop packets.
References:
* : CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Study Guide, Chapter 3: IP Addressing, page 104
* : Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 3.2: DHCP, page 27
* : CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Network Cabling and Topologies, page 69
* : Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 4.1: Network Services, page
36
* : CompTIA Network+ N10-008 Study Guide, Chapter 7: Network Management, page 276
* : Professor Messer's CompTIA N10-008 Network+ Course Notes, Section 7.1: Network Monitoring, page 66