COMPTIA A+ Practice Exam

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Ace your COMPTIA A+ certification with our practice exam. Engage with a variety of questions including multiple choice and performance-based, complete with hints and detailed explanations. Prepare effectively and boost your confidence for the big day!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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What subnet mask is associated with an APIPA address?

255.255.255.0
255.255.0.0
255.0.0.0
255.255.255.255

The correct answer is: 255.255.0.0

An Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address falls within the range of 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254. When a device on a network is configured to obtain an IP address automatically but cannot reach a DHCP server, it assigns itself an APIPA address. Subnetting for APIPA is typically managed with a default subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. This subnet mask allows for a network that can accommodate up to 65,536 addresses (from 169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.255), which is suitable for devices that may need to communicate locally without a DHCP server. The other subnet masks do not accurately align with the range and purpose of APIPA. The subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 (often used in small networks) would limit the addressable range to only 256 addresses within the 169.254.x.x range, which is insufficient for APIPA's intended usability. The mask 255.0.0.0 represents an entire class A network, which is unnecessarily excessive for local communications between devices needing APIPA. Finally, the mask 255.255.255.255 is