Common Network Connectivity Issues and Solutions

A company is experiencing exponential growth and has hired many new employees.

New users are reporting they cannot log into their systems, even though they are on the same network.

The technician can see physical connectivity to the network switch along with their MAC addresses.

Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

A.

VLAN routing

B.

Server-based firewall configuration issue

C.

Patch cable type

D.

DHCP scope availability.

D.

In this scenario, the technician has confirmed that the new users are physically connected to the network switch and their MAC addresses are visible. However, they are unable to log in to their systems, indicating a potential network issue.

The next step for the technician should be to check DHCP scope availability. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is responsible for assigning IP addresses to devices on the network. If there are not enough available IP addresses within the DHCP scope, new users will be unable to obtain an IP address and will therefore be unable to log in to their systems.

Exponential growth within the company may have led to an increase in the number of devices on the network, resulting in the depletion of available IP addresses within the DHCP scope. By checking the DHCP scope availability, the technician can determine if this is the cause of the login issue and take steps to expand the DHCP scope if necessary.

Option A (VLAN routing) involves separating network traffic into different virtual networks, and this is unlikely to be the cause of the login issue. Option B (server-based firewall configuration issue) could potentially cause login issues, but since the issue is affecting multiple new users, it is less likely to be the cause. Option C (patch cable type) is also unlikely to be the cause since the physical connectivity has already been confirmed.

Therefore, the correct answer is D (DHCP scope availability).