What is the typical use of the 169.254.0.0/16 APIPA range?

• A. Used for manual static IP configuration
• B. Used for automatic private IP addressing when a DHCP server is unavailable, enabling limited connectivity
• C. Reserved for multicast traffic
• D. Used for IPv6 transition

Answer: (B)

When a device can’t obtain an IP address from a DHCP server, it automatically assigns itself a local address in the 169.254.0.0/16 range. This is APIPA. The goal is to give the device some usable address on the local link so it can communicate with other devices on the same network that have also chosen APIPA addresses. But there’s no default gateway, so access to devices outside the local subnet or the Internet isn’t possible. This feature is automatic and intended for situations where DHCP is unavailable, not for manual static configuration. It isn’t used for multicast traffic, and IPv6 uses its own link-local range (fe80::/10) for similar local-link purposes.