DHCP administration: when configuring multiple DHCP servers and scopes for the same organization or site, what is the single most critical issue you must prevent across those scopes?

Introduction / Context:
DHCP automates IP address assignment. In environments with multiple DHCP servers or split scopes, the configuration must be coordinated so that clients always receive valid, unique leases without conflicts that can disrupt connectivity for entire segments.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• There are multiple DHCP scopes or servers serving overlapping areas.
• Clients depend on dynamic addressing for daily operation.
• We are asked to identify the most critical misconfiguration to avoid.

Concept / Approach:
The paramount risk is duplicate IP address assignment. If two scopes overlap or lack mutual exclusions, different servers can hand the same address to different clients, producing intermittent connectivity, ARP flux, and session resets. While duplicate pools, subnets, or gateways can also be problematic, they are manageable if addresses are unique and allocations are correctly partitioned (e.g., 80/20 split, failover pairs).

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Use DHCP conflict detection (ARP probes) and IPAM tools; verify that each offered address is unique per subnet and that servers honor exclusions and partner states.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Common Pitfalls:
Forgetting to add exclusions after splitting scopes; misaligned failover states causing both servers to hand out the same range; reusing reservations across MAC addresses.

Final Answer:
Duplicate addresses.