What will happen if the DHCP server settings are misconfigured?

When DHCP server settings are misconfigured, the primary consequence is that IP addresses will not be assigned correctly to devices requesting them on the network. The DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server is responsible for dynamically assigning IP addresses to clients, along with other network configuration details such as subnet masks and default gateways.

If settings such as the address pool, subnet mask, or lease times are incorrectly configured, the DHCP server may not have a valid range of addresses to distribute, leading to issues like devices not receiving an IP address at all or receiving an incorrect one that doesn't allow them to communicate effectively on the network. This can subsequently lead to connectivity issues for those devices.

The other potential options do not accurately describe the impacts of misconfiguring a DHCP server. For instance, devices failing to connect to the network can be a consequence but is not the primary and direct outcome of DHCP misconfiguration. Network speed and internet access would generally not improve as a result of DHCP misconfiguration; in fact, they could degrade due to connectivity issues stemming from incorrect address assignments. Thus, the statement regarding incorrect assignment of IP addresses encapsulates the most direct impact of a misconfigured DHCP server.