An IT specialist is setting up a new shared network printer.

When a device is supposed to receive a specific “pre-allocated” address from DHCP, that typically means a DHCP reservation has been created. DHCP reservations work by mapping a specific MAC address to a chosen IP address so that when that exact device requests an address, the DHCP server always hands it the reserved IP. If diagnostics show the printer received a different IP than expected, the most likely cause is that the reservation is not being applied—commonly because the reservation references the wrong MAC address (typo, using the wrong interface, or copying the MAC of another port such as Wi-Fi vs Ethernet). Verifying the printer’s actual MAC address and matching it to the DHCP reservation is the correct next step.

The printer driver on the print server (B) affects printing functionality, not the printer’s DHCP assignment or ability to browse its embedded web server. Subnet mask (C) and default gateway in the pool (D) could cause connectivity issues, but they would not usually explain why the device received an unexpected IP when a reservation was intended. The key mismatch symptom points first to the MAC address in the reservation.