A virtual machine has the following configuration: - IPv4 address: 169.254.10.10 - Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0 The virtual machine can reach collocated systems but cannot reach external addresses on…

The subnet mask 255.255.0.0 is the correct and standard subnet mask for an APIPA address in the 169.254.0.0/16 range, so it is not the root cause of the internet connectivity issue.

The IP address 169.254.10.10 is an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, which a system automatically assigns itself when it is configured for DHCP but cannot reach a DHCP server. When a device uses an APIPA address, it typically also lacks a default gateway, preventing it from routing traffic to external networks like the internet.

While 169.254.x.x addresses are non-routable private addresses, they are specifically APIPA addresses, not RFC1918 private addresses (which are 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16); the underlying issue is the failure to obtain a proper IP configuration, likely due to a DHCP server being offline.

An unreachable DNS server would prevent hostname resolution, but the virtual machine would still be able to connect to external addresses if contacted via their IP address; the problem describes a failure to reach *external addresses* in general, indicating a lack of routing to the internet.