During a routine network upgrade, a junior network technician accidentally connects two ports on the same switch with a patch cable, creating a potential for a network loop. The next day, employees start complaining about slow internet speeds and intermittent disconnections. As the senior network administrator, you are tasked with resolving the issue.

Which of the following actions should you take first to address the problem?

answer

Upgrade the firmware on all network switches to the latest version.

Implement Quality of Service $($QoS$)$ rules to prioritize critical business applications.

Inspect the physical connections on the switches for any improper configurations that could have introduced a loop.

Increase the DHCP lease time to reduce the number of DHCP requests on the network.