200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
An analyst is investigating a Linux system and wants to view the current network connections. Which command is most appropriate to list listening TCP ports along with the associated processes?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is choosing netstat out of habit — the exam expects recognition that ss is the modern, preferred tool for socket enumeration on Linux, and that -tlnp specifically filters listening TCP with processes.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
ss -tlnp
'ss -tlnp' lists TCP (-t) listening (-l) sockets with numeric ports (-n) and the owning process (-p), which is exactly what the analyst needs. The ss utility reads kernel netlink sockets directly, making it faster and more accurate than netstat on modern Linux systems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
netstat -anp
Why it's wrong here
netstat -anp lists sockets but relies on the deprecated /proc/net interface and is absent from many minimal distributions. It is tempting because it is the classic tool, and would be correct on legacy hosts where it remains installed and ss is unavailable.
- ✗
cat /proc/net/tcp
Why it's wrong here
Reading /proc/net/tcp exposes raw socket tables with numeric addresses, ports and inode numbers, but no process names, so it cannot associate listeners with processes. It is tempting as a dependency-free method, and would suffice if only port states were required.
- ✗
lsof -i TCP
Why it's wrong here
lsof -i TCP enumerates open file descriptors, including established connections, and requires elevated privileges to resolve other users' processes. It is tempting because it maps sockets to processes, and would be correct when tracing which files or descriptors a specific process holds open.
- ✓
ss -tlnp
Why this is correct
The ss command with -tlnp lists TCP sockets in listening state, numeric ports, and the owning process. It reads kernel socket tables directly, making it faster than netstat and satisfying the requirement to show listening TCP ports with associated processes.
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This 200-201 question is part of Courseiva's 968-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.