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XK0-006 Practice Question: A Linux server is experiencing intermittent…
A Linux server is experiencing intermittent connectivity issues. The administrator reviews the system logs and finds the following messages: 'NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit queue 0 timed out'. Which THREE actions are likely to resolve this issue? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse transmit queue timeout with a simple buffer exhaustion issue and incorrectly choose to increase the transmit queue length (option C), when the real cause is a driver or hardware fault that requires disabling offloads, updating the driver, or replacing the NIC.
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
✓
Disable NIC offloading features using 'ethtool -K eth0 tx off sg off'.
The 'NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit queue 0 timed out' error often indicates that the NIC's hardware offloading features (such as TCP segmentation offload, scatter-gather) are causing the driver to hang or fail to complete transmissions. Disabling these offloads with 'ethtool -K eth0 tx off sg off' forces the CPU to handle packet segmentation and reduces the load on the NIC, which can resolve the timeout.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Disable NIC offloading features using 'ethtool -K eth0 tx off sg off'.
Why this is correct
Offloading can cause driver bugs; disabling it may stabilize the interface.
- ✓
Update the network interface card (NIC) driver to the latest version.
Why this is correct
Driver updates often include fixes for bugs that cause transmit timeouts.
- ✗
Increase the transmit queue length using 'ifconfig eth0 txqueuelen 10000'.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing queue length may delay the timeout but does not address the root cause.
- ✗
Change the MTU on the interface to 9000.
Why it's wrong here
MTU settings affect packet size, not transmit queue timeouts.
- ✓
Replace the NIC with a known good one.
Why this is correct
Hardware faults can cause timeouts; replacing the NIC resolves hardware issues.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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