XK0-006 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A system administrator is troubleshooting a network issue where a server cannot reach the internet. The server's IP address is 192.168.1.10/24, and the default gateway is 192.168.1.1. Which command should be used to verify the default gateway configuration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse `ip addr show` (which shows IP addresses) with `ip route show` (which shows routing table), leading them to select the wrong command when asked to verify the default gateway.
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
✓
ip route show
The `ip route show` command displays the kernel's IPv4 routing table, which includes the default gateway entry (destination 0.0.0.0/0 via 192.168.1.1). This directly verifies whether the default gateway is configured correctly for the server to reach external networks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ip neigh show
Why it's wrong here
ip neigh show lists the ARP/neighbour cache mapping IP addresses to link-layer addresses; it never displays routing entries such as the default gateway. It is tempting because it inspects layer-3 reachability, and would be correct when verifying whether 192.168.1.1 has a resolved MAC address.
- ✗
ip addr show
Why it's wrong here
ip addr show displays interface addresses and prefixes, not the routing table, so the default gateway 192.168.1.1 would not appear. It is tempting because it verifies the server's own 192.168.1.10/24 configuration, and would be correct when confirming the interface address and subnet mask.
- ✓
ip route show
Why this is correct
The server's routing table holds the default gateway entry, so 'ip route show' displays it directly, confirming whether 192.168.1.1 is configured as the default route for the 192.168.1.0/24 interface. This satisfies the requirement to verify gateway configuration rather than merely testing reachability.
- ✗
ip link show
Why it's wrong here
ip link show reports interface operational state, MTU and MAC address, with no routing information at all. It is tempting because it checks whether the NIC is up, and would be correct when diagnosing a down or administratively disabled interface rather than gateway configuration.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This XK0-006 question is part of Courseiva's 781-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 by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 XK0-006 exam.