XK0-006 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A user reports that they cannot access a web server at 192.168.1.100. The administrator wants to check if the server is reachable and measure round-trip time. Which command is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse `nmap -sn` (host discovery) with connectivity testing and RTT measurement, or they think `traceroute` measures end-to-end RTT when it actually measures per-hop latency.
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
✓
ping 192.168.1.100
The `ping` command sends ICMP Echo Request packets to the target host and waits for ICMP Echo Reply packets, which directly tests reachability and measures round-trip time (RTT). This is the most appropriate tool for the administrator's stated goal of checking if the server is reachable and measuring RTT.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
nmap -sn 192.168.1.100
Why it's wrong here
nmap -sn performs host discovery only, reporting whether the host responds to probes without measuring round-trip time or confirming the web service. It is tempting because it does verify reachability, but it is intended for network sweeps and inventory, whereas ping answers the latency requirement directly.
- ✗
traceroute 192.168.1.100
Why it's wrong here
traceroute maps each hop along the path to the destination, so it shows where packets are dropped but does not report a single round-trip time to the server itself. It is tempting because it tests connectivity, yet it is designed for diagnosing routing paths rather than measuring end-to-end latency.
- ✓
ping 192.168.1.100
Why this is correct
`ping 192.168.1.100` sends ICMP echo requests to the target and reports whether replies return, satisfying the reachability check, while its summary displays minimum, average and maximum round-trip times in milliseconds, meeting the measurement requirement. It works directly against the IPv4 address without needing name resolution.
- ✗
ss -tlnp | grep 192.168.1.100
Why it's wrong here
ss -tlnp lists local listening TCP sockets and their owning processes, so it inspects the machine it runs on and cannot test reachability or latency to a remote host. It is tempting because it confirms whether a service is bound to a port, which suits checking a local server's listeners.
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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.