XK0-006 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A user reports that they cannot reach a website. The administrator wants to check the path that packets take to the destination server. Which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
In the Linux+ exam, candidates may confuse 'ping' with 'traceroute'. Ping only tests reachability and latency, while traceroute reveals the specific path and each hop. The trap is choosing ping because it can show connectivity issues, but it does not show the route.
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
✓
traceroute
The `traceroute` command is used to trace the path packets take from the source to a destination host, showing each hop (router) along the way. It uses ICMP echo requests (or UDP packets on Linux) with incrementing TTL values to elicit ICMP Time Exceeded messages from intermediate routers, which reveals the network path. This directly addresses the administrator's need to check the path to the destination server.
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 addr
Why it's wrong here
ip addr displays interface addresses and link state on the local host; it never sends packets toward the destination, so no path is revealed. It is tempting because it is a genuine network troubleshooting command, but it is the correct choice for verifying local interface configuration, not route tracing.
- ✗
ss
Why it's wrong here
ss lists local socket connections and listening ports, so it cannot reveal the router-by-router path to a remote website. It is tempting because it diagnoses connectivity and port state on the local host, which suits troubleshooting whether a service is bound and reachable locally, not tracing a route across the network.
- ✓
traceroute
Why this is correct
traceroute sends packets with incrementally increasing TTL values, causing each router along the path to return an ICMP Time Exceeded message. This reveals the hop-by-hop route packets take to the destination, exactly what the administrator needs to diagnose where connectivity fails.
- ✗
ping
Why it's wrong here
ping only confirms reachability and round-trip time to the destination; it does not report the intermediate hops along the path. It is tempting because it is the first connectivity test administrators run, and it would be correct for verifying whether the destination server responds at all.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Linux Fundamentals and History
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
Key term
Linux
Linux is an open-source operating system that manages computer hardware and software, widely used in servers, desktops, and embedded systems.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every XK0-006 question from scratch — 781 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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.