Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A network technician runs the command "traceroute 8.8.8.8" from a workstation. The output shows the first hop as the default gateway, the second hop as an internal router, and then a series of asterisks (* * *) before reaching the destination. What does the series of asterisks indicate?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
The destination is unreachable
The traceroute eventually reaches the destination (8.8.8.8), so the destination is not unreachable; only responses from intermediate hops are missing.
B
Best answer
The intermediate routers are not responding to ICMP time-exceeded messages
Asterisks indicate that those routers did not send back the ICMP time-exceeded message, often due to firewall filtering.
C
Distractor review
The TTL expired at the last hop
If TTL expired at the last hop, the final hop would show the destination itself, not asterisks.
D
Distractor review
The connection is encrypted
Encryption does not prevent traceroute from receiving ICMP responses; encryption is irrelevant to the ICMP protocol.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A network engineer needs to connect two switches located 400 meters apart. The cable run includes high electromagnetic interference from nearby machinery. The engineer decides to use fiber optic cabling. Which transceiver type and fiber combination should be used to ensure the link reaches 400 meters while remaining cost-effective?
Question 2
A network engineer is designing a new switched network and needs to ensure that broadcast traffic from one department does not reach another department's workstations. The engineer plans to use VLANs. Which of the following must be configured on the switches to isolate broadcast domains as intended?
Question 3
A security engineer is configuring a site-to-site VPN between two branch offices. The requirement is to encrypt all traffic between the two networks using IPsec. Which IPsec mode should be used to encrypt the entire IP packet including the original header?
Question 4
A network administrator is connecting two switches to increase bandwidth and provide redundancy. Which technology should be used to combine multiple physical links into a single logical link?
Question 5
A network administrator is experiencing issues where unauthorized devices are offering IP addresses to clients, causing connectivity problems. Which security feature should be enabled on switches to prevent this?
Question 6
A network administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue and suspects the problem is related to the physical cabling. At which layer of the OSI model should the administrator begin their investigation?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this N10-009 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The intermediate routers are not responding to ICMP time-exceeded messages — Traceroute works by sending packets with increasing TTL values and waiting for ICMP Time Exceeded messages from intermediate routers. Asterisks mean that the expected ICMP message was not received from that hop, typically because the router is configured to not respond to such probes (often due to firewall rules).
What should I do if I get this N10-009 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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