This JNCIA-JUNOS practice question tests your understanding of operational monitoring and maintenance. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A network administrator is troubleshooting high CPU usage on a Juniper router. Which command helps identify which process is consuming the most CPU?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
show log messages
Why wrong: Shows system log, not real-time CPU usage.
show system memory
Why wrong: Shows memory utilization, not CPU.
show system processes extensive
Displays detailed process CPU usage.
show interfaces
Why wrong: Shows interface statistics, not CPU usage.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
show system processes extensive
The 'show system processes extensive' command displays detailed information about all running processes, including CPU utilization, memory usage, and process IDs. This allows the administrator to identify which process (e.g., routing protocol daemon, management daemon) is consuming the most CPU cycles, directly addressing the troubleshooting need.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
show log messages
Why it's wrong here
Shows system log, not real-time CPU usage.
show system memory
Why it's wrong here
Shows memory utilization, not CPU.
show system processes extensive
Why this is correct
Displays detailed process CPU usage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
show interfaces
Why it's wrong here
Shows interface statistics, not CPU usage.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'show system processes extensive' with 'show system memory' or 'show log messages', mistakenly thinking memory or log analysis will reveal CPU hogs, when only the process list provides per-process CPU metrics.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Shows system log, not real-time CPU usage.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, 'show system processes extensive' reads from the /proc filesystem on Junos (based on FreeBSD), listing each process with its PID, CPU percentage, resident memory, and command name. In real-world scenarios, a high CPU issue might be caused by a routing protocol like BGP or OSPF processing many updates, or by a management process like snmpd being overloaded; this command pinpoints the culprit quickly.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the JNCIA-JUNOS exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Operational Monitoring and Maintenance — This question tests Operational Monitoring and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: show system processes extensive — The 'show system processes extensive' command displays detailed information about all running processes, including CPU utilization, memory usage, and process IDs. This allows the administrator to identify which process (e.g., routing protocol daemon, management daemon) is consuming the most CPU cycles, directly addressing the troubleshooting need.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This JNCIA-JUNOS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Juniper Networks 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 JNCIA-JUNOS exam.
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