JN0-106 Operational Monitoring and Maintenance Practice Question
A network administrator is troubleshooting high latency on a link. Which command provides real-time interface statistics?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose 'show interfaces extensive' because it provides detailed statistics, but they overlook that it is a static snapshot rather than a real-time monitoring tool, which is explicitly required by the question.
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
✓
monitor interface traffic
The 'monitor interface traffic' command provides real-time, continuously updating statistics for interface traffic, including packet counts and error rates, which is essential for diagnosing high latency as it allows the administrator to observe changes in real time. Unlike static commands, this dynamic output refreshes automatically, making it ideal for troubleshooting transient issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
show interfaces extensive
Why it's wrong here
Although 'show interfaces extensive' displays a rich set of static statistics—including input/output octets, packet counts, queue depths, and error counters—it is a one-time snapshot that does not refresh automatically. To measure traffic rates during high latency, an administrator would have to run this command repeatedly and manually compute deltas, which can miss short-lived bursts. It is useful for post-incident analysis or for drilling into queuing/error details once a real-time problem is observed, but it is not the appropriate first tool for live troubleshooting.
- ✓
monitor interface traffic
Why this is correct
This is the correct choice because it provides a continuously updating, real-time display of bandwidth utilization (in bps) and packet counts (in pps) for the selected interface, refreshing at a configurable interval (typically every second). High latency is often caused by transient congestion or traffic spikes, which only a live view can reveal effectively. The command samples the interface's current rate and presents it in a dynamic table, enabling the administrator to correlate latency symptoms with immediate traffic patterns.
- ✗
show interfaces terse
Why it's wrong here
The 'show interfaces terse' command outputs only a brief, static listing of interface names, admin/operational states, and configured IP addresses. It omits bandwidth, packet counts, error statistics, and any time-varying metrics, so it cannot indicate whether an interface is congested or oversubscribed. For diagnosing high latency, you need to observe traffic load and throughput, not just the administrative and link-up/down status.
- ✗
show log messages
Why it's wrong here
Issuing 'show log messages' reads the system syslog file, which records asynchronous events such as interface transitions, routing protocol changes, and error alarms—but it does not sample interface traffic counters or bandwidth utilization. High latency typically arises from ongoing traffic load, not from discrete loggable events, so this command will not help spot a current congestion spike. It may be consulted after the fact for correlated warning messages, but it is not a real-time interface monitoring tool.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This JN0-106 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 JN0-106 exam.