This JNCIA-JUNOS practice question tests your understanding of operational monitoring and maintenance. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. 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.
An engineer needs to check the last time the configuration was changed. Which command provides this information?
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 system commit
Displays commit log with timestamps.
show configuration | display set
Why wrong: Shows config, not commit history.
show system alarms
Why wrong: Shows active alarms.
show system uptime
Why wrong: Shows router uptime, not config changes.
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 commit
The 'show system commit' command displays the commit history, including the date, time, and user for each configuration change. This allows the engineer to see exactly when the last configuration was committed, which is the definitive way to determine the last time the configuration was changed.
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 system commit
Why this is correct
Displays commit log with timestamps.
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 configuration | display set
Why it's wrong here
Shows config, not commit history.
show system alarms
Why it's wrong here
Shows active alarms.
show system uptime
Why it's wrong here
Shows router uptime, not config changes.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'show configuration' (which shows the current config) with a command that shows when the config was last changed, but only 'show system commit' provides the timestamp of the last commit.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Shows config, not commit history.
Detailed technical explanation
The 'show system commit' command retrieves data from the /config/juniper.conf.gz commit history files, which store each committed configuration along with a unique commit ID, timestamp, and username. This command can also be used with the 'detail' or 'information' options to show additional metadata, such as the commit comment and the number of configuration changes. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for auditing and troubleshooting, as it allows an engineer to identify when a specific change was made and by whom, enabling rollback to a previous commit if necessary.
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
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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 commit — The 'show system commit' command displays the commit history, including the date, time, and user for each configuration change. This allows the engineer to see exactly when the last configuration was committed, which is the definitive way to determine the last time the configuration was changed.
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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