JNCIA-JUNOS Operational Monitoring and Maintenance Practice Question
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.
You are a network administrator for a large enterprise. The Juniper EX4300 switch that serves as the distribution layer for the finance department is experiencing high CPU utilization. Users are complaining of slow network performance. You have accessed the switch via console and notice that the CPU load is consistently above 90%. You need to identify the process causing the high CPU usage. Which command should you use?
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.
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' to list all processes and their CPU usage.
The 'show system processes' command displays a list of all running processes along with their CPU and memory usage, allowing you to identify which process is consuming excessive CPU resources. This is the direct method to pinpoint the offending process on a Juniper EX4300 switch running Junos OS.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 task summary' to see kernel task CPU usage.
Why it's wrong here
Displays kernel task CPU, but high CPU may be from user processes.
✓
'show system processes' to list all processes and their CPU usage.
Why this is correct
Displays CPU and memory usage per process to identify the culprit.
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 system resources' to check memory and CPU.
Why it's wrong here
Shows overall resource usage, not per-process details.
✗
'show system statistics' to view overall system stats.
Why it's wrong here
Not a standard command for process-level CPU.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'show system resources' (which shows aggregate CPU/memory) with the per-process breakdown needed to identify the specific process, leading them to choose option C instead of B.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Shows overall resource usage, not per-process details.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Junos OS runs as a set of user-space daemons (e.g., mgd, rpd, snmpd) and kernel threads. The 'show system processes' command uses the underlying UNIX 'ps' output, providing real-time CPU percentages for each PID. In a real-world scenario, a high CPU issue might be caused by a routing protocol process (rpd) flapping or an SNMP polling storm, and this command directly reveals the culprit.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Operational Monitoring and Maintenance — This question tests Operational Monitoring and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: 'show system processes' to list all processes and their CPU usage. — The 'show system processes' command displays a list of all running processes along with their CPU and memory usage, allowing you to identify which process is consuming excessive CPU resources. This is the direct method to pinpoint the offending process on a Juniper EX4300 switch running Junos OS.
What should I do if I get this JNCIA-JUNOS question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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