LPIC-1 Essential System Services and Networking Practice Question
A system administrator notices that the system time is incorrect by several minutes. Which command should be used first to check the status of NTP synchronization?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse `ntpdate` as a diagnostic tool because it can query an NTP server, but it is not designed to show the ongoing synchronization status of the system's NTP service.
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
✓
timedatectl
The `timedatectl` command is the correct first step because it shows the current system time, time zone, and NTP synchronization status in a single output. It directly reports whether NTP is active and whether the clock is synchronized, making it the standard diagnostic tool on modern systemd-based Linux distributions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
timedatectl
Why this is correct
timedatectl displays NTP synchronization status and allows detailed checks.
- ✗
ntpdate
Why it's wrong here
ntpdate forces a one-time sync but does not show status.
- ✗
date
Why it's wrong here
date only shows the system time, not NTP status.
- ✗
hwclock
Why it's wrong here
hwclock reads the hardware clock, not NTP status.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-1 exam.