LPIC-1 Essential System Services and Networking Practice Question
An administrator needs to monitor real-time network bandwidth usage on a Linux server. Which two tools are specifically designed for this purpose? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse netstat's interface statistics (e.g., -i option) with real-time monitoring, but netstat only provides cumulative byte/packet counts since boot, not live bandwidth rates, making it unsuitable for real-time bandwidth monitoring.
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
✓
nload
B (nload) is correct because it is a command-line tool that displays real-time network traffic and bandwidth usage on a per-interface basis, showing incoming and outgoing data rates with a dynamic graph. E (iftop) is correct because it listens to network traffic on a specified interface and displays a real-time table of bandwidth usage per connection, similar to top for processes. Both tools are specifically designed for monitoring live bandwidth consumption, unlike general networking utilities.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
netstat
Why it's wrong here
Shows network connections and statistics, but not real-time bandwidth.
- ✓
nload
Why this is correct
Displays incoming and outgoing traffic graphs.
- ✗
traceroute
Why it's wrong here
Traces route to destination, not bandwidth.
- ✗
ping
Why it's wrong here
Tests reachability and latency, not bandwidth.
- ✓
iftop
Why this is correct
Shows bandwidth usage per interface or host.
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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.