Administrative Tasks →hardMultiple Choice

LPIC-1 Administrative Tasks Practice Question

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

# cat /etc/ntp.conf
server 0.pool.ntp.org iburst
server 1.pool.ntp.org iburst
# driftfile /var/lib/ntp/ntp.drift
restrict default kod nomodify notrap nopeer noquery
restrict -6 default kod nomodify notrap nopeer noquery
restrict 127.0.0.1
restrict -6 ::1
# ntpq -p
     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
==============================================================================
*0.pool.ntp.org   .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   0.000   0.000
 1.pool.ntp.org   .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   0.000   0.000

Refer to the exhibit. An administrator runs 'ntpq -p' and sees the output shown. What is the most likely cause of the '16' stratum and '0.000' delay/offset?

⚠ Common exam trap

Candidates often assume a stratum of 16 and zero delay/offset indicate a firewall or service failure, but the correct interpretation is that the NTP daemon has just started and has not yet synchronized, which is a normal temporary state.

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

✓

The NTP daemon has recently started and has not yet synchronized.

The '16' stratum and '0.000' delay/offset values in the 'ntpq -p' output indicate that the NTP daemon has not yet synchronized with any time source. When ntpd starts, it initially sets the stratum to 16 (unsynchronized) and shows zero values for delay and offset until it completes the synchronization process. This is a normal transient state that resolves once the daemon successfully contacts and synchronizes with an NTP server.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
The NTP service is not running.
Why it's wrong here
If ntpd were stopped, ntpq would fail to query the daemon and report no peers at all, rather than listing a peer at stratum 16. The stratum 16 entry shows the daemon is running but the peer is unreachable or unsynchronised, so this misreads the exhibit.
✗
The firewall is blocking UDP port 123.
Why it's wrong here
A blocked UDP port 123 would leave the peer unreachable, yet ntpq would still display the configured peer with stratum 16 and zero values, so this is superficially consistent. However, the exhibit's specific pattern points to the peer being rejected as unsynchronised rather than silently filtered.
✓
The NTP daemon has recently started and has not yet synchronized.
Why this is correct
A freshly started NTP daemon reports stratum 16, the unsynchronised sentinel, until it completes its first poll and accepts a server. The 0.000 delay and offset values confirm no measurement has yet been taken, satisfying the stem's requirement to explain both anomalies as a single transient startup condition.
✗
The restrict lines are blocking all NTP queries.
Why it's wrong here
Restrict lines govern which hosts may query or modify the local daemon; they do not set a remote peer's stratum to 16. Blocking queries would prevent ntpq itself from returning data, so this misattributes a peer synchronisation failure to local access-control configuration.

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LPIC-1 Administrative Tasks Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

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