LPIC-2 DNS, Web and Mail Services Practice Question
This LPIC-2 practice question tests your understanding of dns, web and mail services. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
A company has two BIND DNS servers, a primary and a secondary. The secondary fails to receive zone updates. Which command can be used to check if the primary allows zone transfers to the secondary?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
✓
dig axfr example.com @primary
The `dig axfr example.com @primary` command performs an AXFR (full zone transfer) request against the primary DNS server. If the primary allows zone transfers to the secondary, the command will return the entire zone file; if it is denied, it will return a 'Transfer failed' or 'refused' message. This directly tests the allow-transfer ACL configuration on the primary, which is the most common cause of secondary servers failing to receive zone updates.
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.
✓
dig axfr example.com @primary
Why this is correct
dig axfr requests the full zone from the primary, allowing verification of transfer permissions.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "primary", "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
host -l example.com primary
Why it's wrong here
host -l also requests a zone transfer, but may not work if transfers are restricted or the command is not available.
✗
dig -x 192.0.2.1 @primary
Why it's wrong here
dig -x performs a reverse lookup, not a zone transfer.
✗
nslookup -type=any example.com primary
Why it's wrong here
nslookup -type=any queries for all record types, not a full zone transfer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse a simple DNS query (like `dig -x` or `nslookup -type=any`) with a zone transfer request, not realizing that only AXFR (or IXFR) can verify whether the primary server is configured to allow the secondary to pull the full zone data.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
host -l also requests a zone transfer, but may not work if transfers are restricted or the command is not available.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, BIND uses the `allow-transfer` statement in the zone configuration to control which secondary servers can request AXFR or IXFR (incremental zone transfer). The AXFR query uses TCP port 53 and sends a special query type (QTYPE=252) to retrieve the entire zone. In real-world scenarios, a secondary may fail to receive updates if the primary's `also-notify` list is misconfigured or if TSIG (Transaction Signatures) keys are mismatched, but the AXFR test isolates the transfer permission issue.
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 security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
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.
DNS, Web and Mail Services — This question tests DNS, Web and Mail Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: dig axfr example.com @primary — The `dig axfr example.com @primary` command performs an AXFR (full zone transfer) request against the primary DNS server. If the primary allows zone transfers to the secondary, the command will return the entire zone file; if it is denied, it will return a 'Transfer failed' or 'refused' message. This directly tests the allow-transfer ACL configuration on the primary, which is the most common cause of secondary servers failing to receive zone updates.
What should I do if I get this LPIC-2 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: "primary", "which command". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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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