LPIC-2 Network Client Management Practice Question
You are troubleshooting a Linux client that is unable to connect to the internet. The client is configured to use DHCP on interface eth0. The output of 'ip addr show eth0' shows that the interface has an IP address 192.168.1.100/24, but there is no default gateway. The output of 'ip route show' shows only the local subnet route. The DHCP server is at 192.168.1.1 and is functioning correctly. You have verified that the DHCP client (dhclient) is running, and the lease file /var/lib/dhclient/dhclient-eth0.leases exists and contains option routers 192.168.1.1. Which of the following commands should you run to resolve the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose the manual route addition (Option D) because it seems quick and effective, but the LPIC-2 exam expects you to understand that the proper troubleshooting step is to renew the DHCP lease to ensure all options are correctly applied, rather than applying a temporary fix that bypasses the DHCP client's configuration logic.
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
✓
dhclient -r eth0 && dhclient eth0
The DHCP client has already obtained a lease with the correct gateway (192.168.1.1), but the default route was not applied. Running `dhclient -r eth0` releases the current lease, and `dhclient eth0` renews it, forcing the client to re-apply all options from the lease, including the default gateway route. This is the standard way to reinitialize the interface's network configuration from the DHCP server without restarting the entire networking service.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
systemctl restart networking
Why it's wrong here
Restarting networking may disrupt other services and might not trigger a DHCP renewal if the interface is already configured.
- ✗
ip route del default
Why it's wrong here
This would only remove any existing default route, but there is no default route to remove, and it does not add one.
- ✓
dhclient -r eth0 && dhclient eth0
Why this is correct
This releases the current lease and obtains a new one, which should reinstate the default gateway from the DHCP server.
- ✗
ip route add default via 192.168.1.1
Why it's wrong here
While this would add a default route manually, it is not the appropriate resolution for a DHCP configuration issue; the route should be assigned automatically by DHCP.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-2 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-2 exam.