Command Line Tools

Question 1

Ping Device Command

Answer 1

ping (on Windows, Linux & macOS)

The ping command tests network connectivity by sending Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo requests and the output shows packet loss and latency.

Question 2

Trace Route Command

Answer 2

tracert (on Windows)
traceroute (on Linux & macOS)

A tool that shows the path packets take to a destination. Shows how many hops.

Question 3

Path Ping Command

Answer 3

pathping (on Windows)

Combines ping and tracert by measuring packet loss at each hop. Linux and macOS do not include pathping, but similar functionality can be achieved using ping + traceroute or mtr.

Question 4

Lookup DNS Server Info Command

Answer 4

nslookup (on Windows)
dig (on Linux & macOS)

Used to query Domain Name System (DNS) servers. Provides detailed DNS query output; dig is considered the advanced version of nslookup.

Question 5

Packet Capture Command

Answer 5

WinDump (on Windows)
tcpdump (on Linux & macOS)

Captures packets from the command line, functioning as a text-based alternative to Wireshark.

Question 6

Network Statistics Command

Answer 6

netstat (on Windows, Linux & macOS)

Displays active connections and ports.

netstat -a shows all connections

netstat -b shows executable names (Windows only)

netstat -n displays numerical IPs instead of names. Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Question 7

IP Configuration Command

Answer 7

ipconfig (on Windows)
ifconfig or ip address (on Linux & macOS)

Shows and manages IP settings.

Question 8

Address Resolution Protocol Command

Answer 8

arp -a (on Windows, Linux & macOS)

Displays the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache, showing mappings of IP addresses to Media Access Control (MAC) addresses.