CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

What is the primary purpose of a traceroute?

1. To determine the route a packet takes to a destination

2. To capture packets for inspection

3. To resolve DNS queries

4. To analyze network statistics

The correct answer is: To determine the route a packet takes to a destination

The primary purpose of a traceroute is to determine the route that a packet takes to reach a specific destination. This tool works by sending a series of controlled packets towards the target, incrementally increasing the time-to-live (TTL) value with each packet. When each packet reaches a router, the router decreases the TTL by one; if it reaches zero, the router responds with an ICMP "Time Exceeded" message. This process continues until the packet reaches its destination or the maximum hop count is reached. The resulting output shows each hop along the path, which provides valuable insight into the network topology, latency, and where potential issues may arise along the route. The other options address different network functions. Capturing packets for inspection is typically the role of tools like Wireshark, which focuses on analyzing live traffic rather than the route taken. Resolving DNS queries involves translating domain names into IP addresses, often managed by DNS servers, and does not pertain to packet routing. Analyzing network statistics refers to various performance metrics that can be collected using monitoring tools but does not specifically involve tracing the path of packets. Thus, the role of traceroute is distinctly focused on mapping the route packets take in a network.