Which Windows command tests connectivity to a remote host at the network level?

Which Windows command tests connectivity to a remote host at the network level?

• A. ping
• B. tracert
• C. nslookup
• D. arp -a

Answer: (A)

Testing connectivity to a remote host at the network level means confirming that you can reach that host over IP and get a response. The best fit is ping, which sends an ICMP Echo Request to the destination and waits for an ICMP Echo Reply. If a reply comes back, you know basic network connectivity exists and you can also gauge round-trip time. If there’s no reply, it points to a connectivity issue at the IP layer or to the destination or intermediary devices blocking ICMP. Other options serve different purposes: tracing the route shows the path through routers and how many hops to the destination, which helps diagnose where a path might be failing but isn’t a direct test of reachability. DNS lookup checks name resolution, not network reachability, and ARP shows local address mappings for devices on the local network, not remote reachability.

Testing connectivity to a remote host at the network level means confirming that you can reach that host over IP and get a response. The best fit is ping, which sends an ICMP Echo Request to the destination and waits for an ICMP Echo Reply. If a reply comes back, you know basic network connectivity exists and you can also gauge round-trip time. If there’s no reply, it points to a connectivity issue at the IP layer or to the destination or intermediary devices blocking ICMP.

Other options serve different purposes: tracing the route shows the path through routers and how many hops to the destination, which helps diagnose where a path might be failing but isn’t a direct test of reachability. DNS lookup checks name resolution, not network reachability, and ARP shows local address mappings for devices on the local network, not remote reachability.