Nepal Police2080 BSQuestion 3 of 14

Explain the functions of IPCONFIG, PING, TRACERT, NSLOOKUP and ARP.

5 marks

Model answer

These command-line utilities diagnose network problems. Run in cmd.

IPCONFIG — Shows own IP, mask, gateway, DNS. ipconfig /all gives MAC + DHCP details. First step when "no internet".
PING — Tests reachability and round-trip time. ping 8.8.8.8 or ping google.com. Reply = path OK; timeout = down/firewall.
TRACERT (traceroute) — Lists every router hop to destination with delay. tracert google.com. Pinpoints where packets stop.
NSLOOKUP — Queries DNS: name → IP and reverse. nslookup psc.gov.np. Diagnoses "site not opening but IP pings".
ARP — Shows/maps IP ↔ MAC in LAN. arp -a lists neighbours; arp -d clears bad cache causing "IP conflict but cable OK".

Exam flow: ipconfig → ping gateway → ping internet → tracert → nslookup.

Nepal Police2080 BSQuestion 3 of 14

5 marks

These command-line utilities diagnose network problems. Run in cmd.

IPCONFIG — Shows own IP, mask, gateway, DNS. ipconfig /all gives MAC + DHCP details. First step when "no internet".
PING — Tests reachability and round-trip time. ping 8.8.8.8 or ping google.com. Reply = path OK; timeout = down/firewall.
TRACERT (traceroute) — Lists every router hop to destination with delay. tracert google.com. Pinpoints where packets stop.
NSLOOKUP — Queries DNS: name → IP and reverse. nslookup psc.gov.np. Diagnoses "site not opening but IP pings".
ARP — Shows/maps IP ↔ MAC in LAN. arp -a lists neighbours; arp -d clears bad cache causing "IP conflict but cable OK".

Exam flow: ipconfig → ping gateway → ping internet → tracert → nslookup.