CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

To verify the mapping between a layer 2 MAC address and the gateway router, which command should be used?

1. dig

2. ipconfig

3. arp

4. netstat

The correct answer is: arp

The command that is used to verify the mapping between a layer 2 MAC address and the gateway router is the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) command. ARP is responsible for translating IP addresses (layer 3) into MAC addresses (layer 2), which are essential for data link layer communications within a local area network. When you use the ARP command, you can view the ARP cache, which contains a list of IP addresses and their corresponding MAC addresses. This enables you to verify that a specific IP address, typically that of the gateway router, is correctly mapped to the appropriate MAC address on your local network. Understanding this mapping is crucial for network troubleshooting, as it helps ensure that devices can communicate effectively on the network. Other commands might provide information about network configurations or connections but do not specifically focus on displaying the MAC address mappings. For instance, "ipconfig" is useful for viewing network interface configurations on Windows systems, while "dig" is primarily used for querying DNS records, and "netstat" reports on current network connections and listening ports. However, none of these commands directly provide the mapping between MAC and IP addresses like ARP does.