A network technician is investigating a report that a Windows client workstation cannot load an internal intranet application hosted on a distant subnet (`172.16.10.50`). The technician decides to perform a bottom-up command-line diagnostic workflow to isolate the point of failure. In what sequence should the technician execute the following commands to logically isolate the issue from local IP configuration to remote network path routing?
- 1Execute `ipconfig /all` to inspect the client's assigned IPv4 address, subnet mask, and default gateway.
- 2Execute `ping 127.0.0.1` to confirm that the local IPv4 protocol stack (TCP/IP) is functioning properly on the network adapter.
- 3Execute `ping 192.168.1.1` to verify Layer 3 ICMP reachability to the local default gateway.
- 4Execute `tracert 172.16.10.50` to determine the exact router hop where packet delivery fails along the path to the destination server.
Answer
The correct troubleshooting sequence is: 1) `ipconfig /all` to inspect local IP settings, 2) `ping 127.0.0.1` to test the internal TCP/IP stack, 3) `ping 192.168.1.1` to verify default gateway reachability, and 4) `tracert 172.16.10.50` to isolate route failures across remote hops.
A structured bottom-up command-line diagnostic process begins at the local host and moves outward: first inspecting local IP settings (`ipconfig /all`), testing the internal protocol stack (`ping 127.0.0.1`), validating local gateway reachability (`ping 192.168.1.1`), and finally tracing path hops to remote destinations (`tracert`).
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Standard Command-Line Bottom-Up Network Troubleshooting Sequence