While troubleshooting a possible Path MTU problem between your Linux workstation and the host 203.0.113.8, you need to send exactly five ICMP Echo Requests that must not be fragmented anywhere along the path. Because the Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes, you decide to carry 1472 data bytes in each probe (1500 − 20 IP header − 8 ICMP header). Which command meets all of these requirements?
The command ping -M do -s 1472 -c 5 203.0.113.8 sets the Path-MTU-Discovery option to do, which tells the kernel to set the DF (Don't Fragment) flag on every packet. The -s 1472 option specifies a 1472-byte payload, creating a 1500-byte frame on the wire, and -c 5 limits the test to five probes.
ping -D -s 1472 -c 5 … only adds a timestamp before each line; -D does not set the DF flag, so fragmentation would still be allowed.
ping -M dont -s 1472 -c 5 … explicitly disables DF, permitting fragmentation and defeating the test objective.
ping -M do -s 1500 -c 5 … sets DF correctly but uses a 1500-byte payload, resulting in a 1528-byte packet (1500 + 20 + 8) that exceeds the stated requirement of 1472 bytes.
Therefore, only the command that combines -M do, -s 1472, and -c 5 satisfies all conditions.
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What does the `-M do` option in the ping command do?
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Why is the payload size set to 1472 bytes in the correct command?
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What happens if DF (Don't Fragment) is not set when using the ping command?
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