JN0-105 Junos - Associate (JNCIA-Junos) 2025 Exam Questions and Answers

The Routing Protocol Daemon (rpd) in Junos OS is responsible for maintaining routing protocols and tables. It handles all routing information, including the calculation of routes and the population of the routing table, making it crucial for dynamic routing operations.

Operating an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) within an Autonomous System (AS) provides several benefits, including determining the optimal paths for data transmission (B), reacting quickly to network changes (D), and learning all about the subnets and best paths within the network (E). IGPs are designed to manage routing within a single AS efficiently, adapting to changes and ensuring data is routed through the best available paths.

The Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) in Junos OS performs several key functions, including implementing firewall filters (A) and forwarding transit traffic (C). The PFE applies firewall filter rules to incoming and outgoing traffic and is responsible for the high-speed forwarding of packets based on the information in the forwarding table.

In Junos OS, a policer is a feature used to limit the rate of traffic flow in the network, including exception traffic sent from the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) to the Routing Engine (RE). Exception traffic consists of packets that cannot be processed by the PFE alone and require intervention by the RE, such as control packets or packets destined for the device itself. A policer can be configured to enforce bandwidth limits and drop or mark packets that exceed specified rate limits, thus protecting the RE from being overwhelmed by excessive exception traffic.

In Junos, when multiple policies are applied to a routing protocol for route export, the routes are evaluated in the order in which the policies are listed. In the exhibit, the OSPF configuration has three export policies listed: policy1, policy2, and policy3. The static route 10.10.10.0/24 does not match any terms in policy1; therefore, it is not rejected by policy1 but is instead passed on to the next policy in the sequence, which is policy2.

If the static route matches a term in policy2 that permits the route, it will be exported into OSPF. If it does not match in policy2, it will then be evaluated by policy3. If there is no match in policy3 as well, and assuming there are no more policies listed, the route would then be subject to the default routing policy behavior, which typically rejects the route unless an explicit accept statement is present in the policies.

In a scenario where a router has a route to a specific network (in this case, 10.1.1.0/24) with a next hop that is unreachable or incorrectly specified (e.g., "r jet" seems to be a typo or an undefined entity), the router will typically discard the traffic destined for that network. This action is taken because the router cannot determine a valid path to forward the traffic. Unlike some scenarios where the router might generate an ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) unreachable message, in many configurations, especially in production networks, the traffic might be silently discarded without providing feedback to the sender, as generating ICMP messages for all undeliverable packets could lead to additional network congestion and potential security concerns.

Transit traffic that traverses the forwarding plane of a Layer 3 router includes both unicast and multicast traffic types. Unicast traffic is directed from a single source to a single destination, while multicast traffic is sent from one source to multiple destinations that are part of a multicast group. These types of traffic are efficiently routed through the network by leveraging the router's forwarding plane capabilities. Exception traffic, which requires special handling by the control plane, and broadcast traffic, which is typically limited to a single broadcast domain and not usually forwarded by Layer 3 routers, are not considered standard types of transit traffic for the forwarding plane of a router.

The Routing Engine (RE) in Juniper Networks devices plays a pivotal role in the control plane, handling tasks that are critical for the operation and management of the network. One of its key functions is processing management traffic, which includes user commands, system configuration, and monitoring operations. The RE also maintains routing tables, which are essential for network routing decisions. These tables contain network topology information and routing paths, which the RE uses to update the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) so that it can forward packets appropriately. The RE does not forward transit traffic or process Class of Service (CoS) marked traffic, as these tasks are handled by the PFE.

The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is responsible for mapping an IPv4 address to a machine's MAC address. ARP operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model and is used to find the MAC address of a host given its IPv4 address. When a device wants to communicate with another device on the same local network, it uses ARP to discover the recipient's MAC address.

References:

Juniper official documentation: ARP.

Networking standards: RFC 826.

In Juniper Networks devices, firewall filters are used to control packet flow through the device. The default action for packets that do not match any of the specified criteria in the firewall filter is to discard them, enhancing network security by ensuring that only explicitly allowed traffic can pass through. Furthermore, it is possible to configure multiple firewall filters on a device, allowing for granular control over traffic based on various criteria such as source, destination, and protocol type.

The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model is a conceptual framework used to understand network interactions in seven distinct layers. IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are part of Layer 3, known as the Network Layer. This layer is responsible for packet forwarding, including routing through intermediate routers, and it handles the logical addressing scheme of the network to ensure that packets can be routed across multiple networks and reach their destination. IP addresses provide unique identifiers for network interfaces, allowing for communication between devices on a network or across different networks.

RADIUS, which stands for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, provides authentication services for users trying to access a network. It is a networking protocol that provides centralized Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) management for users who connect and use a network service.

Link-state routing protocols are a type of routing protocol used in packet-switching networks for finding the best path between source and destination. OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) and IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System) are both examples of link-state routing protocols. They work by maintaining a complete map or topology of the network, allowing routers to independently calculate the best path to each destination. Unlike distance-vector protocols like RIP, link-state protocols are more efficient and scalable, making them suitable for larger networks.

In Junos OS, to navigate from operational mode to configuration mode, you can use either the edit or configure command. Both commands move the CLI from operational mode, where you can view the state of the device, to configuration mode, where you can make changes to the device's configuration.

When multiple users are configuring a Junos device using the "configure private" command, each user gets their own candidate configuration (C). This allows for isolated configuration sessions, where changes made by one user do not impact or interfere with the changes made by another user in their private session.

In Junos OS, route preference (also known as administrative distance) is used to determine the preferred route among multiple routes to the same destination learned via different routing protocols. Direct and local routes, which represent directly connected networks and interfaces, typically share the same low preference value, indicating high trustworthiness because they are directly connected to the router. OSPF internal routes (routes within the same OSPF area) and OSPF AS external routes (routes that are external to the OSPF autonomous system but redistributed into OSPF) also share the same preference value, although this value is higher (indicating less trust) than for direct and local routes. This distinction helps the routing engine decide which routes to use when multiple paths are available.

The candidate configuration in Junos OS is a temporary configuration that allows network administrators to make and stage multiple configuration changes before applying them to the device. This approach enables the deployment of multiple changes in a single operation, ensuring that all configurations work together as intended before making them active. Additionally, the candidate configuration can be discarded if the administrator decides not to apply the staged changes, allowing for a "trial and error" approach without affecting the currently active configuration. This feature provides flexibility and reduces the risk of disruptive changes to the network.

The Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) is an integral component of Juniper Networks devices, responsible for the data plane operations. The data plane, also known as the forwarding plane, is where the actual processing and forwarding of packets occur based on the routing and forwarding tables. The PFE executes the forwarding decisions made by the Routing Engine (RE), handling all packet transmissions, including routing, filtering, and switching packets towards their destination. This contrasts with the control plane operations handled by the RE, which involve routing table maintenance, system management, and control protocol processing.

If you've committed a configuration and then need to revert to the previous configuration, the rollback command is used. Since the incorrect IP address has not been committed, as indicated by the commit check command being successful, issuing rollback 1 will undo the changes made in the current session, which includes the accidental entry of the IP address.

In Junos OS, when a user issues the configure exclusive command, it locks the candidate configuration for that user, preventing other users from making concurrent configuration changes. This exclusive lock ensures that configuration changes are managed in a controlled manner, reducing the risk of conflicting changes. As a result, while one user is in exclusive configuration mode, other users are prevented from entering configuration mode until the lock is released, either by the user committing the changes or exiting configuration mode.

The firewall filter configuration in the exhibit specifies a filter with two terms. Term 1 matches traffic from the source address 10.0.0.0/8 and has two actions: 'log' and 'next term'. The 'log' action will record the match to a log file, and 'next term' indicates that the firewall should evaluate the next term after logging. There is no explicit action such as 'accept' or 'reject' in term 1, so by default, the traffic will be accepted unless subsequently rejected by another term.

Term 2 has the action 'reject', which discards packets that reach this term. Since there is no 'from' condition in term 2, it acts as a default rule for all traffic not matched by term 1.

Because the traffic sourced from 10.0.0.0/8 matches term 1 and there is no reject action in that term, it will be logged and then accepted by the firewall filter. There is no subsequent term that rejects this specific traffic, so the action from term 2 does not apply to it.

The Routing Engine (RE) in Juniper Networks devices plays a critical role in the control plane operations. One of its functions includes responding to network utility commands like ping and traceroute, which are essential for diagnosing network connectivity and path issues. Furthermore, the RE is responsible for maintaining the routing tables, which contain information about network paths and destinations. These tables are vital for making forwarding decisions but are distinct from the actual forwarding of packets, which is handled by the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE).

A Layer 3 router forwards packets based on the destination IP address. It operates at the network layer of the OSI model and uses routing tables to determine the best path for packet delivery. Unlike Layer 2 switches, which forward packets based on MAC addresses, routers handle logical addressing, making them crucial for inter-network communication.

The command "monitor traffic interface ge-0/0/0" (D) initiates a packet capture on the specified interface, allowing you to view the actual packets being transmitted and received. This is useful for troubleshooting and analyzing the traffic passing through the interface in real time.

In the OSI model, the Data Link Layer is responsible for node-to-node delivery of data. It frames the packets received from the Network Layer and prepares them for physical transmission. The Protocol Data Unit (PDU) for the Data Link Layer is called a "frame." Frames encapsulate the network layer packets, adding a header and a trailer that include the hardware addresses of the source and destination, among other things, facilitating the data link layer services like frame synchronization, flow control, and error checking.

In the Junos CLI, the pipe character | is used as a filter operator to refine command output. This operator can be combined with various filtering commands like match, except, count, etc., to display only the relevant portions of the command output. For example, using | match <pattern> filters the output to show only the lines that contain the specified pattern, making it easier to find specific information within extensive command output. This functionality is especially useful in managing and troubleshooting complex configurations and network states, allowing for more efficient analysis of the device's operational status and configuration details.

When configuring the system-related settings for the current date and time on a Junos device, especially for a specific time zone like America/Los_Angeles, and the time does not automatically adjust, two effective actions can be taken. Firstly, setting the date and time manually allows for immediate correction of the system clock. This can be done via the CLI with the appropriate set date and time command. Secondly, configuring the device to use an NTP server can provide ongoing synchronization with an accurate time source, ensuring that the device maintains the correct time and date automatically in the future, even in the case of restarts or minor drifts in the internal clock.