A system administrator writes the following shell script to test whether a remote host is reachable before initiating a backup process Figure from the original question paper The command sends 1 ICMP packet to the host 192.0.2.1 All output is redirected to /dev/null The script then prints the exit status of the previous command using \$?\ If the host is unreachable, what will be the output of the script?

System Commands · End Term · 10 May 2026 · January 2026 term · Set 1-2

Question 6: A system administrator writes the following shell script …

Question 6

+5 marksOne correct option

A system administrator writes the following shell script to test whether a remote host is reachable before initiating a backup process

The command sends 1 ICMP packet to the host 192.0.2.1 All output is redirected to /dev/null The script then prints the exit status of the previous command using $?
If the host is unreachable, what will be the output of the script?

A
0
B
1
C
2
D
depends

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Question 6 of 20 in the IIT Madras BS System Commands (System Commands) End Term paper sat on 10 May 2026, in the January 2026 term (System Commands 06 May 26). It carries 5 marks.

Question 6: A system administrator writes the following shell script …

Question 6

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