What is the primary purpose of a ping sweep in a network discovery task?

• A. Identifies live hosts without probing for open ports.
• B. Discovers open ports quickly.
• C. Detects operating system.
• D. Changes network routing.

Answer: (A)

A ping sweep is used to identify which hosts are alive on a network by sending ICMP echo requests across a range of IP addresses and noting which devices respond. It’s the lightweight first step in discovery, because it reveals active targets without opening connections to services or scanning ports. This lets you quickly map the set of devices to investigate further, saving time and reducing unnecessary traffic. Keep in mind that some devices or networks block ICMP, so a ping sweep may miss those hosts. After identifying live hosts, you’d typically proceed with more detailed scans (like port checks or OS fingerprinting) to gather deeper information. This is why it’s not used to discover open ports, determine an OS, or change routing.