XK0-005 CompTIA Linux+ Exam Questions and Answers

The system has reached its maximum permitted throughput, therefore iowait is increasing. The output of iostat -x shows that the device sda has an average throughput of 44.01 MB/s, which is equal to the disk maximum throughput of 44 Mbps. The output also shows that the device sda has an average iowait of 99.99%, which means that the CPU is waiting for the disk to complete the I/O requests. This indicates that the disk is the bottleneck and the system is slow due to the high iowait. The other options are incorrect because they are not supported by the outputs. The system has not reached its maximum IOPS, as the device sda has an average IOPS of 563.50, which is lower than the disk maximum IOPS of 690. The system is not mostly idle, as the output of top shows that the CPU is 100% busy. The system does not have a partitioned disk, as the output of lsblk shows that the device sda has only one partition sda1. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 17: Optimizing Linux Systems, pages 513-514.

To unlock an account that has been locked due to login failures, the administrator can use the command pam_tally2 --user=dev2 --reset (D). This will reset the failure counter for the user “dev2” and allow the user to log in again. The other commands will not unlock the account, but either display or increase the failure count. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 4: Managing Users and Groups, Section: Locking Accounts with pam_tally2

[How to Lock and Unlock User Account in Linux]

The RPM option -e should be used to remove software from the server. The rpm command is a tool for managing software packages on RPM-based Linux distributions. The -e option stands for erase and removes the specified package from the system. This is the correct option to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not exist (-s or -d) or do not remove software (-q stands for query and displays information about the package). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 16: Managing Software, page 489.

The best command to use to improve the latency issue is D. # echo ‘net.core.rmem max = 12500000’ >> /etc/sysctl.conf # echo ‘net.core.wmem_max = 12500000’ >> /etc/sysctl.conf # sysctl -p. This command will increase the size of the receive and send buffers for the network interface, which can improve the network performance and reduce packet loss. The sysctl command will apply the changes to the kernel parameters without rebooting the system.

The other commands are either incorrect or not suitable for this task. For example:

A. # echo ‘net.core.net_backlog = 5000000’ >> /etc/sysctl.conf # sysctl -p # systemctl daemon-reload will try to increase the backlog queue for incoming connections, but this is not relevant for the latency issue. The systemctl daemon-reload command is also unnecessary, as it only reloads the systemd configuration files, not the kernel parameters.

B. # ifdown eth0 # ip link set dev eth0 mtu 800 # ifup eth0 will try to change the maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the network interface to 800 bytes, but this is too low and may cause fragmentation and performance degradation. The default MTU for Ethernet is 1500 bytes, and it should not be changed unless there is a specific reason.

C. # systemctl stop network # ethtool -g eth0 512 # systemctl start network will try to change the ring buffer size of the network interface to 512, but this is too small and may cause packet drops and latency spikes. The default ring buffer size for Ethernet is usually 4096 or higher, and it should be increased if there is a high network traffic.

The issue is caused by the lack of a default route defined in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-enp0s3 file. A default route is a special route that specifies where to send packets that do not match any other routes in the routing table. Without a default route, the server will not be able to communicate with hosts outside its local network. The default route is usually configured with the GATEWAY option in the network interface configuration file. For example, to set the default gateway to 192.168.1.1, the file should contain:

GATEWAY=192.168.1.1

The other options are not causing the issue. The DNS address is not commented out in the configuration file, it is specified with the DNS1 option. The search entry in the /etc/resolv.conf file is correct, it specifies the domain name to append to unqualified hostnames. Wired connection 1 is online, as indicated by the ONBOOT=yes option and the output of ip link show enp0s3 command. References: Configuring IP Networking with nmcli; Configuring IP Networking with ifcfg Files

The command pam_tally2 -u joe -r will resolve the issue of Joe being unable to log in to the Linux system. The pam_tally2 command is a tool for managing the login counter for the PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) system. PAM is a framework for managing authentication and authorization on Linux systems. PAM allows the administrator to define the rules and policies for accessing various system resources and services, such as login, sudo, ssh, or cron. PAM also supports different types of authentication methods, such as passwords, tokens, biometrics, or smart cards. PAM can be used to implement login restrictions, such as limiting the number of failed login attempts, locking the account after a certain number of failures, or enforcing a minimum or maximum time between login attempts. The pam_tally2 command can display, reset, or unlock the login counter for the users or hosts. The -u joe option specifies the user name that the command should apply to. The -r option resets the login counter for the user. The command pam_tally2 -u joe -r will reset the login counter for Joe, which will unlock his account and allow him to log in to the Linux system. This will resolve the issue of Joe being unable to log in to the Linux system. This is the correct command to use to resolve the issue. The other options are incorrect because they either do not unlock the account (usermod -s /bin/bash joe or passwd -u joe) or do not affect the login counter (chage -E 90 joe). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 17: Implementing Basic Security, page 517.

The environment variable that must be set in remote shell in order to launch the graphical interface is $DISPLAY. This variable tells X11 applications where to display their windows on screen. It usually has the form hostname:displaynumber.screennumber, where hostname is the name of the computer running the X server, displaynumber is a unique identifier for an X display on that computer, and screennumber is an optional identifier for a screen within an X display. For example, localhost:0.0 means display number 0 on the local host. If the hostname is omitted, it defaults to the local host.

The other options are not correct environment variables for launching the graphical interface. $RHOST is a variable that stores the name of the remote host, but it is not used by X11 applications. SETENV is a command that sets environment variables in some shells, but it is not an environment variable itself. $SHELL is a variable that stores the name of the current shell, but it is not related to X11 forwarding. References: How to enable or disable X11 forwarding in an SSH server; How to Configure X11 Forwarding Using SSH In Linux

The ss command is used to display information about socket connections, such as the port number, state, and process ID. The error message indicates that the port 80 is already in use by another process, which prevents the Apache web server from binding to it. By using the ss command with the -l and -n options, the administrator can list all the listening sockets and their port numbers in numeric form, and identify which process is using the port 80. For example: ss -ln | grep :80. The ip, dig, and nc commands are not relevant for this issue, as they are used for different purposes, such as configuring network interfaces, querying DNS records, and testing network connectivity.

The command ls | cpio -ov > cloud.cpio can help to create a new cloud.cpio archive containing all the files from the current directory. The ls command lists the files in the current directory and outputs them to the standard output. The | operator pipes the output to the next command. The cpio command is a tool for creating and extracting compressed archives. The -o option creates a new archive and the -v option shows the verbose output. The > operator redirects the output to the cloud.cpio file. This command will create a new cloud.cpio archive with all the files from the current directory. The other options are incorrect because they either use the wrong options (-i instead of -o), the wrong arguments (cloud.epio instead of cloud.cpio), or the wrong syntax (< instead of > or missing |). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 11: Managing Files and Directories, page 351.

To change the swappiness parameter to 0 and make it persistent across reboots and applied immediately, the administrator can perform the following steps:

Append the line vm.swappiness=0 to the file /etc/sysctl.conf using echo "vm.swappiness=0" >> /etc/sysctl.conf (A). This will set the swappiness parameter to 0 for future boots.

Reload the sysctl configuration using sysctl -p (A). This will apply the changes to the current system without rebooting. The other commands will not achieve this task, but either write to a wrong file, use a wrong option, or have a syntax error. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 8: Optimizing Linux Performance, Section: Tuning Kernel Parameters with sysctl

[How to Change Swappiness in Linux]

The git fetch command downloads commits, files, and refs from a remote repository into the local one. It also updates the remote-tracking branches, which are references to the state of the remote branches. By running git fetch, the administrator can see the new branch created by the development team and then use git checkout to switch to it12.

References: 1: Git - git-fetch Documentation 2: Git Fetch | Atlassian Git Tutorial

The command that will satisfy the requirement of having all files that are created by the user named web have read-only permissions by the owner is echo “umask 377” >> /home/web/.bashrc. This command will append the umask 377 command to the end of the .bashrc file in the web user’s home directory. The .bashrc file is a shell script that is executed whenever a new interactive shell session is started by the user. The umask command sets the file mode creation mask, which determines the default permissions for newly created files or directories by subtracting from the maximum permissions (666 for files and 777 for directories). The umask 377 command means that the user does not want to give any permissions to the group or others (3 = 000 in binary), and only wants to give read permission to the owner (7 - 3 = 4 = 100 in binary). Therefore, any new file created by the web user will have read-only permission by the owner (400) and no permission for anyone else. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 8: Managing Users and Groups; Umask Command in Linux | Linuxize

The docker logs command is used to fetch the logs of a container. If the error output is not showing for a running container, the docker logs command can be used to view these details56.

References:5(https://www.docker.com/blog/how-to-fix-and-debug-docker-containers-like-a-superhero/) 6(https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33083385/getting-console-output-from-a-docker-container)

The filesystem that system logs are commonly stored in is /var. The /var filesystem is a directory that contains variable data files on Linux systems. Variable data files are files that are expected to grow in size over time, such as logs, caches, spools, and temporary files. The /var filesystem is separate from the / filesystem, which contains the essential system files, to prevent the / filesystem from being filled up by the variable data files. The system logs are files that record the events and activities of the system and its components, such as the kernel, the services, the applications, and the users. The system logs are useful for monitoring, troubleshooting, and auditing the system. The system logs are commonly stored in the /var/log directory, which is a subdirectory of the /var filesystem. The /var/log directory contains various log files, such as syslog, messages, dmesg, auth.log, and kern.log. The filesystem that system logs are commonly stored in is /var. This is the correct answer to the question. The other options are incorrect because they are not the filesystems that system logs are commonly stored in (/tmp, /etc, or /opt). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 16: Managing Logging and Monitoring, page 487.

To run a script file, the user needs to have execute permission on the file. The command chmod u+x /home/user/script.sh (A) will grant execute permission to the owner of the file, which is the user who created it. The other commands will not give execute permission to the user, and therefore will not allow the script to run properly. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 3: Working with Files, Section: Changing File Permissions

[How to Make a Bash Script Executable]

To enable LUKS on a USB storage device with an ext4 filesystem format, the administrator needs to perform the following steps:

Unmount the device if it is mounted using umount /dev/sdc (D)

Create a partition table on the device using fdisk /dev/sdc (E)

Format the partition with LUKS encryption using cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdc1 (H)

Open the encrypted partition using cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdc1 LUKS0001

Create an ext4 filesystem on the encrypted partition using mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/LUKS0001 ©

Mount the encrypted partition using mount /dev/mapper/LUKS0001 /mnt References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 9: Securing Linux, Section: Encrypting Disks

[How to Encrypt USB Drive on Ubuntu 18.04]

The tuned application is the best tool for dynamic tuning of kernel parameters, as it monitors the system and optimizes the performance under different workloads. It provides a number of predefined profiles for typical use cases, such as power saving, low latency, high throughput, virtual machine performance, and so on. It also allows users to create, modify, and delete profiles, and to switch between them on the fly. The tuned application uses the sysctl command and the configuration files in the /etc/sysctl.d/ directory to adjust the kernel parameters at runtime.

References

Chapter 2. Getting started with TuneD - Red Hat Customer Portal, paragraph 1

Kernel tuning with sysctl - Linux.com, paragraph 1

The command that the administrator should run NEXT to allow the file to be renamed by any user is chmod -t files. This command uses the chmod tool, which is used to change file permissions and access modes. The -t option removes (or sets) the sticky bit on a directory, which restricts deletion or renaming of files within that directory to only their owners or root. In this case, since files is a directory with sticky bit set (indicated by t in drwxrwxrwt), removing it will allow any user to rename or delete files within that directory.

The other options are not correct commands for allowing any user to rename files within files directory. The chgrp reet files command will change the group ownership of files directory to reet, but it will not affect its permissions or access modes. The chacl -R 644 files command is invalid, as chacl is used to change file access control lists (ACLs), not permissions or access modes. The chown users files command will change the user ownership of files directory to users, but it will not affect its permissions or access modes. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 8: Managing Users and Groups; chmod(1) - Linux manual page

To launch an Nginx image container, name it Web001, and expose port 8080 externally while mapping to port 80 inside the container, the administrator can use the command docker run -it -p 8080:80 --name Web001 nginx ©. This will create and start a new container from the Nginx image, assign it a name of Web001, and map port 8080 on the host to port 80 on the container. The other commands are not valid or do not meet the requirements. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 11: Working with Containers, Section: Running Containers with Docker

[How to Run Docker Containers]

The Requires=docker-repository.mount directive in the Docker service file ensures that the Docker service depends on the docker-repository.mount unit. If the mount is not available, Docker will not start. This guarantees that the necessary volume is mounted before the Docker service attempts to use it.

The message in /var/log/messages indicates that the server is running out of file descriptors. A file descriptor is a non-negative integer identifier for an open file in Linux. Each process has a table of open file descriptors where a new entry is appended upon opening a new file. There is a limit on how many file descriptors a process can open at a time, which depends on the system configuration and the user privileges. If a process tries to open more files than the limit, it will fail with an error message like "Too many open files". This could cause connections to be closed unexpectedly or other problems with the application.

The other options are not correct causes for the connection issue. The process mysqld is not using too many semaphores, which are synchronization mechanisms for processes that share resources. Semaphores are not related to file descriptors or open files. Something is not starving the server resources, which could mean high CPU usage, memory pressure, disk I/O, network congestion, or other factors that affect performance. These could cause slowdowns or timeouts, but not file descriptor exhaustion. The amount of RAM allocated to the server is not too high, which could cause swapping or paging if it exceeds the physical memory available. This could also affect performance, but not file descriptor availability. References: File Descriptor Requirements (Linux Systems); Limits on the Number of Linux File Descriptors

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization format often used for configuration files and in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Ansible and Kubernetes. YAML files are easy to read and write, making them ideal for specifying infrastructure configurations and managing declarative environments.

According to the getfacl output, the default ACL for the group wheel is set to rwx, meaning members of the wheel group have read, write, and execute permissions. Therefore, they can access and manage files in the /comptia directory. Other users (other::---) have no permissions on this directory.

The git pull command fetches changes from the remote repository and merges them into the current branch. This is the correct command for obtaining the updated configuration that was pushed to the remote repository.

This command will use the iptables tool to append a rule to the POSTROUTING chain of the nat table, which will match any packet with a source address of 172.17.0.0/16 and an output interface of eth0, and apply the MASQUERADE target to it. This means that the packet will have its source address changed to the address of the eth0 interface, effectively hiding the internal network behind a NAT12.

References: 1: Iptables NAT and Masquerade rules - what do they do? 2: Routing from docker containers using a different physical network interface and default gateway

Ansible is an open-source automation tool that can manage multiple systems simultaneously. Using an Ansible playbook, the administrator can run commands across several servers to obtain the installed kernel version efficiently. A simple ansible all -m command -a "uname -r" will retrieve the kernel version from all target systems.

The command ssh-copy-id user@server will allow the user to upload the public key to a remote server and enable passwordless login. The ssh-copy-id command is a tool for copying the public key to a remote server and appending it to the authorized_keys file, which is used for public key authentication. The command will also set the appropriate permissions on the remote server to ensure the security of the key. The command ssh-copy-id user@server will copy the public key of the user to the server and allow the user to log in without a password. This is the correct command to use for this task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not copy the public key (scp, rsync, or ssh-add) or do not use the correct syntax (scp ~/.ssh/id_rsa user@server:~/ instead of scp ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub user@server:~/ or rsync ~ /.ssh/ user@server:~/ instead of rsync ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub user@server:~/). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 13: Managing Network Services, page 410.

The systemct1 reload sshd command can be used to apply the configuration changes of the SSH server daemon without restarting it. This is useful to avoid interrupting existing connections. The systemct1 stop sshd command would stop the SSH server daemon, not apply the changes. The systemct1 mask sshd command would prevent the SSH server daemon from being started, not apply the changes. The systemct1 start sshd command would start the SSH server daemon if it is not running, but it would not apply the changes if it is already running. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 12: Secure Shell (SSH), page 415.

The cloud engineer should use cloud-init to install packages during VM provisioning. Cloud-init is a tool that allows the customization of cloud instances at boot time. Cloud-init can perform various tasks, such as setting the hostname, creating users, installing packages, configuring network, and running scripts. Cloud-init can work with different cloud platforms and Linux distributions. This is the correct tool to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they are either not suitable for cloud provisioning (Bash or Docker) or not a tool but a design pattern (Sidecar). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Cloud and Virtualization Technologies, page 563.

The correct sequence of commands to expand a volume group using a new disk is fdisk, pvcreate, vgextend. The fdisk command can be used to create a partition on the new disk with the type 8e (Linux LVM). The pvcreate command can be used to initialize the partition as a physical volume for LVM. The vgextend command can be used to add the physical volume to an existing volume group. The partprobe command can be used to inform the kernel about partition table changes, but it is not necessary in this case. The vgcreate command can be used to create a new volume group, not expand an existing one. The lvextend command can be used to extend a logical volume, not a volume group. The lvcreate command can be used to create a new logical volume, not expand a volume group. The mkfs command can be used to create a filesystem on a partition or a logical volume, not expand a volume group. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 14: Managing Disk Storage, pages 462-463.

The mechanism that enables administrators to configure and enforce MFA on a Linux system is PAM. PAM stands for Pluggable Authentication Modules, which is a framework for managing authentication and authorization on Linux systems. PAM allows the administrator to define the rules and policies for accessing various system resources and services, such as login, sudo, ssh, or cron. PAM also supports different types of authentication methods, such as passwords, tokens, biometrics, or smart cards. PAM can be used to implement MFA, which stands for Multi-Factor Authentication, which is a security technique that requires the user to provide more than one piece of evidence to prove their identity. MFA can enhance the security of the system and prevent unauthorized access. PAM enables administrators to configure and enforce MFA on a Linux system. This is the correct answer to the question. The other options are incorrect because they either do not manage authentication and authorization on Linux systems (Kerberos or PKI) or do not support MFA (SELinux). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 17: Implementing Basic Security, page 517.

The docker image tag test test:v1 command can be used to assign the v1 version to the image called test. This command creates a new tag for the existing image, without changing the original image. The docker image save test test:v1 command would save the image to a file, not assign a version. The docker image build test:vl command is invalid, as vl is not a valid version number. The docker image version test:v1 command does not exist. References: [CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide], Chapter 16: Virtualization and Cloud Technologies, page 500.

The dig command is used for querying DNS information. To retrieve the MX records for a domain (which indicate where emails should be routed), the command dig mx foo.com is used. This returns the mail servers associated with the domain, including their priority levels.

The reason that the administrator is unable to perform the assigned duties is because the administrator is not a part of the correct group. This is option B.

Based on the image that you sent, I can see that the user comptia has a user ID and a group ID of 1000, and belongs to only one group, which is also comptia. However, the sudoers file, which defines the permissions for users to run commands as root or other users, does not include the comptia group in any of the entries. Therefore, the user comptia cannot use sudo to perform privileged functions on the system.

The other options are incorrect because:

A. The administrator needs a password reset.

This is not true, because the password aging information for the user comptia shows that the password was last changed on Oct 24, 2023, and it does not expire until Jan 22, 2024. There is no indication that the password is locked or expired.

C. The administrator did not update the sudo database.

This is not necessary, because the sudo database is automatically updated whenever the sudoers file is modified. There is no separate command to update the sudo database.

D. The administrator’s credentials need to be more complex.

This is not relevant, because the complexity of the credentials does not affect the ability to use sudo. The sudoers file does not specify any password policy for the users or groups that are allowed to use sudo.

The cause of the issue is that the CIDR value /33 is invalid for an IPv4 address. The CIDR value represents the number of bits in the network prefix of an IP address, and it can range from 0 to 32 for IPv4 addresses. A CIDR value of /33 would imply a network prefix of more than 32 bits, which is impossible for an IPv4 address. To assign a temporary IP address/netmask of 192.168.168.1/255.255.255.255 to eth0, the CIDR value should be /32 instead, which means a network prefix of 32 bits and a host prefix of 0 bits. There is no route to 192.168.168.1/33 is not the cause of the issue, as the ip address add command does not check the routing table. The interface eth0 does not exist is not the cause of the issue, as the ip address add command would display a different error message if the interface does not exist. The IP address 192.168.168.1 is already in use is not the cause of the issue, as the ip address add command would display a different error message if the IP address is already in use. References: [CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide], Chapter 13: Networking Fundamentals, page 435.

TRIM is a feature that allows the operating system to inform the SSD which blocks of data are no longer in use and can be wiped internally. This helps to maintain the SSD’s performance and endurance by preventing unnecessary write operations and reducing write amplification12. Running the corresponding command to trim the SSD drives, such as fstrim or blkdiscard on Linux, can help to solve the issue of slow writes by freeing up space and optimizing the SSD’s internal garbage collection34.

References: 1: What is SSD TRIM, why is it useful, and how to check whether it is turned on 2: How to Trim SSD in Windows 10 3: How to run fsck on an external drive with OS X? 4: How to Use the fsck Command on Linux

The users who have root-level command-line access are those who have either the same user ID (UID) as root, which is 0, or the ability to run commands as root using sudo. Based on the /etc/passwd and /etc/sudoers files, the users who meet these criteria are:

Carl: Carl has the same UID as root, which is 0, as shown in the /etc/passwd file. This means that Carl can log in as root and execute any command with root privileges1

Mallory: Mallory has the ability to run commands as root using sudo, as shown in the /etc/sudoers file. The line ALL = (ALL) ALL means that any user can run any command as any other user, including root, by using sudo. Mallory can also use the root shell /bin/bash as her login shell, as shown in the /etc/passwd file2

Therefore, the correct answer is A and C. Lee, Eve, Bob, and Alice do not have root-level command-line access because they have different UIDs from root and they cannot use sudo to run commands as root. Lee can only use sudo to run the commands listed in the Cmnd_Alias SHELLS, which are /bin/tcsh, /bin/sh, and /bin/bash. Eve cannot log in at all because her login shell is /bin/nologin. Bob and Alice can only use sudo to run the command /usr/sbin/tcpdump without a password, as specified by the Cmnd_Alias SYSADMIN and the line ALL = NOPASSWD: SYSADMIN2

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, which is a technology that combines multiple physical disks into a logical unit that provides improved performance, reliability, or both. RAID can significantly help to reduce data loss if more than one drive fails at the same time, depending on the RAID level used. For example, RAID 1 (mirroring) duplicates the data on two or more disks, so that if one disk fails, the data can be recovered from another disk. RAID 5 (striping with parity) distributes the data and parity information across three or more disks, so that if one disk fails, the data can be reconstructed from the remaining disks. RAID 6 (striping with double parity) extends RAID 5 by adding another parity block, so that if two disks fail, the data can still be recovered from the remaining disks. References: [What is RAID?]

The ping -c 1 192.168.47.44 command sends one ICMP echo request to the specified host to check its availability. If the host is down, there will be no response. This is the quickest way to confirm if a host is reachable. nmap -Pn can also be used to check a host status, but ping is faster and lighter.

The main objective when using Application Control is to ensure the security and privacy of information. Application Control is a security practice that blocks or restricts unauthorized applications from executing in ways that put data at risk. The control functions vary based on the business purpose of the specific application, but the main objective is to help ensure the privacy and security of data used by and transmitted between applications1. Application Control can also prevent malware, untrusted, or unwanted applications from running on the network, reducing the risks and costs associated with data breaches1. Application Control can also improve the overall network stability and performance by eliminating unnecessary or harmful applications1.

Application Control is not mainly used to filter out specific content, although it can be combined with other technologies such as URL filtering or content filtering to achieve that goal. Application Control is not mainly used to assist the firewall blade with handling traffic, although it can be integrated with firewall policies to enforce granular access rules based on applications. Application Control is not mainly used to see what users are doing, although it can provide visibility and reporting on application usage and activity.

The systemd is a system and service manager for Linux systems that provides a standard way to control and monitor system services. The systemd uses various commands and tools to manage and troubleshoot system services, such as systemct1, sysctl, and journalctl. The systemct1 command is used to start, stop, enable, disable, restart, reload, status, and list system services. The sysctl command is used to configure kernel parameters at runtime. The journalctl command is used to view and filter the logs of system services.

To investigate a service that is not starting up, the administrator can use the journalctl command with the -xu option. The -x option enables verbose output that includes explanatory text and priority information. The -u option filters the output by a specific unit name, such as network.service. Therefore, the command journalctl -xu network will show detailed logs of the network service, which can help identify the cause of the failure. The statement D is correct.

The statements A, B, and C are incorrect because they do not provide more details about the failing service. The systemct1 analyze network command does not exist. The systemct1 info network command shows basic information about the network unit, such as description, load state, active state, sub state, and main PID. The sysctl -a network command shows all kernel parameters related to network settings. References: [How to Use Systemd to Manage System Services]

To ensure all files created in Q1 inherit the group ownership of finance, the chmod g+s command sets the group ID (SGID) on the directory, ensuring new files belong to the group of the directory. chown Finance Q1/ changes the group ownership of Q1 to Finance, allowing Finance group members access. These settings facilitate collaborative permissions as per CompTIA Linux+ recommendations for group-based file sharing. Reference: CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide.

The yum history undo last command allows the administrator to undo the most recent transaction, effectively removing the httpd package and any installed dependencies. This is the safest and easiest way to revert package installations in RPM-based systems using yum.

 The command docker images prune -a will help to remove all dangling images and delete all the images that do not have an associated container. The docker command is a tool for managing Docker containers and images. The images subcommand operates on images. The prune option removes unused images. The -a option removes all images, not just dangling ones. A dangling image is an image that is not tagged and is not referenced by any container. This command will accomplish the task of cleaning up the unused images. The other options are incorrect because they either do not exist (docker push images -a or docker images rmi --all) or do not remove images (docker rmi -a images only removes images that match the name or ID of “images”). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Cloud and Virtualization Technologies, page 567.

The file that holds the system configuration for journal when running systemd is /etc/systemd/journald.conf. This file contains various settings that control the behavior of the journald daemon, which is responsible for collecting and storing log messages from various sources. The journald.conf file can be edited to change the default values of these settings, such as the storage location, size limits, compression, and forwarding options of the journal files. The file also supports a drop-in directory /etc/systemd/journald.conf.d/ where additional configuration files can be placed to override or extend the main file. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 18: Automating Tasks; journald.conf(5) - Linux manual page

The issue is that the logger user does not have write permissions to /var/log/collector. Using setfacl (Access Control Lists) allows fine-grained control over file permissions, granting the logger user the necessary read-write access to the directory without changing the owner or group.

The /etc/passwd file contains user account information, where each line includes fields separated by colons. To list all user accounts and their UIDs, use cut -d: -f1,3 /etc/passwd. This cuts the first field (username) and the third field (UID) from each line.

The pkill -9 -f “upload*.sh” command will terminate all of the identified processes. This command will send a SIGKILL signal (-9) to all processes whose full command line matches the pattern “upload*.sh” (-f). This signal will force the processes to terminate immediately without giving them a chance to clean up or save their state. The kill -9 “upload*.sh” command is invalid, as kill requires a process ID (PID), not a pattern. The killall -9 “upload*.sh” command is incorrect, as killall requires an exact process name, not a pattern. The skill -9 “upload*.sh” command is incorrect, as skill requires a username or a session ID (SID), not a pattern. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 15: Managing Memory and Process Execution, page 470.

The command dd if=/dev/sda of=/tmp/sda.img should be used to create an image named sda.img from the sda disk and store it in the /tmp directory. The dd command is a tool for copying and converting data on Linux systems. The if option specifies the input file or device, in this case /dev/sda, which is the disk device. The of option specifies the output file or device, in this case /tmp/sda.img, which is the image file. The command dd if=/dev/sda of=/tmp/sda.img will copy the entire disk data from /dev/sda to /tmp/sda.img and create an image file. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either use the wrong options (--if or --of instead of if or of) or swap the input and output (dd of=/dev/sda if=/tmp/sda.img or dd --of=/dev/sda --if=/tmp/sda.img). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 10: Managing Storage, page 323.

The command docker rm $(docker ps -aq) will allow the administrator to clean up the containers in an exited state. The docker command is a tool for managing Docker containers on Linux systems. Docker containers are isolated and lightweight environments that can run applications and services without affecting the host system. Docker uses images to create containers, which are files that contain the code, libraries, dependencies, and configuration of the applications and services. The rm option removes one or more containers. The $(docker ps -aq) is a command substitution that executes the command inside the parentheses and replaces it with the output. The docker ps -aq command lists all the containers, including the ones in an exited state, and shows only their IDs. The docker rm $(docker ps -aq) command will remove all the containers, including the ones in an exited state, by passing their IDs to the rm option. This will allow the administrator to clean up the containers in an exited state. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not exist (docker rm --all or docker rm --state exited) or do not remove the containers (docker images prune *). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Cloud and Virtualization Technologies, page 571.

These commands can display all the firewall rules applied to the Linux servers, depending on which firewall service is being used.

The firewall-cmd command is a utility for managing firewalld, which is a dynamic firewall service that supports zones and services. The --list-all option will show all the settings and rules for the default zone, or for a specific zone if specified. For example, firewall-cmd --list-all --zone=public will show the rules for the public zone1.

The ufw command is a frontend for iptables, which is a low-level tool for manipulating netfilter, the Linux kernel’s packet filtering framework. The status option will show the status of ufw and the active rules, or the numbered rules if verbose is specified. For example, ufw status verbose will show the numbered rules and other information2.

The other options are incorrect because:

A. ufw limit

This command will limit the connection attempts to a service or port using iptables’ recent module. It does not display any firewall rules2.

B. iptables -F

This command will flush (delete) all the rules in the selected chain, or all chains if none is given. It does not display any firewall rules3.

C. systemctl status firewalld

This command will show the status of the firewalld service, including whether it is active or not, but it does not show the firewall rules4.

F. iptables -A

This command will append one or more rules to the end of the selected chain. It does not display any firewall rules3.

The file that will need to be modified for the server to be able to boot again is /etc/fstab. The /etc/fstab file is a file that contains the information about the file systems that are mounted at boot time on Linux systems. The file specifies the device name, mount point, file system type, mount options, dump frequency, and pass number for each file system. The error message indicates that the dependency failed for /data, which is a mount point for a file system. This means that the system could not mount the /data file system at boot time, which caused the system to enter the emergency mode. The emergency mode is a mode that allows the administrator to log in as the root user and perform basic tasks such as repairing the system. The administrator should modify the /etc/fstab file and check the entry for the /data file system. The administrator should look for any errors or inconsistencies in the device name, file system type, or mount options, and correct them. The administrator should also verify that the device and the file system are intact and functional by using commands such as blkid, fdisk, fsck, or mount. The administrator should then reboot the system and see if the issue is resolved. The file that will need to be modified for the server to be able to boot again is /etc/fstab. This is the correct answer to the question. The other options are incorrect because they are not related to the file systems that are mounted at boot time (/etc/mtab, /dev/sda, or /etc/grub.conf). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 10: Managing Storage, page 321.

The user has the wrong shell assigned to the account, which is causing the issue. The output 1 shows that the user’s shell is set to /bin/false, which is not a valid shell and will prevent the user from logging in. The output 2 shows that the user’s home directory has the correct permissions (drwxr-xr-x), and the output 3 shows that the user entered the correct password and was accepted by the SSH daemon, but the session was closed immediately due to the invalid shell. The other options are incorrect because they are not supported by the outputs. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 13: Managing Network Services, page 413.

The command that will maintain version control while making some changes in the IaC declaration templates is git checkout -b . This command uses the git tool, which is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in source code and enables collaboration among developers. The checkout option switches to a different branch in the git repository, where a branch is a pointer to a specific commit in the history. The -b option creates a new branch with the given name, and switches to it. This way, the administrator can make changes in the new branch without affecting the main branch, and later merge them if needed.

The other options are not correct commands for maintaining version control while making some changes in the IaC declaration templates. The git clone https://github.com/comptia/linux±.git command will clone an existing repository from a remote URL to a local directory, but it will not create a new branch for making changes. The git push origin command will push the local changes to a remote repository named origin, but it will not create a new branch for making changes. The git fetch New-Branch command will fetch updates from a remote branch named New-Branch, but it will not create a new branch for making changes. References:  CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Source Code; Git - Basic Branching and Merging

After fixing issues in the code, the next step is to merge these changes into the main branch. This is typically done by creating a pull request78.

References:7(https://zeet.co/blog/deploy-to-production) 8(https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11833511/git-deploy-to-production)

systemctl status httpd is the correct option to check if the Apache web server (httpd) is running. The systemctl status command provides detailed information about the service, including whether it is active and running.

The rpm -qf /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf command will identify the RPM package that installed the configuration file. This command will query the database of installed packages and display the name of the package that owns the specified file. The rpm -ql /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf command is invalid, as -ql is not a valid option for rpm. The rpm --query /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf command is incorrect, as --query requires a package name, not a file name. The rpm -q /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf command is incorrect, as -q requires a package name, not a file name. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Packages and Software, page 560.

The command docker cp container_id:/deployment.yaml deployment.yaml can accomplish the task of copying the file deployment.yaml from a container to the host. The docker command is a tool for managing Docker containers and images. The cp option copies files or directories between a container and the local filesystem. The container_id is the identifier of the container, which can be obtained by using the docker ps command. The /deployment.yaml is the path of the file in the container, which must be preceded by a slash. The deployment.yaml is the path of the file on the host, which can be relative or absolute. The command docker cp container_id:/deployment.yaml deployment.yaml will copy the file deployment.yaml from the container to the current working directory on the host. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either use the wrong syntax (docker cp container_id/deployment.yaml deployment.yaml or docker cp container_id/deployment.yaml local://deployment.yaml) or do not exist (docker cp deployment.yaml local://deployment.yaml). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Cloud and Virtualization Technologies, page 567.

The command git clone https://git.company.com/admin/project.git  will achieve the goal of downloading a Git repository from the given URL. The git command is a tool for managing version control systems. The clone option creates a copy of an existing repository. The URL specifies the location of the repository to clone, in this case https://git.company.com/admin/project.git. The command  git clone https://git.company.com/admin/project.git  will download the repository and create a directory named project in the current working directory. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the goal. The other options are incorrect because they either do not download the repository (git checkout, git pull, or git branch) or do not use the correct syntax (git checkout https://git.company.com/admin/project.git  instead of git checkout -b project https://git.company.com/admin/project.git  or git branch https://git.company.com/admin/project.git  instead of git branch project https://git.company.com/admin/project.git ). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Cloud and Virtualization Technologies, page 571.

The "Argument list too long" error occurs when the number of files exceeds the command-line argument limit. The find command with -exec is a workaround, as it processes files one by one, avoiding the argument limit. This method is efficient for handling large numbers of files.

The high number of errors and dropped packets in the output of the network interface counters indicate a connection problem on the network interface.

References:

CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 10: Managing Networking, Section: Troubleshooting Network Issues, Page 359.

Linux+ (Plus) Certification, Exam Objectives: 4.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot and resolve basic network configuration and connectivity issues.

The command that will allow the systems administrator to check whether the system supports virtualization is lscpu. This command will display information about the CPU architecture, such as the number of CPUs, cores, sockets, threads, model name, frequency, cache size, and flags. One of the flags is vmx (for Intel processors) or svm (for AMD processors), which indicates that the CPU supports hardware virtualization. If the flag is present, it means that the system supports virtualization. If the flag is absent, it means that the system does not support virtualization or that it is disabled in the BIOS settings.

The other options are not correct commands for checking whether the system supports virtualization. The dmidecode -s system-version command will display the version of the system, such as the product name or serial number, but not the CPU information. The sysctl -a command will display all the kernel parameters, but not the CPU flags. The cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/possible command will display the range of possible CPUs that can be online or offline, but not the CPU features. References: lscpu(1) - Linux manual page; How To Check If Virtualization is Enabled in Windows 10 / 11

In Kubernetes, a sidecar container can be added to the same pod as the main application. The sidecar handles tasks like log shipping, monitoring, or updating without interrupting the primary application. This is an efficient and widely-used pattern for managing application logs in containerized environments.

This command will load the KVM module as well as any related dependencies, such as kvm-intel or kvm-amd, depending on the processor type. The modprobe command is a Linux utility that reads the /etc/modules.conf file and adds or removes modules from the kernel. It also resolves any dependencies between modules, so that they are loaded in the correct order.

The other options are incorrect because:

B. insmod kvm

This command will only load the KVM module, but not any related dependencies. The insmod command is a low-level Linux utility that inserts a single module into the kernel. It does not resolve any dependencies between modules, so they have to be loaded manually.

C. depmod kvm

This command will not load the KVM module at all, but only create a list of module dependencies for modprobe to use. The depmod command is a Linux utility that scans the installed modules and generates a file called modules.dep that contains dependency information for each module.

D. hotplug kvm

This command is invalid and does not exist. The hotplug mechanism is a feature of the Linux kernel that allows devices to be added or removed while the system is running. It does not have anything to do with loading modules.

The slowness is caused by the CPU being overloaded. The iostat command shows that the CPU utilization is 100%, which means that there are more processes competing for CPU time than the CPU can handle. The other options are incorrect because:

The system is not running out of swap space, as shown by the iostat command, which shows that there is no swap activity (si and so columns are zero).

The memory is not exhausted, as shown by the free -m command, which shows that there is still available memory (avail column) and free buffer/cache memory (buff/cache column).

The processes are not paging, as shown by the vmstat command, which shows that there are no major page faults (majflt column) and no swap activity (si and so columns). References: CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide, Fourth Edition, page 417-419, 424-425.

The best command to use to confirm on which server the HBA card was installed is A. lspci | egrep ‘hba| fibr’. This command will list all the PCI devices on the server and filter the output for those that match the pattern ‘hba’ or ‘fibr’, which are likely to be related to the HBA card. The egrep command is a variant of grep that supports extended regular expressions, which allow the use of the ‘|’ operator for alternation. The other commands are either invalid or will not produce the desired output. For example:

B. lspci | zgrep ‘hba | fibr’ will try to use zgrep, which is a command for searching compressed files, not standard output.

C. lspci | pgrep ‘hba| fibr’ will try to use pgrep, which is a command for finding processes by name or other attributes, not text patterns.

D. lspci | ‘hba | fibr’ will try to use ‘hba | fibr’ as a command, which is not valid and will cause an error.

git fetch is the command used to refresh the list of branches from the remote repository. It retrieves any new branches and updates the local metadata about the remote repository, making the branch visible locally. It does not change the working directory or merge any changes but updates the references.

The filesystem is in read-only mode, likely due to corruption or errors detected. Running fsck -y will check and repair the filesystem, and mount -o rw,remount will remount it as read-write, making it usable again. This is a common troubleshooting step for filesystems with errors.

The command iptables -F will remediate and help resolve the issue. The issue is caused by the firewall rules that block the access to the organization’s web page and other services. The output of dmesg | grep firewall shows that the kernel has dropped packets from the source IP address 192.168.1.100 to the destination port 80, which is the default port for HTTP. The command iptables -F will flush all the firewall rules and allow the traffic to pass through. This command will resolve the issue and restore the access to the web page and other services. The other options are incorrect because they either do not affect the firewall rules (ip route flush or ip addr flush) or do not exist (iptables -R). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 18: Securing Linux Systems, page 543.

The systemctl reload httpd command reloads the Apache HTTP server configuration without terminating any existing connections. This is ideal for applying configuration changes without disrupting the current web traffic, ensuring seamless operation.

The administrator should use the command kill -TERM to forcibly stop the process. The kill command is a tool for sending signals to processes on Linux systems. Signals are messages that inform the processes about certain events and actions. The processes can react to the signals by performing predefined or user-defined actions, such as terminating, suspending, resuming, or ignoring. The -TERM option specifies the signal name or number that the kill command should send. The TERM signal, which stands for terminate, is the default signal that the kill command sends if no option is specified. The TERM signal requests the process to terminate gracefully, by closing any open files, releasing any resources, and performing any cleanup tasks. However, if the process does not respond to the TERM signal, the kill command can send a stronger signal, such as the KILL signal, which forces the process to terminate immediately, without any cleanup. The administrator should use the command kill -TERM to forcibly stop the process. This is the correct answer to the question. The other options are incorrect because they either do not terminate the process (kill -1 or kill -3) or do not terminate the process forcibly (kill -15 or kill -HUP). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 14: Managing Processes, page 431.

The code snippet is written in Terraform language, which is a tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure as code. Terraform uses a declarative syntax to describe the desired state of the infrastructure and applies the changes accordingly. The code defines a resource of type aws_instance, which creates an AWS EC2 instance, and sets the attributes such as the AMI ID, instance type, security group IDs, and key name. The code also uses a count parameter to create three identical instances and assigns them different names using the count.index variable. This is the correct technology that the administrator is using. The other options are incorrect because they use different languages and syntaxes for infrastructure as code. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 19: Managing Cloud and Virtualization Technologies, page 559.

The command that would allow a user to choose a stronger password and set it on the existing SSH key file is ssh-keygen -p -f . This command uses the ssh-keygen tool, which is used to generate, manage, and convert authentication keys for SSH. The -p option stands for passphrase, and it allows the user to change or remove the passphrase of an existing private key file. The -f option specifies the filename of the key file. The command will prompt the user for the old passphrase, and then for the new passphrase twice.

The other options are not correct commands for changing the password of an SSH key file. The passwd command is used to change the password of a user account on a Linux system, not an SSH key file. The ssh command is used to log in to a remote system using SSH, not to change the password of an SSH key file. The pwgen command is used to generate random passwords, not to change the password of an SSH key file.

References: ssh-keygen(1) - Linux manual page; How To: Change Passphrase for SSH Private Key - Unix Tutorial

The httpd.service is the Apache HTTPD Server, which is a web service that runs on Linux systems. The output 1 shows that the httpd.service is inactive (dead), which means that it is not running. The output 1 also shows that the httpd.service is disabled, which means that it is not enabled to auto start at boot time. Therefore, the statements C and D best describe the root cause of the issue. The statements A, B, E, and F are incorrect because they do not match the output 1. References: [How to Manage Systemd Services on a Linux System]

A long-running process is a program that takes a long time to complete or runs indefinitely on a Linux system. A foreground process is a process that runs in the current terminal and receives input from the keyboard and output to the screen. A background process is a process that runs in the background and does not interact with the terminal. A background process can continue running even if the terminal is closed or disconnected.

To start a long-running process in the background, the user can append an ampersand (&) to the command, such as someapp &. This will run someapp in the background and return control to the terminal immediately.

To move a long-running process from the foreground to the background, the user can use two keystrokes: Ctrl+Z and bg. The Ctrl+Z keystroke will suspend (pause) the foreground process and return control to the terminal. The bg keystroke will resume (continue) the suspended process in the background and detach it from the terminal. The statement B is correct.

The statements A, C, and D are incorrect because they do not perform the desired task. The bg keystroke alone will not work unless there is a suspended process to resume. The Ctrl+B keystroke will not suspend the foreground process, but rather move one character backward in some applications. The jobs keystroke will list all processes associated with the current terminal. The bg & keystroke will cause an error because bg does not take any arguments. References: [How to Run Linux Processes in Background]

The administrator should use the command df -i /oracle1 to diagnose the issue of users being unable to write data to the /oracle1 directory. This command will show the inode usage of the /oracle1 filesystem, which indicates how many files and directories can be created on it. If the inode usage is 100%, it means that no more files or directories can be added, even if there is still free space on the disk. The administrator can then delete some unnecessary files or directories, or increase the inode limit of the filesystem, to resolve the issue.

The other options are not correct commands for diagnosing this issue. The fdisk -l /dev/sdb1 command will show the partition table of /dev/sdb1, which is not relevant to the inode usage. The lsblk /dev/sdb1 command will show information about /dev/sdb1 as a block device, such as its size, mount point, and type, but not its inode usage. The du -sh /oracle1 command will show the disk usage of /oracle1 in human-readable format, but not its inode usage. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 7: Managing Disk Storage; How to Check Inode Usage in Linux - Fedingo

To enable root login over SSH, the administrator must edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file, which configures the SSH daemon. The PermitRootLogin directive should be set to yes to allow root login. After making this change, the SSH daemon must be restarted for the changes to take effect.

The output shows that the system has a total of 3736MB of memory, of which 3598MB is free. This indicates that the system has enough free memory space12.

References:1(https://phoenixnap.com/kb/swap-space) 2(https://www.baeldung.com/linux/swap-space-use)

The custom.conf file grants sudo privileges to user1 and webadmin for managing the Apache web service, but it uses different commands for each of them. User1 is allowed to use systemctl to start and stop the httpd service, while webadmin is allowed to use init.d, service, or apache2ctl to restart the httpd service. However, the user1 is unable to restart the service, only start and stop it. To fix this, user1 should be able to use the same commands as webadmin, which can be achieved by listing webadmin as a group in the custom.conf file, using the syntax %groupname. This way, user1 will inherit the sudo privileges of the webadmin group, and be able to restart the Apache web service without compromising the least privilege security model.

References

Sudo and Sudoers Configuration | Servers for Hackers, section “Groups”

Chapter 12. Managing sudo access - Red Hat Customer Portal, section “12.1. Configuring sudo access for users and groups”

The vi text editor is a popular and powerful tool for editing text files on Linux systems. The vi editor has two modes: command mode and insert mode. In command mode, the user can issue commands to manipulate the text, such as moving the cursor, deleting, copying, pasting, searching, replacing, and saving. In insert mode, the user can type text into the file. To switch from command mode to insert mode, the user can press various keys, such as i, a, o, I, A, or O. To switch from insert mode to command mode, the user can press the Esc key.

To insert a character at the end of the current line in the vi editor, the user can press the A key in command mode. This will move the cursor to the end of the line and switch to insert mode. Then, the user can type the desired character and press Esc to return to command mode. The statement D is correct.

The statements A, B, C, and E are incorrect because they do not perform the desired task. The p key in command mode will paste the previously copied or deleted text after the cursor. The r key in command mode will replace the character under the cursor with another character. The bb key in command mode will move the cursor back two words. The i key in command mode will switch to insert mode before the cursor. References: [How to Use vi Text Editor in Linux]

The grep -ir "out of memory" /var/log command searches through log files in /var/log for any instances of "out of memory" errors, which indicate that the oom-killer terminated processes due to insufficient memory. This is the quickest way to determine if the oom-killer caused the MySQL process to be killed.

The systemct1 reboot command will restore the server to its usual target by rebooting it. This will cause the server to load the default target specified in /etc/systemd/system.conf or /etc/systemd/system/default.target files. The telinit 0 command would shut down the server, not restore it to its usual target. The systemct1 get-default command would display the default target, not change it. The systemct1 emergency command would switch the server to emergency.target mode, which is even more restrictive than rescue.target mode. References: [CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide], Chapter 17: System Maintenance and Operation, page 516.

The best tool to use to verify the integrity of a file is A. sha256sum. This tool will compute and display the SHA-256 hash of a file, which is a 64-digit hexadecimal number that uniquely identifies the file’s content. By comparing the hash of a downloaded file with the hash provided by the file owner or source, you can confirm that the file has not been altered or corrupted during the transfer. The other tools are either not relevant or not suitable for this task. For example:

B. fsck is a tool for checking and repairing the file system, but it does not verify the integrity of individual files.

C. gpg -d is a tool for decrypting files that have been encrypted with GnuPG, but it does not verify the integrity of unencrypted files.

D. hashcat is a tool for cracking passwords or hashes, but it does not verify the integrity of files.

To retrieve the scripts from a repository and make them available on a local workstation, the junior Linux administrator can use the command git clone ©. This will create a copy of the repository on the local machine, including all the scripts and history. The other commands will not clone the repository, but either fetch, checkout, or branch from an existing repository. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 10: Working with Git, Section: Cloning Repositories with Git

[How to Clone a Git Repository]

The NXDOMAIN response indicates that the domain name could not be resolved. The administrator should first check /etc/resolv.conf, which contains the DNS server configuration. If the DNS servers listed are incorrect or unreachable, domain resolution will fail.

The issue is that the administrator did not set the default target to graphical.target. A target is a unit of systemd that groups together other units by a common purpose or state. The graphical.target is a target that starts the graphical user interface (GUI) along with other services. The administrator used the command systemct1 isolate graphical.target to switch to this target temporarily, but this does not change the default target that is activated at boot time. To make this change permanent, the administrator should have used the command systemct1 set-default graphical.target, which creates a symbolic link from /etc/systemd/system/default.target to /usr/lib/systemd/system/graphical.target.

The other options are not correct explanations for the issue. The administrator did reboot the server properly by using systemct1 reboot, which shuts down and restarts the system cleanly. The administrator did not need to set the default target to basic.target, which is a minimal target that only starts essential services. The administrator did not shut down the server improperly, which could have caused file system corruption or data loss, but not affect the default target. References: systemct1(1) - Linux manual page; How to Change Runlevels (targets) in SystemD

systemctl stop systemd-journald systemctl start systemd-journald is the best approach among the given options. Stopping and starting the systemd-journald service can help in managing the disk space used by journal logs without manually deleting log files or using more aggressive cleanup methods. This method ensures that log management is handled gracefully by the system's own services.

The command sed -i 's/auto/persistent/g' /etc/systemd/journald.conf && sed -i 'persistent/s/ˆ#//q' /etc/systemd/journald.conf will accomplish the task of guaranteeing the persistency of journal log files across system reboots. The sed command is a tool for editing text files on Linux systems. The -i option modifies the file in place. The s command substitutes one string for another. The g flag replaces all occurrences of the string. The && operator executes the second command only if the first command succeeds. The q command quits after the first match. The /etc/systemd/journald.conf file is a configuration file for the systemd-journald service, which is responsible for collecting and storing log messages. The command sed -i 's/auto/persistent/g' /etc/systemd/journald.conf will replace the word auto with the word persistent in the file. This will change the value of the Storage option, which controls where the journal log files are stored. The value auto means that the journal log files are stored in the volatile memory and are lost after reboot, while the value persistent means that the journal log files are stored in the persistent storage and are preserved across reboots. The command sed -i 'persistent/s/ˆ#//q' /etc/systemd/journald.conf will remove the # character at the beginning of the line that contains the word persistent. This will uncomment the Storage option and enable it. The command sed -i 's/auto/persistent/g' /etc/systemd/journald.conf && sed -i 'persistent/s/ˆ#//q' /etc/systemd/journald.conf will guarantee the persistency of journal log files across system reboots by changing and enabling the Storage option to persistent. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not change the value of the Storage option (grep -i auto /etc/systemd/journald.conf && systemct1 restart systemd-journald.service or cat /etc/systemd/journald.conf | awk '(print $1,$3)') or do not enable the Storage option (journalctl --list-boots && systemct1 restart systemd-journald.service). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 16: Managing Logging and Monitoring, page 489.

To allow the same Kubernetes container configurations to be deployed in different environments without statically configuring custom locations, the engineer can use an ambassador container (D). An ambassador container is a proxy container that handles communication between containers and external services. It can dynamically configure locations based on environment variables or other methods. The other options are not related to this requirement. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 11: Working with Containers, Section: Using Ambassador Containers

[How to Use Ambassador Containers]

Without sudo, the administrator must either access the system physically or use the su command to switch to the root account using the root password. Since the system is hardened and SSH is allowed, installing sudo or using Telnet would not be secure or permitted options. Physical access to the console or using su is the correct approach.

The command that can be used to check for running containers is docker ps. The docker ps command can list all the containers that are currently running on the system. To show all the containers, including those that are stopped, the administrator can use docker ps -a ©. References:

[CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide], Chapter 11: Working with Containers, Section: Managing Containers with Docker

[Docker PS Command with Examples]

The commands ssh-copy-id and scp can be used to copy a key file to remote servers. The command ssh-copy-id copies the public key to the authorized_keys file on the remote server, which allows the user to log in without a password. The command scp copies files securely over SSH, which can be used to transfer the key file to any location on the remote server. The other options are incorrect because they are not related to copying key files. The command wget downloads files from the web, the command ssh-keygen generates key pairs, the command ssh-keyscan collects public keys from remote hosts, and the command ftpd is a FTP server daemon. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 13: Managing Network Services, pages 408-410.

A function of a bootloader is to help load the different kernels to initiate the OS startup process. A bootloader is a program that runs when the system is powered on and prepares the system for booting the OS. A bootloader can load different kernels, which are the core components of the OS, and pass the control to the selected kernel. A bootloader can also provide a menu for the user to choose which kernel or OS to boot. This is a correct function of a bootloader. The other options are incorrect because they are either functions of the kernel (initialize devices or mount root filesystem) or functions of the init system (trigger the start of system services). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 8: Managing the Linux Boot Process, page 265.

The PAM module pam_nologin.so will prevent logins from accounts other than root, while the file /etc/nologin exists. This module checks for the existence of the file /etc/nologin and displays its contents to the user before denying access. The root user is exempt from this check and can still log in. This is the correct module to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they are either non-existent modules (pam_login.so or pam_logindef.so) or do not perform the required function (pam_access.so controls access based on host, user, or time). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 15: Managing Users and Groups, page 471.

The chage command can be used to change the user password expiry information. The -d or --lastday option sets the last password change date. If the value is 0, the user will be forced to change the password at the next login. See chage command in Linux with examples and 10 chage command examples in Linux.

The command ssh -i "ABC-key.pem" root@10.0.0.1 would allow the administrator to connect securely to the remote server in order to install application software. The ssh command is a tool for establishing secure and encrypted connections between remote systems. The -i option specifies the identity file that contains the private key for key-based authentication. The "ABC-key.pem" is the name of the identity file that contains the private key. The root@10.0.0.1 is the username and the IP address of the remote server. The command ssh -i "ABC-key.pem" root@10.0.0.1 will connect to the remote server using the private key and allow the administrator to install application software. This is the correct command to use to connect securely to the remote server. The other options are incorrect because they either do not use key-based authentication (sftp root@10.0.0.1 or telnet 10.0.0.1 80) or do not use the correct syntax for the command (scp "ABC-key.pem" root@10.0.0.1 instead of scp -i "ABC-key.pem" root@10.0.0.1 or sftp "ABC-key.pem" root@10.0.0.1 instead of sftp -i "ABC-key.pem" root@10.0.0.1). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 17: Implementing Basic Security, page 513.

The command setfacl -m g:finance:rw file will permanently fix the access issue while limiting access to IT and finance department employees. The setfacl command is a tool for modifying the access control lists (ACLs) of files and directories on Linux systems. The ACLs are a mechanism that allows more fine-grained control over the permissions of files and directories than the traditional owner-group-others model. The -m option specifies the modification to the ACL. The g:finance:rw means that the group named finance will have read and write permissions on the file. The file is the name of the file to modify, in this case /opt/work/file. The command setfacl -m g:finance:rw file will add an entry to the ACL of the file that will grant read and write access to the finance group. This will fix the access issue and allow the finance employees to access the file. The command will also preserve the existing permissions of the file, which means that the IT employees will still have read and write access to the file. This will limit the access to IT and finance department employees and prevent unauthorized access from other users. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not fix the access issue (chattr +i file or chown it:finance file) or do not limit the access to IT and finance department employees (chmod 666 file). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 11: Managing File Permissions and Ownership, page 352.

The gzip command with the -c flag outputs the compressed data to standard output, which can then be redirected to create a .gz file. This approach maintains the original file while creating a compressed version.

The command umask 002 will accomplish the task of reconfiguring the server so that only file owners and group members can modify new files by default. The umask command is a tool for setting the default permissions for new files and directories on Linux systems. The umask value is a four-digit octal number that represents the permissions that are subtracted from the default permissions. The default permissions for files are 666, which means read and write for owner, group, and others. The default permissions for directories are 777, which means read, write, and execute for owner, group, and others. The umask value consists of four digits: the first digit is for special permissions, such as setuid, setgid, and sticky bit; the second digit is for the owner permissions; the third digit is for the group permissions; and the fourth digit is for the others permissions. The umask value can be calculated by subtracting the desired permissions from the default permissions. For example, if the desired permissions for files are 664, which means read and write for owner and group, and read for others, then the umask value is 002, which is 666 - 664. The command umask 002 will set the umask value to 002, which will ensure that only file owners and group members can modify new files by default. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not set the default permissions for new files (chmod 775 or chown -cf) or do not exist (chattr -Rv). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 11: Managing File Permissions and Ownership, page 349.

The command that is used to configure the default permissions for new files is umask. The umask command is a tool for setting the default permissions for new files and directories on Linux systems. The umask value is a four-digit octal number that represents the permissions that are subtracted from the default permissions. The default permissions for files are 666, which means read and write for owner, group, and others. The default permissions for directories are 777, which means read, write, and execute for owner, group, and others. The umask value consists of four digits: the first digit is for special permissions, such as setuid, setgid, and sticky bit; the second digit is for the owner permissions; the third digit is for the group permissions; and the fourth digit is for the others permissions. The umask value can be calculated by subtracting the desired permissions from the default permissions. For example, if the desired permissions for files are 664, which means read and write for owner and group, and read for others, then the umask value is 002, which is 666 - 664. The command umask 002 will set the umask value to 002, which will ensure that only file owners and group members can modify new files by default. The command that is used to configure the default permissions for new files is umask. This is the correct answer to the question. The other options are incorrect because they either do not set the default permissions for new files (setenforce, sudo, or chmod) or do not exist (kill -HUP or kill -TERM). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 11: Managing File Permissions and Ownership, page 349.

The rsync and scp commands can be used to copy files and directories from Server A to Server B. Both commands can use SSH as a secure protocol to transfer data over the network. The rsync command can synchronize files and directories between two locations, using various options to control the copying behavior. The scp command can copy files and directories between two hosts, using similar syntax as cp. The rsyslog command is used to manage system logging, not file copying. The cp command is used to copy files and directories within a single host, not between two hosts. The reposync command is used to synchronize a remote yum repository to a local directory, not copy files and directories between two hosts. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 13: Networking Fundamentals, pages 440-441.

The docker logs command retrieves logs, including errors, for a running container. By using docker logs WEB, the administrator can check the error output generated by the web server container and debug any issues related to application performance or errors.

The RPM database can sometimes become corrupted, which prevents package installations and other RPM operations from functioning correctly. The --rebuilddb option for rpmdb is used to rebuild the database. This command regenerates the database, fixing any corruption issues and ensuring that the package metadata is restored to a usable state.

The command dig @10.10.10.20 example.com mx will query the DNS server to get mail server information. The dig command is a tool for querying DNS servers and displaying the results. The @ option specifies the DNS server to query, in this case 10.10.10.20. The mx option specifies the type of record to query, in this case mail exchange (MX) records, which identify the mail servers for a domain. The domain name to query is example.com. This command will show the MX records for example.com from the DNS server 10.10.10.20. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either use the wrong syntax (@example.com 10.10.10.20 instead of @10.10.10.20 example.com), the wrong type of record (a or ptr instead of mx), or the wrong domain name (example.com ns instead of example.com mx). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 13: Managing Network Services, page 415.

The server’s CPU is spending too much time waiting for data inputs. This can be inferred from the output of the top command, which shows the percentage of CPU time spent in different states. The wa state stands for wait, and it indicates that the CPU is idle while waiting for an I/O operation to complete. In this case, the wa state is 52.4%, which means that more than half of the CPU time is wasted on waiting for data inputs. This can cause a high I/O latency and affect the performance of the server.

The other options are not correct based on the output received from the executed command. The server’s CPU is not taking too long to process users’ requests, because the us state, which stands for user, is only 0.2%, which means that the CPU is barely used by user processes. The server’s CPU does not show a high idle-time value, because the id state, which stands for idle, is 0.0%, which means that the CPU is not idle at all. The server’s CPU value for the time spent on system processes is not low, because the sy state, which stands for system, is 33.1%, which means that the CPU is heavily used by system processes.

References: How to Use the Linux top Command (and Understand Its Output); [Understanding Linux CPU Load - when should you be worried?]

The command firewall-cmd --query-service http will accomplish the task of checking whether web traffic has already been allowed through the firewall. The firewall-cmd command is a tool for managing firewalld, which is a firewall service that provides dynamic and persistent network security on Linux systems. The firewalld uses zones and services to define the rules and policies for the network traffic. The zones are logical groups of network interfaces and sources that have the same level of trust and security. The services are predefined sets of ports and protocols that are associated with certain applications or functions. The --query-service http option queries whether a service is enabled in a zone. The http is the name of the service that the command should check. The http service represents the web traffic that uses the port 80 and the TCP protocol. The command firewall-cmd --query-service http will check whether the http service is enabled in the default zone, which is usually the public zone. The command will return yes if the web traffic has already been allowed through the firewall, or no if the web traffic has not been allowed through the firewall. This is the correct command to use to accomplish the task. The other options are incorrect because they either do not exist (firewalld query-service-http or firewalld --check-service http) or do not query the service (firewall-cmd --check-service http instead of firewall-cmd --query-service http). References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 12: Managing Network Connections, page 392.

The firewall-cmd command is used to manage firewalld, which is a firewall service for Linux systems that provides dynamic and persistent configuration of firewall rules. Firewalld uses zones and services to define different levels of trust and access for network connections.

To permit access temporarily to an application running on port 1234/TCP on a Linux server, the systems administrator can use the firewall-cmd --add-port=1234/tcp command. This command will add a rule to the default zone (usually public) that allows incoming traffic on port 1234/TCP. The rule will only be effective until the next reload or restart of firewalld. To make the rule permanent, the administrator can add the --permanent option to the command. The statement C is correct.

The statements A, B, and D are incorrect because they do not permit access to port 1234/TCP. The firewall-cmd --new-service=1234/tcp command does not exist. The firewall-cmd --service=1234 --protocol=tcp command does not work because 1234 is not a predefined service name in firewalld. The firewall-cmd --add-whitelist-uid=1234 command does not exist. References: [How to Use FirewallD to Manage Firewall in Linux]

This command will allow the systems administrator to change the password of another user account in the system. The sudo prefix will grant the administrator the necessary privileges to perform this action, and the passwd command will prompt for the new password for the specified user. For example, if the administrator wants to change the password of a user named tom, the command will look like this:

sudo passwd tom

The other options are incorrect because:

B. sudo userdel

This command will delete a user account from the system, not change its credentials. The userdel command removes the user’s entry from the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files, as well as deletes the user’s home directory and mail spool. This is not what the request asked for.

C. sudo chage

This command will change the password expiration and aging information for a user account, not its credentials. The chage command can be used to set or modify various parameters related to password aging, such as the minimum and maximum number of days between password changes, the number of days before password expiration to issue a warning, and so on. This is not what the request asked for.

D. sudo usermod

This command will modify various attributes of a user account, such as its login name, home directory, default shell, primary group, and so on. However, it cannot change the user’s password directly. To do that, the usermod command requires the -p option followed by an encrypted password string, which is not easy to generate manually. Therefore, this is not a practical way to change a user’s credentials.

References:

How to Change Account Passwords on Linux

How to Change a Password in Linux for Root and Other Users

CompTIA Linux+ Certification Exam Objectives