LPIC-1 Practice Test 21 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A developer asks the system administrator to configure a local web server for testing using Apache. The server should serve files from /var/www/test. Which directive must be set in the Apache configuration to set this document root?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

DocumentRoot /var/www/test. The DocumentRoot directive in Apache defines the top-level directory from which it serves files for a given virtual host or the main server. Setting DocumentRoot /var/www/test tells Apache to map incoming HTTP requests to files under that directory, making it the correct choice for serving files from /var/www/test.

Answer

Alias /test /var/www/test

Answer

ServerRoot /var/www/test

Answer

DirectoryIndex /var/www/test

Question 2

A user complains that a filesystem is reporting 'Disk quota exceeded' even though the user has not stored any new files recently. What could be the cause?

Accepted Answer

The user has exceeded the inode quota. Linux filesystems enforce two types of quotas: block quotas (for disk space) and inode quotas (for the number of files and directories). If the user has not stored new files recently but still receives a 'Disk quota exceeded' error, it is likely that they have exceeded their inode quota, meaning they have created too many files or directories (each consuming an inode), even if those files are small or empty. The error message is generic and can refer to either quota type, so the inode limit is the probable cause when no recent data writes have occurred.

Answer

Symlinks are counted against the quota

Answer

Hard links are consuming additional inodes

Answer

File ownership is misconfigured

Question 3

A Linux system's hostname resolution does not consult /etc/hosts before querying DNS. Which file controls the order of name resolution services?

Accepted Answer

/etc/nsswitch.conf. The /etc/nsswitch.conf file controls the order of name resolution services by defining the 'hosts' database entry, which specifies the sources (e.g., files, dns) and their lookup order. If the entry is 'hosts: dns files', the system queries DNS before /etc/hosts, bypassing the local file. This file is part of the GNU C Library's Name Service Switch (NSS) framework, which governs all system databases like passwd, group, and hosts.

Answer

/etc/host.conf

Answer

/etc/resolv.conf

Answer

/etc/dnsmasq.conf

Question 4

Refer to the exhibit. The system administrator notices the /var/log partition is nearly full. The syslog file is 2GB. Which command will safely reduce the size of this log file without stopping the logging daemon?

Accepted Answer

> /var/log/syslog. Using the shell redirection operator `> /var/log/syslog` truncates the file to zero length without deleting or closing its file descriptor. The syslog daemon (rsyslogd or syslogd) continues writing to the same inode, so no service interruption occurs. This is the safest method to free disk space while maintaining continuous logging.

Answer

cp /dev/null /var/log/syslog

Answer

rm /var/log/syslog && touch /var/log/syslog

Answer

mv /var/log/syslog /var/log/syslog.old

Question 5

Which THREE of the following are valid sources to configure GRUB?

Accepted Answer

/boot/grub/grub.cfg. Option C, /boot/grub/grub.cfg, is correct because it is the primary GRUB 2 configuration file that grub-mkconfig generates and that GRUB reads at boot time to build the menu. Option D, /etc/default/grub, is correct because it holds user-editable variables such as GRUB_TIMEOUT and GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX that grub-mkconfig sources when regenerating grub.cfg. Option E, /etc/grub.d/, is correct because it contains the executable scripts (e.g., 00_header, 10_linux, 30_os-prober) whose output is assembled by grub-mkconfig into grub.cfg. Option A, /boot/grub/menu.lst, is not a valid GRUB 2 source since menu.lst belongs to the legacy GRUB 1 configuration scheme. Option B, /etc/grub.conf, is likewise a legacy GRUB 1 file (often a symlink to menu.lst on older Red Hat systems) and is not used by GRUB 2.

Answer

/boot/grub/menu.lst

Answer

/etc/grub.conf

Question 6

A server with a udev rule fails to consistently assign a persistent network interface name. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The network interface's MAC address is not unique or changes.. Persistent network interface names in Linux rely on udev rules that match attributes like MAC address. If the MAC address is not unique (e.g., due to a virtual machine or cloned NIC) or changes (e.g., after hardware replacement or driver update), the rule will fail to consistently identify the interface, causing the name assignment to be unpredictable.

Answer

The rule uses an incorrect operator.

Answer

The BIOS device name is configured incorrectly.

Answer

The kernel module for the NIC is not loaded.

Question 7

A server runs systemd-resolved and uses a VPN. DNS queries fail intermittently. The administrator checks /etc/resolv.conf and finds it is a symlink to /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf. Which command should be used to view the effective DNS servers and debug the issue?

Accepted Answer

resolvectl status. B is correct because `resolvectl status` is the native command for querying systemd-resolved's internal state, showing the per-link DNS servers, search domains, and current resolver configuration. Since `/etc/resolv.conf` is a symlink to the stub resolver, `cat /etc/resolv.conf` only shows the stub listener address (127.0.0.53), not the actual upstream DNS servers used by systemd-resolved. `resolvectl status` reveals the effective DNS servers for each network interface, including VPN interfaces, which is essential for debugging intermittent failures.

Answer

cat /etc/resolv.conf

Answer

systemctl restart systemd-resolved

Answer

dig @localhost

Question 8

Which TWO of the following are required for a system to boot using UEFI?

Accepted Answer

The bootloader installed in the ESP. Option B is correct because UEFI firmware requires an EFI System Partition (ESP) formatted with FAT32 (or FAT16 on removable media) to store and load EFI boot applications. Option A is correct because the bootloader must be installed as an EFI application within the ESP (e.g., \EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI or a vendor path) for the firmware to locate and execute it. Option C is incorrect because the MBR boot code is a legacy BIOS mechanism, not used by UEFI. Option D is incorrect because a BIOS boot partition is a GPT partition used by GRUB in BIOS/GPT setups, not by UEFI. Option E is incorrect because EFI stub support is optional; UEFI can boot via a separate bootloader such as GRUB or systemd-boot without a kernel EFI stub.

Answer

The bootloader installed in the Master Boot Record (MBR)

Answer

A BIOS boot partition

Answer

A kernel with EFI stub support

Question 9

Given a file with lines like 'John:23:Engineer', which awk command prints only the name and department (first and third fields) separated by a space?

Accepted Answer

awk -F: '{print $1,$3}' file. The `-F:` flag sets the field separator to colon, and `{print $1,$3}` prints the first and third fields separated by the default output field separator (a space). This matches the requirement to output the name and department from lines like 'John:23:Engineer'.

Answer

awk -F: '{print $1,$2}' file

Answer

awk -F: '{print $1 $3}' file

Answer

awk -F: '{print $1 $2}' file

Question 10

After running 'ip route show default', a system administrator sees no output. Users on that system can only communicate with hosts on the local subnet. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The default gateway is missing. The `ip route show default` command displays the default gateway entry in the routing table. An empty output indicates that no default route is configured. Without a default gateway, the system cannot route packets to destinations outside its local subnet, which explains why users can only communicate with hosts on the local subnet.

Answer

DNS is misconfigured

Answer

A firewall is blocking all traffic

Answer

The network interface is down

Question 11

A Yellowdog Updater Modified (YUM) transaction that included several package installations and upgrades completed successfully, but a recent change caused a service to break. The administrator wants to revert the entire transaction using its transaction ID. Which command should be used?

Accepted Answer

yum history undo 123. `yum history undo 123` reverts the specific transaction identified by ID 123, reversing all changes (installs, upgrades, removals) made in that transaction while preserving the current state of other packages. This is the intended command for rolling back a single transaction without affecting subsequent transactions.

Answer

yum history redo 123

Answer

yum remove <packages>

Answer

yum history rollback 123

Question 12

Which directory in the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) contains essential user command binaries that are needed in single-user mode?

Accepted Answer

/bin. The /bin directory contains essential user command binaries (e.g., ls, cp, mv) that are required for system booting and repair in single-user mode. According to the FHS, /bin is intended for commands needed by both the system administrator and users when no other filesystems are mounted, making it critical for single-user mode operations.

Answer

/tmp

Answer

/sbin

Answer

/boot

Question 13

Refer to the exhibit. Which users are allowed to use the 'at' command?

Accepted Answer

root and user1. The 'at' command is controlled by the /etc/at.allow and /etc/at.deny files. If /etc/at.allow exists, only users listed in it (plus root) can use 'at'. The exhibit shows /etc/at.allow contains 'root' and 'user1', so both are allowed. If /etc/at.allow does not exist, /etc/at.deny is checked; but here the allow file takes precedence.

Answer

No one

Answer

All users except user2 and user3

Answer

Only root

Question 14

A system administrator notices that the /tmp directory is filling up quickly, causing applications to fail. The administrator wants to ensure that files in /tmp are automatically cleaned after a certain period. Which of the following is the best approach without installing additional software?

Accepted Answer

Configure the systemd-tmpfiles service with a configuration file to clean /tmp regularly.. Systemd-based Linux distributions include the systemd-tmpfiles service, which can be configured via files in /etc/tmpfiles.d/ to automatically clean temporary files based on age, size, or other criteria. This approach uses built-in systemd functionality without requiring additional software, and it is the recommended method for managing /tmp cleanup on modern systems.

Answer

Add a cron job that runs 'rm -rf /tmp/*' every hour.

Answer

Install tmpwatch and configure it to clean files older than 1 day.

Answer

Set the sticky bit on /tmp to automatically delete old files.

Question 15

A technician is troubleshooting network connectivity. The server's IP is 192.168.1.10/24, and the gateway is 192.168.1.1. The server can ping the gateway but cannot ping 8.8.8.8. Which command is most appropriate to check if the default route is configured?

Accepted Answer

route -n. The `route -n` command displays the kernel IP routing table without resolving hostnames, showing the default route (destination 0.0.0.0) and its gateway. Since the server can ping the gateway but not 8.8.8.8, the issue is likely a missing or incorrect default route, which `route -n` directly reveals.

Answer

ifconfig eth0

Answer

ping 192.168.1.1

Answer

arp -n