LPIC-1 System Architecture Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A Linux system administrator is tasked with setting up a new server that will host multiple virtual machines using KVM. The server has 64 GB of RAM and two physical CPUs, each with 8 cores (16 threads). The administrator needs to allocate resources efficiently. The VMs will have varying workloads. The administrator wants to ensure that the host system has enough resources for itself and that VMs can use all available CPU cores. Which approach should the administrator take to configure CPU allocation for the host and VMs?

Accepted Answer

Use CPU pinning to reserve two physical cores for the host and distribute the remaining cores among VMs using host-passthrough mode.. Option C is correct because it reserves two physical cores for the host system to ensure its stability and performance, while distributing the remaining cores among VMs using CPU pinning and host-passthrough mode. This approach allows VMs to access the full CPU feature set and all available cores efficiently, balancing host overhead with VM resource needs in a KVM environment.

Answer

Use QEMU emulation instead of KVM to reduce CPU overhead.

Answer

Pin all physical CPU cores to the VMs using virsh vcpupin, and leave no cores for the host.

Answer

Overcommit CPU resources by assigning 32 vCPUs to each VM, relying on the hypervisor to schedule.

Question 2

A system administrator notices that a server with a freshly installed Linux system fails to boot with the error 'No bootable device found'. The server has a single SATA hard disk connected to the motherboard's SATA controller. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

The BIOS boot order is set to a device that does not contain a bootable operating system.. The error 'No bootable device found' occurs during the BIOS/UEFI POST phase, before any bootloader is loaded. This indicates that the system firmware cannot find a valid boot sector on any device in its boot order. Since the server has a single SATA hard disk, the most likely cause is that the BIOS boot order is set to a different device (e.g., a network boot or removable media) that does not contain a bootable operating system, or the hard disk itself is not listed first in the boot priority.

Answer

The root filesystem is formatted with an unsupported filesystem type.

Answer

The kernel module for the SATA controller is not included in the initramfs.

Answer

The GRUB bootloader configuration file is missing or corrupted.

Question 3

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to change the default runlevel on a SysV init-based system?

Accepted Answer

Edit /etc/inittab to set the initdefault line.. In SysV init-based systems, the default runlevel is defined in the /etc/inittab file by the 'initdefault' line, which specifies the runlevel the system should enter after boot. Editing this line is the standard method to permanently change the default runlevel. Option B correctly identifies this mechanism.

Answer

Use the 'runlevel' command to set the default runlevel.

Answer

Use 'systemctl set-default' to set the default runlevel.

Answer

Use the 'telinit' command to change the default runlevel.

Question 4

Refer to the exhibit. A Linux system fails to boot with a kernel panic. The dmesg output shows the disk is detected and partitions are recognized. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the kernel panic?

Accepted Answer

The root filesystem cannot be mounted because the root= kernel parameter points to a non-existent or incorrect device.. A is correct because the kernel panic occurs after the disk and partitions are detected, indicating the kernel can see the hardware but cannot mount the root filesystem. The most common cause is an incorrect or missing `root=` kernel parameter in the bootloader configuration (e.g., GRUB), which specifies the root device (e.g., `/dev/sda1` or `UUID=...`). If this parameter points to a non-existent or wrong partition, the kernel cannot pivot to the root filesystem, leading to a panic.

Answer

The kernel module for the SATA controller is missing from the initramfs.

Answer

The SATA controller is not supported by the kernel.

Answer

The disk has bad sectors causing read errors during boot.

Question 5

A Linux administrator manages a server that runs a custom application requiring a specific kernel module to be loaded at boot. The server uses SysV init and has the module listed in /etc/modules. However, after a recent kernel update, the module fails to load automatically at boot. The administrator can manually load the module with 'modprobe <module>' after the system is running. The application depends on this module being loaded before any network services start. Which of the following actions should the administrator take to ensure the module loads automatically at the correct time during boot?

Accepted Answer

Create a SysV init script that loads the module and place it in /etc/init.d/ with appropriate symlinks in /etc/rc?.d/ to ensure it runs before network services.. Option A is correct because SysV init systems use init scripts in /etc/init.d/ with symlinks in /etc/rc?.d/ to control the order of service startup. By creating a custom init script that loads the module via modprobe and placing it with a symlink that has a lower number (e.g., S01module) than network services (e.g., S10network), the module will be loaded before network services start, satisfying the application's dependency.

Answer

Add the module name to /etc/modules-load.d/ directory.

Answer

Add an install directive in /etc/modprobe.d/ for the module.

Answer

Add a blacklist entry for the module in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf.

Question 6

Arrange the steps to configure a firewall rule using iptables to allow SSH.

Question 7

Match each ACL term to its meaning.

Question 8

During the boot process, the system stops at a GRUB prompt. Which command should be typed to continue booting?

Accepted Answer

boot. Correct: C. In GRUB, the 'boot' command is used to boot the selected kernel. Option A 'exit' exits the GRUB menu; B 'quit' is not a valid GRUB command; D 'start' is not a standard GRUB command.

Answer

quit

Answer

start

Answer

exit

Question 9

Which command displays the system's architecture (e.g., x86_64)?

Accepted Answer

All of the above. Option B ('All of the above') is correct because each of the listed commands—lscpu, arch, and uname -m—can display the system's architecture (e.g., x86_64). lscpu parses /proc/cpuinfo to show architecture details, arch prints the machine hardware name directly, and uname -m outputs the kernel's machine hardware name, all of which report the same architecture identifier on a given system.

Answer

lscpu

Answer

arch

Answer

uname -m

Question 10

What is stored in the first sector of a hard disk (Master Boot Record)?

Accepted Answer

The Master Boot Record (boot loader and partition table). Correct: B. The Master Boot Record (MBR) contains the boot loader code and partition table for the disk. Option A is incorrect because the partition table is part of the MBR but not the only element; C and D are stored on filesystems or in the kernel.

Answer

The partition table only

Answer

The Linux kernel

Answer

The root filesystem

Question 11

A system administrator needs to create a new Logical Volume (LV) in an existing LVM setup. Which sequence of commands is correct?

Accepted Answer

pvcreate, vgcreate, lvcreate. Correct: A. The proper order is: pvcreate (create Physical Volume), vgcreate (create Volume Group), lvcreate (create Logical Volume). Options B, C, D are incorrect because they either start with LV or miss steps.

Answer

vgcreate, pvcreate, lvcreate

Answer

pvcreate, lvcreate, vgcreate

Answer

lvcreate, vgcreate, pvcreate

Question 12

A Linux system fails to boot with the error: 'Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)'. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Missing or incorrect initrd. Correct: C. This error typically indicates that the initrd (initial ramdisk) is missing or does not contain the necessary drivers to mount the root filesystem. Option A (missing root filesystem) would produce a different error; B (corrupt kernel) would show earlier issues; D (damaged bootloader) would prevent kernel loading.

Answer

Missing root filesystem

Answer

Corrupt kernel image

Answer

Damaged bootloader

Question 13

Which command can be used to check whether a specific kernel module is currently loaded?

Accepted Answer

lsmod | grep . Correct: B. The command 'lsmod | grep ' lists loaded modules and filters for the desired module. Option A (modinfo) shows information about a module but not whether it's loaded; C (insmod) loads a module; D (depmod) generates module dependencies.

Answer

modinfo <module>

Answer

depmod -a

Answer

insmod <module>

Question 14

A sysadmin wants to ensure a specific kernel module is automatically loaded at boot. Which method is considered best practice?

Accepted Answer

All of the above are valid methods. Correct: D. All three methods (adding a line to /etc/modprobe.d/, using systemd-modules-load.service, or adding the module name to /etc/modules) are valid ways to load a module at boot. Options A, B, C are each correct individually, but D encompasses all.

Answer

Use systemd-modules-load.service

Answer

Add module name to /etc/modules

Answer

Add a line to /etc/modprobe.d/

Question 15

During boot, a sysadmin sees the message 'Buffer I/O error on device sda1, logical block 0'. What does this most likely indicate?

Accepted Answer

Bad sector on the disk. Correct: B. A buffer I/O error on a specific logical block typically indicates a physical disk problem, such as a bad sector. Option A (filesystem corruption) might show different errors; C (missing driver) would prevent detection; D (incorrect partition table) would show partition errors.

Answer

Incorrect partition table

Answer

Filesystem corruption

Answer

Missing kernel module for the device