Reinforce SK0-005 concepts with active-recall study cards covering all 4 blueprint domains. Each card shows the question on the front and the correct answer with a full explanation on the back.
Flashcards work through active recall — the process of retrieving information from memory rather than passively re-reading it. Research consistently shows that active recall produces stronger, longer-lasting memory than re-reading study guides. For SK0-005 preparation, this means flashcards are one of the highest-return study tools available.
Attempt recall first
Read the SK0-005 question on each card, pause, and attempt to formulate the answer in your own words before revealing. This retrieval attempt — even if wrong — dramatically strengthens memory compared to immediately reading the answer.
Review wrong cards again
When you get a card wrong, note it and add it back to your review pile. Spaced repetition — seeing difficult cards more frequently — is the mechanism that makes flashcard study far more efficient than linear reading.
Study by domain
Group your SK0-005 flashcard sessions by domain for the first 3–4 weeks. Master one domain before moving to the next. In the final week, shuffle all cards together to test cross-domain recall — which is what the real SK0-005 exam requires.
Short sessions beat marathon reviews
20–30 flashcard cards per session, done daily, produces better retention than a single 200-card marathon session. Five short daily sessions per week over 4 weeks gives you over 400 total card reviews — enough to reliably pass SK0-005.
Sample cards from the SK0-005 flashcard bank. Read the question, think of the answer, then read the explanation below.
A server administrator is tasked with ensuring that a critical database server remains available in the event of a hardware failure. The solution must provide automatic failover with minimal administrative overhead. Which of the following should be implemented?
Server clustering
Server clustering groups two or more servers so that if one node fails, another automatically takes over the workload with minimal manual intervention. This provides the automatic failover and low administrative overhead the scenario requires for a critical database server. Clustering is the standard high-availability solution for database workloads needing continuous uptime.
A technician is installing a new server in a data center. To prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage, which of the following should the technician do FIRST?
Attach an ESD wrist strap to a grounded surface
Attaching an ESD wrist strap to a grounded surface is the first step to safely discharge static electricity from the technician's body before handling server components. This prevents ESD damage to sensitive electronics.
A server administrator is restoring a file server from a full backup taken 7 days ago and incremental backups taken daily. The restoration fails with an error about missing catalog files. What is the most likely cause?
The incremental backup chain is broken
Incremental backups depend on a chain that starts with a full backup and then each subsequent incremental backup references the previous one. If any link in the chain is missing, corrupted, or the catalog that tracks the chain is damaged, the restore fails with an error about missing catalog files. The most likely cause is that the incremental backup chain is broken, meaning the backup software cannot locate the required incremental sets to reconstruct the file server state.
A RAID 5 array is degraded due to a failed disk. What is the best practice for recovery?
Replace the failed disk and allow the array to rebuild automatically
In a RAID 5 array, a single disk failure leaves the array degraded but still operational because parity data on the remaining disks can reconstruct the missing data. Best practice is to replace the failed disk and allow the controller to rebuild the array automatically from parity, restoring redundancy without downtime or data loss. This is the standard hot-swap recovery procedure and requires no backup restore because the data is still intact.
A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server 2022 that cannot connect to a remote iSCSI target. The server has two network adapters: one for LAN traffic and one dedicated to iSCSI. The administrator verifies that the iSCSI adapter has a valid IP address, can ping the target, and that the iSCSI service is running. However, the iSCSI initiator shows the target as unavailable. Which action should the administrator take next?
Verify that the target's access control list includes the initiator's IQN.
The target is discovered but unavailable, while IP connectivity and the iSCSI service are confirmed. This points to an access control issue, such as the initiator IQN not being in the target's ACL. Verifying and adding the IQN to the target's allowed list is the correct next step. Firewall, driver reinstallation, and IP changes are either less likely or inappropriate given the symptoms.
An organization wants to test its disaster recovery plan with minimal disruption to business operations and minimal cost. The test should verify the plan's effectiveness by discussing scenarios. Which type of test should they perform?
Tabletop exercise
A tabletop exercise is a discussion-based review of the plan steps with key stakeholders, requiring no system downtime and very low cost. A full interruption test (Option A) actually shuts down primary systems and fails over, causing disruption. A parallel test (Option B) runs systems at the DR site without cutting over but still involves significant resource allocation. A simulation test (Option D) may involve live drills or emulate components, often costing more than a tabletop.
A company's backup policy sends nightly backups to a tape library in the same building as the production servers. A recent fire destroyed the server room, and the tapes were damaged by heat and water. Which change BEST addresses this single point of failure?
Ship a copy of each backup to an offsite location or replicate it to cloud storage outside the building.
The incident destroyed production and backup copies together because both lived in the same room. The most effective change is to keep at least one copy geographically separate, either by shipping tapes offsite or replicating to cloud storage. More frequent backups, a second in-room library, and tape parity all leave the site-level single point of failure intact.
A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server 2019 system that reports a stop error (blue screen) with the code CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED. The server reboots automatically and then works normally for a few hours before the error recurs. The administrator has already updated all drivers and installed the latest Windows updates. Which action should the administrator take next to gather more detailed diagnostic information about the crashes?
Configure the system to write a kernel memory dump and analyze it with Windows Debugging Tools.
When a Windows server experiences recurring stop errors despite driver and OS updates, the administrator needs to capture and analyze a memory dump. The kernel memory dump contains the state of the kernel at the crash, including the call stack and loaded modules. Using Windows Debugging Tools (WinDbg) with the appropriate symbols allows the administrator to pinpoint the failing driver or process. Other options either do not capture crash-time state or address different problem classes.
A company uses a two-node failover cluster for a critical application. The cluster nodes are located in the same data center, and the quorum configuration uses a file share witness on a separate server in the same data center. During a major power outage, both cluster nodes and the file share witness server lose power. What is the impact on cluster availability?
The cluster will be offline until one of the nodes or the witness comes back online.
With a two-node cluster plus a file share witness, quorum requires a majority of votes — 2 out of 3. When both nodes and the witness lose power simultaneously, no votes remain, so the cluster cannot achieve quorum and all clustered roles go offline. Availability is restored only when at least two of the three voting members (e.g., one node plus the witness, or both nodes) return.
A server administrator is troubleshooting a server that is unable to connect to the network. The administrator checks the NIC and sees that the link light is off. Which of the following is the FIRST thing the administrator should check?
The network cable connection at both the server and the switch.
When a NIC link light is off, the problem is at the physical layer. The first step is to verify the cable is properly connected to both the server and the switch, and that the switch port is enabled. This simple check resolves many connectivity issues. Only after confirming physical connectivity should the administrator investigate IP, DNS, or firewall configurations.
A database server running on a Linux VM has started experiencing periodic crashes. The VM is hosted on an ESXi hypervisor. The system logs show entries: 'kernel: Out of memory: Kill process 12345 (mysqld) score 700 or sacrifice child'. The VM has 16GB RAM allocated and no memory overcommitment on the host. The DBA reports that the database workload hasn't increased. Which of the following actions should be taken FIRST to diagnose the issue?
Check the host's memory utilization for ballooning or swapping.
The OOM killer being invoked in a VM with stable workload suggests possible host-level memory constraints (e.g., ballooning, swapping) affecting the VM. Checking the host's memory utilization helps confirm whether the hypervisor is under memory pressure and causing the VM to think it's out of memory. Options A and D are configuration changes that might alleviate symptoms but don't diagnose root cause. B addresses database tuning, which is not indicated when the system reports OOM.
A server configured with RAID 5 has two failed drives. The array is offline and critical data is inaccessible. The administrator has replacement drives available. What should the administrator do to restore the data and array with minimal data loss?
Replace both failed drives and restore from backup.
RAID 5 can survive a single drive failure, but with two failed drives, the array is completely broken and cannot be rebuilt. Restoring from backup is the only reliable method to recover the data. Options B and C incorrectly assume the array can still rebuild, and option D would worsen data integrity.
A technician is installing a used 2U rack server that was pulled from another rack. The server's rail kit is rated for a maximum load of 35 kg, and the chassis weighs 32 kg with no drives installed. Before sliding the chassis onto the rails, which of the following should the technician do FIRST?
Verify the rail kit's load rating against the fully populated chassis weight, and use a mechanical lift or a second technician if needed.
Rail kits are rated for a maximum supported weight, and the chassis must be evaluated at its fully populated weight, not just its shipping weight. When the empty chassis already approaches the rail rating, adding drives and adapters can exceed it, so the technician should confirm the rating and arrange a lift or helper before mounting.
A technician is preparing to install a new rack-mount server that will host a database requiring high random read performance. The server's chassis supports up to eight 2.5-inch drive bays, and the technician must choose a drive technology that provides the lowest latency and highest IOPS. Which of the following drive types should the technician select?
NVMe solid-state drives
NVMe drives attach directly to PCIe lanes, bypassing the SATA and SAS controller layers and supporting deep parallel command queues. That architecture delivers the lowest latency and highest random IOPS of the listed media, which directly matches the database's high random read requirement, while mechanical and SATA-based options are limited by either moving parts or interface overhead.
A server administrator receives alerts that a production Linux server is unresponsive. After connecting via out-of-band management, the administrator sees a message indicating a kernel panic. The system was recently updated with a new storage driver. Which of the following should the administrator do FIRST to troubleshoot this issue?
Reboot the server and select the previous kernel version from the boot loader menu.
The kernel panic appeared right after a storage driver update, making that change the prime suspect. Booting the previous kernel version is a quick, reversible test that confirms whether the new driver is at fault. If the system boots, the administrator can then roll back the driver or obtain a fixed version. Other options involve unnecessary hardware replacement, lengthy tests, or destructive reinstallation.
A system administrator is setting up a new server and needs to ensure that the server's time is synchronized with an external time source. Which protocol should be used?
NTP
NTP is the correct protocol for synchronizing server time with external sources. It is specifically designed for this purpose and is widely supported. Other protocols listed serve different functions and cannot synchronize time. Accurate time is essential for security protocols, logging, and scheduled tasks.
A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server 2022 host that presents a RAID 10 array to the operating system as a single 2 TB volume. Users report that write performance to a database on this volume has degraded sharply over the past week, and the array's management utility shows all member drives as online with no rebuild in progress. Which of the following should the administrator check FIRST to identify the cause?
The RAID controller's write cache policy and battery/capacitor health status.
With all RAID 10 member drives online and no rebuild activity, the sudden write slowdown most likely originates at the controller level. A failed cache battery or capacitor causes the controller to switch from write-back to write-through, which removes the performance benefit of the cache and sharply increases write latency. The cache policy and module health are therefore the first things to verify.
A small accounting firm runs a single physical server that hosts all of its line-of-business applications. The owner wants a backup strategy that allows the entire server, including the operating system, applications, and data, to be restored to dissimilar hardware after a catastrophic failure. Which backup type should the administrator implement?
Bare-metal backup
A bare-metal backup is the only listed method that captures the full server, including the OS, applications, and data, in a form that can be restored to dissimilar hardware. File-level, differential, and database-specific backups each omit critical system components, so they cannot satisfy the requirement for a complete server recovery on different hardware.
A security administrator is configuring a Linux server to allow only SSH and HTTPS traffic from a specific management subnet while blocking all other inbound traffic. The server has two network interfaces: eth0 (public) and eth1 (management). Which command should the administrator use to view the current iptables rules with line numbers to identify the rule positions before modifying them?
iptables -L --line-numbers
The administrator needs to view the current iptables rules with line numbers to identify rule positions before making changes. The iptables -L --line-numbers command lists all rules with line numbers, allowing precise insertion or deletion. This is critical when reordering rules to ensure management subnet traffic is permitted before any default deny rule. Other commands either lack line numbers or are destructive.
A company runs a critical application on a physical server with four 15,000 RPM SAS drives in a hardware RAID 5 array. Users report that write performance has degraded significantly during peak hours. Performance monitoring shows high disk queue length. The administrator wants to improve write performance without sacrificing redundancy or adding more drives. Which of the following should the administrator implement?
Configure the RAID controller to use write-back caching with a battery-backed cache module.
RAID 5 suffers from a write penalty because each write requires reading old data and parity, calculating new parity, and writing both. Write-back caching with a battery-backed module allows the controller to buffer writes and acknowledge them quickly, dramatically improving write throughput while preserving redundancy. The battery ensures data is not lost if power fails before the cache is flushed to disk.
A company's file server is running low on disk space. The administrator notices that the volume hosting user home directories is nearly full, with only 10 GB free out of 2 TB. Users report that they cannot save new files. The administrator needs to free up space immediately without deleting any user data. Which of the following should the administrator do FIRST?
Use File Server Resource Manager to generate a storage report and identify large files.
The administrator should first identify what is consuming disk space before taking any action. File Server Resource Manager provides detailed storage reports that show large files, duplicates, and usage by owner, enabling targeted cleanup without risking user data. Other options either do not address the specific volume or are not immediate or effective enough.
A company's datacenter is in a region prone to flooding. Management requires that a copy of nightly backups be stored where a regional flood cannot destroy both the production data and the backup copy, and that the copy be retrievable within 24 hours. Which strategy BEST meets these requirements?
Ship encrypted backup copies to an offsite vault in a different geographic region.
The requirement is geographic separation of a backup copy so that a single regional flood cannot destroy production data and its backup, plus retrieval within 24 hours. Offsite vaulting in a different region satisfies both the survivability and recovery-time requirements, and encryption keeps the media safe while it is outside the organization's control.
The SK0-005 flashcard bank covers all 4 official blueprint domains published by CompTIA. Cards are distributed proportionally, so domains with higher exam weight have more cards.
Domain Coverage
server-administration
server-hardware-installation-management
security-disaster-recovery
troubleshooting
Both flashcards and practice questions are evidence-based study tools. The difference is in what they train:
Flashcards — concept retention
Best for memorising definitions, acronyms, protocol behaviours, command syntax, and conceptual distinctions. Use flashcards to build the foundational vocabulary that SK0-005 questions assume you know.
Best in: weeks 1–3
Practice tests — application
Best for applying concepts to realistic scenarios, eliminating distractors, and building exam stamina.SK0-005 questions test scenario reasoning — not just recall — so practice tests are essential.
Best in: weeks 3–6
The most effective SK0-005 study plan combines both: use flashcards for the first 2–3 weeks to build conceptual foundations, then shift to practice tests and mock exams in the final 2–3 weeks to apply and benchmark that knowledge. Most candidates who pass on their first attempt use both tools.
Yes. Courseiva provides free SK0-005 flashcards across all official exam domains. Every card includes the correct answer and a full explanation of why it is right and why the distractors are wrong. The platform also includes topic-based practice, mock exams, and readiness tracking — no account required.
Courseiva has 414+ original SK0-005 flashcards across all 4 exam blueprint domains. New cards are added regularly as the question bank grows. All cards are checked against the official CompTIA exam objectives, with editorial oversight from an experienced network and security engineer.
Courseiva flashcards are purpose-built for IT certification exams. Unlike generic flashcard platforms where content quality varies, every Courseiva card is mapped to the official SK0-005 exam blueprint, written by engineers who hold the certification, and includes a full explanation of the correct answer and why the distractors are wrong. This explanation quality is what separates genuine learning from rote memorisation.
Courseiva is a web platform — an internet connection is required. For offline study, we recommend creating free Courseiva account, using the platform in your browser, and using your device's offline capabilities if your browser supports offline web apps.
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