SK0-005 Practice Test 18 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A server administrator is troubleshooting a newly installed 2U server that powers on but does not complete POST. The server emits a repeating beep code and no video output appears. The administrator has already reseated the memory modules and verified that the power supplies are fully seated and the power LEDs are green. Which of the following should the administrator check NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

Verify that the CPU is properly seated in its socket and that the heatsink is making full contact.. After ruling out memory and power, a repeating beep code with no POST on a new server strongly suggests the CPU is not properly seated or the heatsink is not making full contact. Many motherboards emit a specific beep pattern for CPU errors. Verifying CPU installation and heatsink contact is the next logical hardware check.

Answer

Replace the CMOS battery and clear the NVRAM using the motherboard jumper.

Answer

Check the front panel USB and video cables for proper connection to the motherboard.

Answer

Update the BIOS firmware to the latest version using the vendor's update utility.

Question 2

A server administrator is installing a new PCIe network adapter into a rack server. The card is a full-height, full-length adapter, but the server chassis only accepts low-profile cards in its riser. Which of the following is the BEST course of action?

Accepted Answer

Use a different riser that supports full-height cards, if the chassis offers one, or return the card for a low-profile equivalent.. Form factor compatibility is a prerequisite for card installation. A full-height, full-length adapter cannot be made to fit a low-profile riser through improvisation; the administrator must either use a chassis riser option that supports the larger form factor or obtain a low-profile equivalent adapter. This keeps mechanical retention, airflow, and support intact.

Answer

Install the card in the server's x16 slot without the riser to gain the needed height clearance.

Answer

Bend the card's mounting bracket so the adapter fits under the chassis lid.

Answer

Attach the card externally with a PCIe extension cable and leave the chassis lid open.

Question 3

Which TWO of the following are considered best practices for securing a server's remote management access?

Accepted Answer

Use SSH key-based authentication. Using SSH key-based authentication provides strong encryption and eliminates password theft risks. Disabling unused services reduces the attack surface. Enabling default administrative shares increases exposure. Allowing all inbound ICMP can facilitate reconnaissance. Telnet sends data in plaintext and is insecure.

Answer

Enable default administrative shares

Answer

Allow all inbound ICMP

Answer

Use telnet for remote CLI

Question 4

A server administrator is troubleshooting a newly installed 2U server that powers on but does not complete POST. The server emits a repeating beep code and no video output appears. The administrator has already reseated the memory modules and verified that the power supplies are fully seated and the power LEDs are green. Which of the following should the administrator check NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

Reseat the memory modules and test one at a time.. The correct answer is to reseat the memory modules and test one at a time. This approach is methodical and addresses the most likely causes of a memory error: poor contact or a single faulty DIMM. It is a quick, non-destructive step that can often resolve the issue without replacing hardware. Only if this fails should more advanced steps be taken.

Answer

Update the BIOS to the latest version.

Answer

Replace all memory modules with new ones.

Answer

Check the power supply voltages with a multimeter.

Question 5

A financial services firm requires a disaster recovery solution that provides a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of near zero and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of less than 2 hours. Which of the following site types is MOST appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Hot site. A hot site is fully equipped, with near real-time data replication, enabling the fastest recovery and minimal data loss. A cold site (Option A) has the longest recovery time. A warm site (Option B) has some equipment but data must be restored from backup, increasing RTO and RPO. Cloud-based backup with daily replication (Option C) does not meet near-zero RPO.

Answer

Cloud-based backup with daily replication

Answer

Cold site

Answer

Warm site

Question 6

A server administrator is troubleshooting a server that intermittently loses network connectivity. The server is connected to a managed switch, and the administrator notices that the switch port shows a high number of CRC errors. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The network cable is damaged or poorly terminated.. CRC errors on a switch port almost always indicate a physical layer problem, such as a bad cable or connector. Intermittent connectivity with high CRC errors strongly suggests the cable is damaged or poorly terminated. Other options like duplex mismatch or driver issues do not typically produce CRC errors.

Answer

The server's network adapter driver is outdated.

Answer

The switch is experiencing a broadcast storm.

Answer

The switch port is configured for the wrong duplex setting.

Question 7

A server cannot connect to a specific network share. The administrator can successfully ping the server's IP address from the client. Which of the following is MOST likely causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

Host-based firewall blocking file sharing ports. Option C is correct because Windows Firewall or an equivalent host-based firewall may block SMB (port 445) or NetBIOS ports, preventing share access even though ICMP is allowed. Option A is wrong because DNS would affect name resolution, not reachability by IP. Option B is wrong because an incorrect subnet mask would generally prevent any communication, including pings. Option D is wrong because a duplicate IP would cause intermittent connectivity or an IP conflict error, not a consistent inability to access shares while ping works.

Answer

Incorrect subnet mask

Answer

Duplicate IP address on the network

Answer

DNS server is misconfigured

Question 8

A server technician is mounting a 4U server in a standard 19-inch rack. Which of the following safety precautions is MOST important before lifting the server into place?

Accepted Answer

Confirm that the rack's weight capacity can support the server.. Before lifting any server into a rack, the technician must verify the rack's weight capacity can support the server's weight, especially for a heavy 4U unit. Exceeding the rack's load rating can cause the rack to tip, collapse, or fail, creating a serious safety hazard for personnel and equipment. This is the primary safety check that must be performed before any physical lifting begins.

Answer

Ensure the server's power supply voltage matches the rack's PDU.

Answer

Install cable management arms before mounting.

Answer

Verify that the rack is properly grounded.

Question 9

A server technician replaces a failed RAM module with an identical spare. After installation, the server powers on but emits continuous short beeps and does not complete POST. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The RAM module is not fully seated in the slot.. Continuous short beeps typically indicate a memory error, and the most common cause after a RAM replacement is that the module is not fully seated. Even though the module is known good and compatible, improper installation can prevent POST. Option C is correct because reseating the module will often resolve the issue. Option A is incorrect because an incompatible module would likely produce a different beep code or no POST at all, but the module is identical and known good. Option B is incorrect because insufficient power would likely prevent the server from powering on at all, not cause RAM beep codes. Option D is incorrect because CPU damage is unlikely from a simple RAM swap and would produce different symptoms.

Answer

The new RAM module is incompatible with the motherboard.

Answer

The CPU has been damaged during the installation.

Answer

The power supply is providing insufficient voltage.

Question 10

A server running a critical application fails to boot with the error: 'Boot device not found.' The server uses UEFI and a RAID 5 array for the OS. The administrator verifies that all disks are present and powered. Which of the following should the administrator check FIRST?

Accepted Answer

The array configuration in the RAID BIOS. With all disks powered and present, the RAID array may be degraded or its configuration lost, leading to the boot device error. Checking the array configuration in the RAID controller's BIOS (or UEFI setup) allows verifying that the array is intact and the boot volume is accessible. Option A (RAID battery) is important for write cache but not directly causing 'boot device not found.' Option B (boot order) might be an issue, but after checking that the RAID array is operational; if the array is offline, boot order changes won't help. Option D (OS boot files) should be checked after ensuring the RAID subsystem is functional.

Answer

The integrity of the OS boot files

Answer

The boot order in UEFI

Answer

The RAID controller battery

Question 11

Following a firmware update on a server's RAID controller, the server fails to boot and reports "No boot device found." The RAID array status shows healthy in the controller BIOS. Which THREE of the following actions should the administrator take to resolve the issue? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Roll back the RAID controller firmware. Options A, B, and E are correct. Rolling back firmware can undo a bad update. Verifying boot order ensures the correct device is first. Resetting the controller configuration may clear incompatible settings from the update. Rebuilding the array is unnecessary as it is healthy. Installing OS drivers is impossible without a booted OS.

Answer

Rebuild the RAID array from backup

Answer

Install the latest drivers for the RAID controller in the OS

Question 12

Refer to the exhibit. What is the most likely cause of this error?

Accepted Answer

The boot order is set incorrectly. The error 'Boot device not found' with 'Hard Disk: (3F0)' indicates the BIOS cannot find a bootable device. The most common cause is an incorrect boot order, where the system is trying to boot from a non-bootable device before the hard drive. A corrupt boot sector would give a different error (e.g., 'Missing operating system'). A loose cable could cause the drive not to be detected at all, but often the system would show no hard drive in BIOS. A failed drive would typically be detected but unbootable.

Answer

The hard drive data cable is loose

Answer

The boot sector is corrupted

Answer

The hard drive has failed

Question 13

A technician is troubleshooting a server that fails to boot. The server displays a 'Boot Device Not Found' error. The technician verifies that the hard drives are spinning and appear in the RAID controller's BIOS. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Boot order in BIOS. When a server reports 'Boot Device Not Found' but the drives are detected by the RAID controller, the most likely cause is that the BIOS/UEFI boot order does not list the RAID logical volume (or the correct device) as a boot option. The firmware is looking at the wrong device or has lost the boot entry. Checking and correcting the boot order is the logical next step before assuming OS or hardware failure.

Answer

Operating system files

Answer

SATA cable connections

Answer

RAID array status

Question 14

A server administrator is troubleshooting a newly installed 2U server that powers on but does not complete POST. The server emits a repeating beep code and no video output appears. The administrator has already reseated the memory modules and verified that the power supplies are fully seated and the power LEDs are green. Which of the following should the administrator check NEXT?

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

Accepted Answer

Migrate the VM to a different datastore with SSD storage.. A virtual disk latency of 200ms on a RAID 5 SAS datastore at only 50% utilization strongly indicates a storage I/O bottleneck rather than capacity or memory pressure. Migrating the VM to an SSD-backed datastore dramatically reduces latency because SSDs deliver sub-millisecond random I/O versus mechanical SAS drives. This directly addresses the root cause without altering RAID geometry or VM configuration.

Answer

Add a second disk to the RAID 5 array (convert to RAID 6).

Answer

Increase the VM's memory allocation.

Answer

Change the virtual disk type from thin to thick.

Question 15

A server administrator notices that a database server is responding slowly to queries. The CPU utilization is at 30%, memory at 40%, and disk latency is normal. Which of the following should the administrator check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Network bandwidth utilization. Network bandwidth utilization should be checked next because high network usage can cause slow responses even when CPU, memory, and disk are fine.

Answer

Power supply status

Answer

Database index fragmentation

Answer

Operating system patch level