SK0-005 Practice Test 20 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A server administrator is troubleshooting a network connectivity issue where a newly installed server cannot communicate with other devices on the same subnet. The server has a static IP address configured. Other devices on the same switch can communicate. Which TWO of the following could be the cause of the issue? (Select TWO)

Accepted Answer

The switch port is configured with port security and has learned a different MAC address.. Option C is correct because if the switch port has port security enabled and has already learned a different MAC address, the switch will place the port in an err-disabled or violation state, blocking the newly installed server's traffic even though other devices on the switch communicate fine. Option D is correct because an incorrect subnet mask on the server can cause it to misjudge which addresses are local, so it may fail to ARP for or directly reach other devices on the same subnet, breaking same-subnet communication. Option A is not the cause because DNS only resolves hostnames to IP addresses and does not affect basic IP connectivity to devices on the same subnet. Option B is not the cause because the default gateway is only used to reach remote subnets, not devices on the same local subnet. Option E is not the cause because the server uses a static IP address, so DHCP scope exhaustion would not prevent it from communicating.

Answer

The DNS server address is incorrect.

Answer

The server's default gateway is incorrectly set.

Answer

The DHCP server has exhausted its scope.

Question 2

A server displays a 'CMOS battery low' error during POST. After the technician replaces the CR2032 battery with a new one, the server still loses date and time settings when disconnected from power. Which of the following should the technician try NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Verify the new battery is functional and properly seated. Option A is correct because it is possible the new battery is defective, installed incorrectly, or not making proper contact. The first step is to verify the battery itself and its installation. Option B is wrong because a faulty motherboard is possible, but troubleshooting should start with the simplest and most likely cause. Option C is wrong because power supply fluctuations are unlikely to cause CMOS settings loss specifically when unplugged. Option D is wrong because the BIOS chip retaining settings is part of the CMOS circuit, but the immediate issue is likely the power source (battery) for the CMOS.

Answer

Check the power supply for voltage fluctuations

Answer

Update the BIOS firmware

Answer

Replace the motherboard

Question 3

Refer to the exhibit. A Linux server's local firewall is configured as shown. The administrator is unable to perform backups to a network-attached storage (NAS) device using TCP port 10000. Which firewall rule is causing the issue?

Accepted Answer

The DROP all rule at the end blocks all traffic except SSH.. Option D is correct. The INPUT chain contains an explicit DROP all rule at the end, which blocks any traffic not explicitly allowed. The only allowed traffic is SSH on port 22. The backup traffic on port 10000 matches the DROP rule and is therefore dropped. Option A is incorrect because the policy ACCEPT is overridden by the explicit DROP. Option B allows SSH traffic but does not affect port 10000. Option C about subnets is irrelevant to the local firewall shown.

Answer

The INPUT policy is set to ACCEPT.

Answer

The NAS device uses a different subnet.

Answer

The SSH ACCEPT rule is allowing traffic.

Question 4

A server administrator configures a scheduled task to back up a database using a command-line tool. The task runs successfully when executed manually, but fails when run via the task scheduler. The log shows 'Error: Access denied.' What is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The scheduled task is running under the wrong user account.. Option C is correct because 'Access denied' usually points to permission issues; the task scheduler may run under a different user account that lacks necessary privileges. Option A is wrong because a full destination would yield a 'disk full' error, not access denied. Option B is wrong because if the tool were not installed, the error would be 'command not found.' Option D is wrong because a stopped database service would produce a connection error, not access denied.

Answer

The database service is stopped.

Answer

The command-line tool is not installed.

Answer

The backup destination is full.

Question 5

An administrator needs to remotely manage several Linux servers securely without using passwords. Which of the following is the BEST method?

Accepted Answer

Use SSH with key-based authentication.. Option C is correct because SSH with key-based authentication provides strong, password-less remote access. Option A is wrong because RDP is primarily used on Windows, not typical for Linux. Option B is wrong because Telnet is insecure, and SSH tunneling does not make Telnet secure. Option D is wrong because VNC is less secure and not designed for efficient server administration.

Answer

Use Telnet with SSH tunneling.

Answer

Use VNC with a strong password.

Answer

Use RDP with certificate-based authentication.

Question 6

A company performs a full backup on Sunday and incremental backups Monday through Saturday. A server fails on Thursday at 10:00 AM. Which sequence correctly restores the data?

Accepted Answer

Restore Sunday full, then Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday incrementals.. Option C is correct because an incremental backup captures only changes since the last backup, requiring the last full backup and all subsequent incrementals up to the point of failure. Options A and D are wrong because they skip Monday’s incremental (A) or both Monday and Tuesday (D). Option B is wrong because it restores out of order, which would not apply the data correctly.

Answer

Restore Sunday full, then Tuesday and Wednesday incrementals.

Answer

Restore Sunday full and Wednesday incremental only.

Answer

Restore Wednesday's incremental, then Sunday full.

Question 7

A company wants to protect its Microsoft SQL Server database with a backup strategy that provides point-in-time recovery up to every 15 minutes. The database is critical and runs on a dedicated server. Which backup schedule should be implemented?

Accepted Answer

Full backup weekly, differential daily, transaction log backups every 15 minutes.. Full and differential backups provide a base, while frequent transaction log backups enable granular point-in-time restore. Option A lacks transaction log backups, so recovery granularity is limited to daily. Option C uses mirroring, which is high availability (not a backup) and does not protect against logical corruption. Option D uses snapshot technology but snapshots alone are not a backup and may impact performance if taken every 15 minutes.

Answer

Use storage-level snapshots every 15 minutes on a SAN.

Answer

Full backup daily, differential backup hourly.

Answer

Set up database mirroring with automatic failover and full weekly backups.

Question 8

A company is expanding its data center to support a new four-node database cluster for a critical application requiring 99.999% uptime, meaning only minutes of downtime per year. Each server node has dual 1000W power supplies. The facility provides two independent power feeds from separate utility substations, each backed by its own online double-conversion UPS. There are four 20A/208V PDUs available, two per power feed. The design must ensure that the loss of any single power feed, any single UPS, or any single PDU does not cause any server to lose power or impact the cluster's availability. The servers are located in a single rack, and cabling must follow best practices for manageability and airflow. The IT architect is evaluating different power distribution strategies to meet these fault-tolerance requirements. Which of the following configurations achieves full redundancy with no single point of failure in the power path?

Accepted Answer

Connect the first power supply of each server to a PDU on power feed A and the second power supply to a PDU on power feed B.. Connecting each server's power supplies to two different PDUs that are on separate power feeds guarantees that if one feed, UPS, or PDU fails, the server continues to receive power from the remaining source. Option A does not protect against PDU failure. Option B exposes servers to a power feed failure. Option C introduces a single PDU as a single point of failure.

Answer

Connect each server's power supplies to two PDUs that are both on the same power feed, and use the second feed only as a cold standby in case of a primary feed failure.

Answer

Connect each server's power supplies to the same PDU, but distribute servers across the four PDUs for load balancing.

Answer

Use a single large PDU with dual inputs from both feeds and an automatic transfer switch, connecting all servers to that PDU.

Question 9

A technician needs to install a PCIe 4.0 x16 network adapter into a server that has a single physical CPU. The server has three PCIe 4.0 x16 slots: slot 1 is connected directly to the CPU, slots 2 and 3 are connected through the chipset. The adapter requires maximum bandwidth and low latency. Which slot should the technician use?

Accepted Answer

Slot 1. The CPU-attached PCIe slot provides the most direct path to memory and the processor, minimizing latency and maximizing available bandwidth. Chipset-attached slots route traffic through the chipset, which can add latency and may share bandwidth with other devices. For a high-performance network adapter that requires maximum throughput and low latency, the CPU-attached slot is the correct choice.

Answer

Any of the three slots will provide identical performance.

Answer

Slot 3

Answer

Slot 2

Question 10

A server administrator is troubleshooting a server that fails to boot after a firmware update. The server powers on, completes POST, but then displays a message that no bootable device is found. The administrator suspects that the firmware update reset the storage controller configuration. Which of the following should the administrator check? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Verify that the boot order in the UEFI/BIOS includes the correct storage controller and drive.. The correct answers are to verify the boot order in UEFI/BIOS and to check the RAID controller mode and import any foreign configuration. Firmware updates often reset BIOS/UEFI settings, which can alter boot order or storage controller settings. Restoring these settings can make the boot device visible again, resolving the 'no bootable device' error without data loss.

Answer

Run a memory diagnostic to rule out RAM failure.

Answer

Replace the CMOS battery to ensure BIOS settings are retained.

Answer

Reinstall the operating system to restore boot files.

Question 11

A financial services company runs a single physical server hosting a customer-facing web application. The security team must ensure that if an attacker modifies system binaries, the server can detect the change during a forensic investigation. Which technology should be implemented to meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

File integrity monitoring (FIM) using a tool such as Tripwire. The requirement is to detect unauthorized changes to system binaries for forensic purposes. File integrity monitoring establishes a cryptographic baseline and alerts on any deviation, providing clear evidence of tampering. Other options focus on prevention, log aggregation, or data-at-rest protection, none of which directly detect binary modification with forensic detail.

Answer

Security information and event management (SIEM) with log correlation

Answer

Host-based intrusion prevention system (HIPS) with signature-based detection

Answer

Full disk encryption (FDE) using TPM-backed BitLocker

Question 12

A server administrator runs a Linux server hosting a MariaDB database. Users report that the database is extremely slow. The administrator runs top and sees a load average of 45 on a system with 4 CPU cores, and %iowait is consistently above 80%. Which command should the administrator run next to identify the specific storage device causing the bottleneck?

Accepted Answer

iostat -x 2. The high load average and %iowait indicate a storage bottleneck. To resolve the issue, the administrator must identify the specific disk causing the saturation. iostat -x provides per-device extended statistics, including %util and await, which pinpoint the bottleneck. Other tools like vmstat give system-wide I/O wait but lack per-device detail, while network-focused commands are irrelevant here.

Answer

vmstat 2

Answer

sar -n DEV 2

Answer

netstat -i 2

Question 13

A server administrator is installing a new 1U server into a rack that already contains several servers. The rack has a limited number of power outlets, and the administrator needs to connect the server's two redundant power supplies. Which of the following should the administrator do to ensure power redundancy?

Accepted Answer

Connect each power supply to a different PDU on separate circuits. For true power redundancy, each power supply should connect to a separate PDU on a different circuit. This isolates the server from a single PDU or circuit failure. Connecting both to the same PDU or circuit leaves a single point of failure, while leaving one unplugged provides no active redundancy. Separate circuits are the accepted best practice.

Answer

Connect both power supplies to the same PDU using two outlets

Answer

Connect one power supply to a PDU and leave the other unplugged as a spare

Answer

Connect both power supplies to the same circuit but different PDUs

Question 14

A technician is installing a new server that will host a virtualized environment. The server has 512GB of RAM installed as 16 x 32GB DIMMs. The technician notices that the server reports only 256GB of RAM during POST. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The DIMMs are installed in the wrong slots, causing half of them to be disabled. The most likely cause is incorrect DIMM slot population. Servers require DIMMs to be installed in a specific order to enable all channels. If half the DIMMs are in slots that are not activated without a corresponding slot being filled, the server will report only half the installed memory. Other options would typically produce errors or not match the exact half-memory symptom.

Answer

One of the memory channels has failed, disabling half the DIMMs

Answer

The DIMMs are not all the same speed, so the server downclocked and disabled half

Answer

The server's memory controller only supports up to 256GB

Question 15

A data center team is deploying a new 4U storage server that will hold 24 nearline SAS drives. The server will sit in a rack alongside network switches, and the team wants to minimize vibration-related drive errors. Which of the following installation practices BEST addresses this concern?

Accepted Answer

Install the server on sliding rails with rubber isolation washers and ensure the rack is anchored and stabilized.. High-density nearline drives are sensitive to rotational and translational vibration, which adjacent drives, fans, and rack movement generate. Isolating the chassis with rubber-mounted rails and anchoring the rack reduces the energy reaching the drives and prevents the frame from swaying. Airflow and load rating are valid considerations but do not address vibration coupling.

Answer

Use a rack with a higher static load rating so the added drive weight does not flex the frame.

Answer

Mount the server at the top of the rack to keep it away from floor-level vibration.

Answer

Fill all empty rack U space with blanking panels to improve front-to-back airflow.