SK0-005 Practice Test 25 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server that is experiencing slow performance. The administrator runs Performance Monitor and notices that the 'Avg. Disk sec/Transfer' counter is consistently above 25 ms. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

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

Accepted Answer

The disk subsystem is experiencing a bottleneck due to high latency.. The 'Avg. Disk sec/Transfer' counter in Performance Monitor measures disk latency. Values above 25 ms indicate a storage bottleneck, where the disk subsystem cannot keep up with I/O requests. This can be caused by slow physical disks, RAID degradation, or excessive load. Troubleshooting should focus on the storage layer, such as checking disk health, optimizing RAID configuration, or moving to faster storage. Memory, CPU, and network issues would not directly cause this specific counter to spike.

Answer

The server has insufficient RAM, causing excessive paging.

Answer

The CPU is overloaded, causing delays in processing disk I/O requests.

Answer

The network adapter is causing retransmissions, slowing down disk access.

Question 2

A server administrator is diagnosing a Windows Server 2019 server that reboots unexpectedly about once a day. Windows Event Viewer shows Event ID 6008 (unexpected shutdown) and a BugCheck entry with stop code 0x00000050 (PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA). The server has 512 GB of RAM and the page file is system-managed. Which tool should the administrator use to analyze the memory dump and identify the faulty driver?

Accepted Answer

WinDbg with the !analyze -v command against the MEMORY.DMP file. The stop code 0x00000050 indicates a page fault in nonpaged pool, and Windows has captured a kernel dump. WinDbg with the !analyze -v command parses that dump, resolves the call stack, and names the faulting driver. Performance Monitor and Resource Monitor are live-monitoring tools, while msconfig is an isolation method; none analyze dump files. The administrator needs the exact driver to remediate the recurring bugcheck.

Answer

Performance Monitor with the Memory\Pool Nonpaged Bytes counter

Answer

Resource Monitor's Memory tab to inspect hard faults per second

Answer

System Configuration (msconfig) to perform a diagnostic startup

Question 3

A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server that is experiencing slow performance. The administrator runs Performance Monitor and notices that the 'Avg. Disk sec/Transfer' counter is consistently above 25 ms. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

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

Accepted Answer

Verify that the memory modules are fully seated and in the correct slots per the server documentation.. The steady amber status LED and lack of POST indicate a critical hardware fault, often memory-related. Verifying that memory modules are properly seated and populated according to the server documentation is a non-invasive, high-probability fix. Other options involve more invasive or less likely steps that should be deferred until basic hardware checks are completed.

Answer

Replace the system board battery (CMOS battery).

Answer

Reseat the CPU and apply fresh thermal paste.

Answer

Connect a serial console to check for BIOS output.

Question 4

A company's primary file server runs Windows Server 2019 with four 1 TB SATA drives in a RAID 5 array controlled by a hardware RAID controller. The server hosts shared project data that is accessed continuously during business hours. The administrator notices that write performance has degraded significantly over the past month, and the RAID controller log shows an increasing number of medium errors on one drive. The administrator needs to replace the failing drive with minimal downtime and without losing data. Which of the following should the administrator do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Verify that a recent, restorable backup of the array exists.. Before replacing a drive in a degraded RAID 5 array, the administrator must ensure that a recent, restorable backup exists. RAID 5 can tolerate only one drive failure; during a rebuild, the array is extremely vulnerable, and a second failure would result in total data loss. Verifying a backup first protects the data and allows recovery if the rebuild fails.

Answer

Update the RAID controller firmware to the latest version.

Answer

Run a full surface scan on all drives in the array to identify additional errors.

Answer

Replace the failing drive with a new drive of equal or larger capacity, allowing the controller to rebuild the array.

Question 5

A server administrator is implementing a backup strategy for a Windows Server 2022 file server. The administrator needs to ensure that backups can be restored quickly and that the backup data is protected against ransomware. Which two actions should the administrator take? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Use a cloud backup service that supports immutable backups and versioning.. To protect backups from ransomware and ensure quick restoration, the administrator should keep backups offline or use immutable cloud storage. An offline USB drive is inaccessible to ransomware when disconnected, and immutable cloud backups cannot be altered. Both approaches provide strong protection and enable reliable recovery.

Answer

Enable deduplication on the backup target to reduce storage consumption.

Answer

Store backups on a network share that is accessible using domain administrator credentials.

Answer

Schedule backups to run only during off‑peak hours to minimize performance impact.

Question 6

A technician needs to add four new 2.5-inch SSDs to a rack server that currently has all eight 2.5-inch front drive bays populated with SAS hard drives. The server's backplane supports hot-swap and the RAID controller supports online capacity expansion. Which of the following is the BEST way to add the SSDs?

Accepted Answer

Install an additional hot-swap drive cage or expander backplane connected to the existing RAID controller, then add the SSDs and expand the array.. All front bays are full, so the technician must extend the drive subsystem using a supported additional cage or expander backplane tied to the RAID controller. That preserves hot-swap serviceability and allows online capacity expansion to include the new SSDs. Replacing drives, using onboard SATA, or attaching USB disks does not meet the requirement of adding four SSDs to the existing protected storage.

Answer

Replace four existing SAS hard drives with the SSDs and rebuild the array, accepting the loss of the hard drive capacity.

Answer

Connect the four SSDs to the motherboard's onboard SATA ports and create a separate operating system RAID volume.

Answer

Attach the SSDs as external USB 3.0 drives and present them to the RAID controller as pass-through disks.

Question 7

A company's file server is running low on disk space. The administrator notices that the disk holding the operating system and application logs is nearly full. Which of the following is the BEST immediate step to free up space while maintaining system stability?

Accepted Answer

Run Disk Cleanup to remove temporary files and old updates.. Disk Cleanup is the safest and most efficient immediate solution because it targets unnecessary files without risking system integrity. Other options either jeopardize stability, offer limited benefit, or introduce performance penalties. The goal is to quickly reclaim space while ensuring the server remains operational and compliant.

Answer

Delete the largest log files in the Windows directory.

Answer

Compress the entire operating system drive.

Answer

Move the pagefile to a different volume.

Question 8

A small business runs a single physical server that hosts a customer relationship management (CRM) application and its database. The owner wants a backup strategy that allows the server to be restored on different hardware if the original server fails completely. Which backup type should the administrator implement?

Accepted Answer

Bare-metal backup. The owner needs the server to be recoverable on different hardware after a complete failure. A bare-metal backup captures the operating system, system state, applications, and data, and its restore process can inject drivers for the new hardware, allowing the server to boot on dissimilar equipment. Full, differential, and incremental backups protect data but do not by themselves provide hardware-independent operating system recovery.

Answer

Incremental backup

Answer

Differential backup

Answer

Full backup

Question 9

A security administrator is configuring a server to meet a requirement that all administrative access must use multifactor authentication and be encrypted in transit. The server runs Windows Server 2022. Which solution should the administrator implement?

Accepted Answer

Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) with multifactor authentication. The requirement is for administrative access that is both encrypted in transit and protected by multifactor authentication. Remote Desktop Gateway with MFA encrypts RDP sessions over HTTPS and enforces a second authentication factor, meeting both conditions. RDP with NLA lacks MFA, SSH with public key is single-factor, and VPN with preshared key is also single-factor, so none of those fully satisfy the requirements.

Answer

Secure Shell (SSH) with public key authentication

Answer

Virtual Private Network (VPN) with preshared key authentication

Answer

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) with Network Level Authentication (NLA)

Question 10

A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server that is experiencing slow performance. The administrator runs Performance Monitor and notices that the 'Avg. Disk sec/Transfer' counter is consistently above 25 ms. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

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

Accepted Answer

ethtool eth0. To confirm a duplex mismatch, the administrator needs to see the actual speed and duplex settings of the interface. ethtool and mii-tool both query the network interface card and report these parameters. The other commands provide statistics or IP configuration but not the negotiated duplex mode. Using either ethtool or mii-tool will reveal whether the interface is set to full or half duplex and at what speed.

Answer

ifconfig eth0

Answer

ip -s link show eth0

Answer

netstat -i

Question 11

A server administrator is setting up a new Windows Server 2022 file server. The server has two 1 TB NVMe drives. The administrator wants to ensure that if one drive fails, the server can continue to operate without data loss, and also wants to maximize read performance. Which of the following should the administrator implement?

Accepted Answer

RAID 1. RAID 1 mirrors data across two drives, providing fault tolerance if one drive fails and allowing read operations to be distributed across both drives for better performance. RAID 0 lacks redundancy, RAID 5 needs at least three drives, and RAID 10 needs at least four drives, so none of those meet the requirements with only two drives.

Answer

RAID 10

Answer

RAID 0

Answer

RAID 5

Question 12

A technician is preparing to install a replacement hot-swap SAS drive into a production server's front drive bay. The array is currently healthy and the new drive will be used as a global hot spare. Which of the following steps are required to complete the installation safely? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Attach an ESD wrist strap to the chassis and the technician before handling the drive.. Adding a hot spare requires a compatible drive, verified against the array's interface, speed, and capacity, and ESD protection during handling because the electronics are vulnerable even when the server stays online. The hot-swap bay and healthy array mean no power-down or configuration deletion is needed, and the controller handles block-level rebuilds without any file system preparation.

Answer

Format the replacement drive with the operating system's native file system before insertion.

Answer

Power down the entire server and disconnect both power supplies before opening the drive bay.

Answer

Delete the existing logical drive configuration so the controller can detect the new physical disk.

Question 13

A server administrator is configuring a new server with four 1TB NVMe drives. The server will host a database that requires high random read/write performance and redundancy. Which of the following RAID levels should the administrator choose?

Accepted Answer

RAID 10. RAID 10 is the best choice because it provides both redundancy and high performance for random read/write workloads. It mirrors data across pairs of drives and stripes across the pairs, eliminating parity overhead. RAID 0 lacks redundancy, RAID 5 has write performance penalties, and RAID 6 has even slower writes. The database's need for high random I/O and fault tolerance makes RAID 10 ideal.

Answer

RAID 6

Answer

RAID 5

Answer

RAID 0

Question 14

A server administrator is troubleshooting a Windows Server that is experiencing slow performance. The administrator runs Performance Monitor and notices that the 'Avg. Disk sec/Transfer' counter is consistently above 25 ms. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

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

Accepted Answer

Review the IPMI/BMC system event log for thermal trip events.. The correct answer is to review the IPMI/BMC system event log for thermal trip events. This log captures hardware-level events, including temperature thresholds and fan failures, which are critical for diagnosing thermal shutdowns. Since the UPS shows no power anomalies, thermal causes are more likely, and the BMC log provides direct evidence without requiring physical intervention.

Answer

Check the operating system's event logs for unexpected shutdown entries.

Answer

Run a memory diagnostic to check for faulty RAM.

Answer

Replace the power supplies one at a time to see if the issue persists.

Question 15

A server administrator is configuring a RAID array for a database server that requires high fault tolerance and performance. The server has eight 2.5-inch SAS drives and a hardware RAID controller with 1GB cache and battery backup. The administrator needs to maximize usable capacity while tolerating the failure of up to two drives. Which RAID level should be used?

Accepted Answer

RAID 6. RAID 6 is the correct choice because it can tolerate two simultaneous drive failures while providing usable capacity of N-2 drives. With eight drives, that yields six drives' worth of capacity. Although write performance is lower than RAID 10, the battery-backed cache helps, and the requirement prioritizes fault tolerance and capacity over maximum write speed.

Answer

RAID 10

Answer

RAID 5

Answer

RAID 0