mediumMultiple Choice
220-1102 Practice Question: Copy a directory tree from /home/user/docs to a…
A technician needs to copy a directory tree from /home/user/docs to a backup location /backup/docs, preserving all permissions, ownership, and timestamps. Which command should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between `-p` and `-a` by making candidates think preserving permissions and timestamps is sufficient, while the key requirement to preserve ownership is only met by `-a` (or running `-p` as root).
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
cp -a /home/user/docs /backup/docs
The `cp -a` (archive) command preserves all file attributes, including permissions, ownership, and timestamps, while recursively copying the entire directory tree. This is the most comprehensive single command for duplicating a directory with full metadata integrity.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
cp -r /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why it's wrong here
The -r flag copies recursively but does not preserve ownership or timestamps.
- ✓
cp -a /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why this is correct
The `-a` (archive) flag bundles `-dR --preserve=all`, recursing through the tree while retaining permissions, ownership, timestamps, and symlinks. This directly satisfies the stem's requirement to preserve all three attributes during the copy from /home/user/docs to /backup/docs.
- ✗
cp -p /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why it's wrong here
The -p flag preserves timestamps but does not copy recursively; it would fail on a directory.
- ✗
rsync -r /home/user/docs /backup/docs
Why it's wrong here
rsync with -r copies recursively but does not preserve permissions and ownership by default; -a would be needed.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Windows Shares and NTFS Permissions
Key term
Backup
A backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored separately so that the original data can be restored if it is lost, damaged, or corrupted.
Key term
Integrity
Integrity is the assurance that data has not been altered or tampered with in an unauthorized way, preserving its accuracy and consistency from source to destination.
About these practice questions
This 220-1202 question is part of Courseiva's 687-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.