mediumMultiple Choice
CV0-004 Practice Question: A cloud administrator runs the command shown in…
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. $ sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda | grep -E "Reallocated_Sector_Ct|Current_Pending_Sector|Offline_Uncorrectable" Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 100 100 010 Pre-fail Always - 15 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0012 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 5 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0010 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 3
A cloud administrator runs the command shown in the exhibit on a storage node in a hyper-converged cluster. The node is experiencing intermittent I/O errors and degraded performance. Based on the SMART data, what is the most likely cause of the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse SMART disk failure indicators with filesystem corruption or network issues, because intermittent I/O errors can superficially resemble symptoms of a corrupt filesystem or a flapping network link, but the SMART data provides direct hardware-level evidence that eliminates those possibilities.
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
✓
The disk has developed bad sectors and is likely failing.
The SMART data from the storage node shows attributes such as Reallocated_Sector_Count, Current_Pending_Sector, and Offline_Uncorrectable with non-zero values, which are definitive indicators of physical bad sectors on the disk. These bad sectors cause intermittent I/O errors and degraded performance because the disk must retry reads/writes or remap sectors, increasing latency. Option C is correct because this pattern directly points to a failing disk, not a network, filesystem, or RAID issue.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The storage network is experiencing high latency.
Why it's wrong here
Network latency would not alter SMART attributes, which are recorded by the drive's own controller. Investigating latency is correct when throughput drops across all nodes while SMART data stays clean, pointing to the fabric rather than the disks.
- ✗
The filesystem is corrupted and requires a repair.
Why it's wrong here
Filesystem corruption produces mount failures and metadata errors, not the reallocated or pending sector counts SMART reports. A repair is the right response when fsck or chkdsk flags inconsistent metadata, which is a different evidence set from SMART attributes.
- ✓
The disk has developed bad sectors and is likely failing.
Why this is correct
SMART attributes such as reallocated sector count and pending sector count directly evidence physical media degradation. Rising reallocated sectors confirm the drive has remapped bad sectors, matching the intermittent I/O errors and degraded performance described. This satisfies the stem's requirement to identify the most likely cause from the SMART data.
- ✗
A RAID array is rebuilding, causing performance degradation.
Why it's wrong here
A RAID rebuild is a transient, deliberate operation that would appear in array status, not as escalating SMART reallocated-sector counts. Rebuild degradation is the answer when performance drops immediately after a disk replacement with healthy SMART values.
Quick reference
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Disks | Fault Tolerance | Read | Write | Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 50% |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 67–94% |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 disks | Good | Lower | 50–88% |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 disk per mirror | Excellent | Good | 50% |
RAID is not a backup strategy — it protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion, ransomware, or site-level events.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 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 CV0-004 exam.