hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
XK0-006 Practice Question: A financial services company runs a critical…
A financial services company runs a critical trading application on a Linux server. The application logs to /var/log/trade/app.log. Recently, the application has been crashing intermittently. The administrator suspects disk space issues. Upon checking, /var/log/trade is on a separate partition with 200 GB capacity, and df -h shows only 10% used. However, the administrator notices that log rotation is not working; the log file has grown to 50 GB and is still being written to. The administrator needs to immediately free up space without stopping the application, and also ensure proper log rotation is configured. Which command sequence should the administrator use?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the misconception that deleting or moving a log file while an application holds an open file handle will immediately free disk space, when in fact the space is only released after the file handle is closed.
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
✓
Run 'logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.conf' to force rotation, then verify with 'df -h'.
'logrotate -f' forces an immediate log rotation without stopping the application, which frees disk space by compressing or removing the old log file and creating a new empty one. The administrator can then verify the freed space with 'df -h'. This approach solves both the immediate space issue and ensures proper rotation is configured for the future.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Run 'mv /var/log/trade/app.log /tmp' to move the file, then create a new empty log file, and check with 'df -h'.
Why it's wrong here
Moving an open file does not free space; the application still holds the old inode.
- ✓
Run 'logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.conf' to force rotation, then verify with 'df -h'.
Why this is correct
Forces log rotation without stopping the application, freeing space.
- ✗
Run 'systemctl stop trade && rm /var/log/trade/app.log && systemctl start trade' to stop the application, delete the log, and restart.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the application causes trading disruption and is not necessary.
- ✗
Run '> /var/log/trade/app.log' to truncate the log file, then check with 'df -h'.
Why it's wrong here
Truncating an open file does not free space until the file descriptor is closed.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This XK0-006 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 XK0-006 exam.