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XK0-006 Practice Question: A system administrator is troubleshooting a…
A system administrator is troubleshooting a custom systemd service that fails to start. Which of the following commands should be used to diagnose the issue? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often pick `systemctl daemon-reload` (A) thinking it will fix the issue by reloading unit files, but it does not provide diagnostic output; the exam tests the distinction between reloading configuration and retrieving failure logs.
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
✓
systemctl status myservice
The `systemctl status myservice` command (B) is correct because it shows the current state of the service, including whether it is active, failed, or inactive, along with recent log entries and the exit code. The `journalctl -u myservice` command (E) is correct because it retrieves the full systemd journal logs specifically for that unit, which is essential for diagnosing why the service failed to start, such as missing dependencies or configuration errors.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
systemctl daemon-reload
Why it's wrong here
Reloads unit files, does not diagnose failures.
- ✓
systemctl status myservice
Why this is correct
Displays service status and recent log entries.
- ✗
systemctl enable myservice
Why it's wrong here
Enables service at boot, not diagnostic.
- ✗
systemctl list-units
Why it's wrong here
Lists all units, not diagnostic.
- ✓
journalctl -u myservice
Why this is correct
Shows full journal for the specified unit.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Process Management and System Monitoring
Key term
systemd
systemd is a system and service manager for Linux operating systems that initializes and manages processes, services, and system resources after the kernel boots.
Key term
systemctl
systemctl is the command-line tool used to inspect, start, stop, enable, or disable services managed by the systemd init system in Linux.
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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.