easyMultiple Choice
XK0-006 Practice Question: A system administrator notices that a server's…
A system administrator notices that a server's disk space is critically low. Which command should be used to identify the largest files or directories consuming space?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse `df -h` (filesystem-level usage) with `du` (directory-level usage), mistakenly thinking `df` can identify specific large files or directories when it only shows aggregate mount-point consumption.
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
✓
du -sh /*
`du -sh /*` recursively calculates disk usage for each top-level directory and file under root, summarizing sizes in human-readable format. This directly identifies the largest space consumers, which is the stated goal. The `-s` flag provides a total per argument, and `/*` targets all immediate children of `/`.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ls -la /
Why it's wrong here
Listing directory entries with ls -la shows permissions, ownership and sizes of files within one directory, but does not recurse or rank them, so it cannot reveal which directories consume the most space. It is tempting because it displays sizes, yet du and sort are needed to aggregate and order usage across the filesystem.
- ✗
fdisk -l
Why it's wrong here
fdisk -l reads the partition table, reporting disk geometry, partition boundaries and sizes, not per-file or per-directory consumption. It is tempting when investigating capacity, since it confirms how the disk is divided, but it cannot identify which files or directories are filling those partitions.
- ✗
df -h
Why it's wrong here
df -h reports free and used space per mounted filesystem, so it confirms the disk is full but never attributes usage to individual files or directories. It is tempting as the first capacity check, and would be correct for identifying which mount point is exhausted, not what is consuming it.
- ✓
du -sh /*
Why this is correct
`du -sh /*` reports the apparent disk usage of each top-level directory, with `-s` summarising rather than listing every file and `-h` giving human-readable sizes. This directly satisfies the stem's need to pinpoint which directories consume the most space on the critically full server.
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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.