mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
XK0-006 Practice Question: A system is experiencing high CPU usage due to a…
A system is experiencing high CPU usage due to a background process with PID 2345. The administrator wants to reduce the process's priority by 5 without stopping it. Which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the sign of the nice value: candidates often think a negative number reduces priority, but in Linux, a higher nice value (positive adjustment) actually lowers priority, while a negative adjustment increases it.
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
✓
renice -n +5 -p 2345
The correct command is `renice -n +5 -p 2345` because `renice` adjusts the scheduling priority of a running process. A positive niceness value (+5) lowers the priority (makes the process 'nicer' to others), which reduces CPU usage. The `-n` flag specifies the adjustment value, and `-p` identifies the process by PID. This matches the requirement to reduce priority by 5 without stopping the process.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kill -STOP 2345
Why it's wrong here
Suspends the process, does not adjust priority.
- ✗
renice -n -5 -p 2345
Why it's wrong here
This raises the priority (lower nice value), opposite of the goal.
- ✗
kill -9 2345
Why it's wrong here
Kills the process, not desired.
- ✓
renice -n +5 -p 2345
Why this is correct
Adds 5 to the nice value, lowering the priority.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Process Management and System Monitoring
Key term
Process
In IT service management, a process is a structured set of activities designed to accomplish a specific objective, such as managing incidents or changes, by transforming inputs into defined outputs.
Key term
Value
Value is the perceived worth, benefit, or usefulness that a service, product, or activity delivers to stakeholders, especially customers and the business.
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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.