XK0-006 System Management Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting a service that fails to start. The administrator wants to view the last 50 lines of the service's journal log entries from the current boot. Which journalctl command should be used?
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
✓
journalctl -u service -b -n 50
journalctl -u service -b -n 50 shows entries for the unit (-u), from current boot (-b), last 50 lines (-n 50).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
journalctl -f -n 50 -u service
Why it's wrong here
-f follows new entries; not appropriate for viewing past entries.
- ✗
journalctl -u service --since today
Why it's wrong here
Shows entries since midnight, not necessarily from current boot, and not limited to 50 lines.
- ✗
journalctl -x -n 50 -u service
Why it's wrong here
-x adds explanatory messages but doesn't filter by boot; still shows from current boot by default? Actually without -b it shows all entries, but recent. However, it might include previous boots. The -b is needed to guarantee current boot.
- ✓
journalctl -u service -b -n 50
Why this is correct
Correct.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
System Troubleshooting and Performance Tuning
Key term
journalctl
Journalctl is a command-line tool used to view and query logs collected by the systemd journal, which stores system and application messages on Linux systems.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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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.