XK0-006 System Management Practice Question
An administrator notices that a service named 'httpd' is not running. They want to check its current status and, if inactive, start it. Which set of systemctl commands 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
✓
systemctl status httpd; if inactive, systemctl start httpd
systemctl status httpd shows the status; if inactive, systemctl start httpd starts it. The other options have incorrect commands or syntax.
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 list-units httpd; if inactive, systemctl run httpd
Why it's wrong here
systemctl list-units only lists loaded units and cannot start anything; systemctl run is not a valid subcommand. Checking status and starting a unit requires systemctl status followed by systemctl start. list-units is genuinely useful for enumerating all active units when diagnosing broadly, but not for querying or starting one named service.
- ✗
systemctl show httpd; if inactive, systemctl launch httpd
Why it's wrong here
systemctl show displays properties rather than active state, and systemctl launch is not a valid subcommand, so the sequence fails. It tempts because show sounds like status and launch sounds like start, and would be correct only if replaced with systemctl status httpd and systemctl start httpd.
- ✗
systemctl is-active httpd; if inactive, systemctl enable httpd
Why it's wrong here
systemctl enable only configures the unit to start at boot; it does not start httpd now, so the service stays inactive. The stem requires immediate activation. enable is the right command when the goal is persistence across reboots, not bringing a currently stopped service up in the running session.
- ✓
systemctl status httpd; if inactive, systemctl start httpd
Why this is correct
systemctl status httpd reports whether the unit is active, inactive or failed, and systemctl start httpd launches it if inactive. This pairing satisfies the requirement to check current state before conditionally starting the service, using systemd's native unit management.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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.
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
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