XK0-006 System Management Practice Question

Which command is used to query the status of a service managed by systemd?

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 servicename

systemctl status shows whether a service is active, enabled, and recent log entries.

Answer analysis

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
journalctl -u servicename
Why it's wrong here
journalctl -u reads the unit's log entries, showing output and errors, but not the unit's active state, loaded path or dependency status. It is the right choice when diagnosing why a service failed by inspecting its logs, not for querying whether the service is currently running.
✗
service servicename status
Why it's wrong here
The service wrapper maps to SysV init scripts and returns limited information; it does not report systemd unit state, dependencies or recent log lines. It is the right choice on legacy SysV systems without systemd, not on a host where the service is managed by systemd.
✗
systemctl list-units --type=service
Why it's wrong here
list-units enumerates loaded units and their active states, giving a summary rather than the detailed status of one named service. It is the right choice for auditing which services are running or failed on a host, not for querying a specific service's status.
✓
systemctl status servicename
Why this is correct
systemctl is the control interface for systemd units, and its status subcommand reports whether the named service is active, inactive or failed, plus recent log lines. This directly satisfies the requirement to query a systemd-managed service's current state.

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