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XK0-006 Practice Question: Which TWO commands are used to view logs in a…
Which TWO commands are used to view logs in a systemd-based system? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse `systemctl` (service management) with `journalctl` (log viewing) because both are systemd commands, and they may also mistakenly think `tail -f /var/log/messages` is universally available on modern systemd-based distributions.
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
✓
dmesg
C is correct because `dmesg` reads the kernel ring buffer, which contains boot-time and hardware-related log messages, and is commonly used to view logs on systemd-based systems. D is correct because `journalctl` is the primary command for querying and viewing logs from systemd's journal (managed by `systemd-journald`), which is the default logging subsystem in systemd-based distributions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
tail -f /var/log/messages
Why it's wrong here
This shows traditional syslog file, but it is a file display command, not a systemd-native command.
- ✗
syslog
Why it's wrong here
syslog is a daemon, not a command; the command would be logger or tailing syslog files.
- ✓
dmesg
Why this is correct
dmesg shows kernel log messages.
- ✓
journalctl
Why this is correct
journalctl is used to query the systemd journal.
- ✗
systemctl
Why it's wrong here
systemctl manages services, not log viewing.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Process Management and System Monitoring
Key term
dmesg
dmesg is a Linux command that displays messages from the kernel ring buffer, used to diagnose hardware and boot issues.
Key term
journald
journald is the systemd logging service that collects, stores, and manages system logs on modern Linux distributions, providing structured log data and binary log files.
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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.