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PK0-005 Practice Question: A server administrator is troubleshooting a…
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. === backup.log === 2025-03-15 02:00:01 INFO: Starting daily backup job 2025-03-15 02:00:05 INFO: Mounting backup volume /dev/sdb1 2025-03-15 02:00:07 ERROR: Volume /dev/sdb1 is not a valid backup volume 2025-03-15 02:00:08 ERROR: Backup aborted 2025-03-15 02:00:09 INFO: Unmounting volume === fstab === /dev/sda1 / ext4 defaults 0 1 /dev/sdb1 /backup ext4 defaults 0 2 /dev/sdc1 /var ext4 defaults 0 2 === backup_script.sh === #!/bin/bash mount /dev/sdb1 /backup rsync -av /data /backup umount /backup
A server administrator is troubleshooting a failed backup job. The backup software configuration specifies a backup volume by its UUID, but the logs indicate that the specified volume cannot be found. What is the most likely cause of the error?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume a 'failed backup job' is always due to insufficient space or a corrupted filesystem, overlooking the subtle but common configuration mismatch between the expected volume identifier and the actual volume identifier.
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
✓
The backup volume's filesystem label or UUID does not match the expected value in the backup software configuration.
The backup software configuration specifies a filesystem label or UUID for the backup volume, but the actual volume has a different label or UUID. This mismatch prevents the backup software from locating the intended target volume, causing the job to fail. This is a common configuration issue that would be evident from examining the configuration files and the volume properties.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The backup volume has a corrupted filesystem.
Why it's wrong here
A corrupted filesystem produces I/O or mount errors once the device is accessed, not a failure to resolve its UUID beforehand. Corruption is the likely cause when the volume mounts intermittently or reports read/write faults.
- ✗
The backup volume is out of space.
Why it's wrong here
A full volume would produce write failures or quota errors during the job, not a lookup failure for the UUID itself. Capacity exhaustion is tempting because backups commonly fail on insufficient storage, and expanding the target volume would be the fix when logs show space errors rather than an unresolvable device identifier.
- ✓
The backup volume's filesystem label or UUID does not match the expected value in the backup software configuration.
Why this is correct
A UUID is assigned when a filesystem is created, so reformatting the volume generates a new identifier that no longer matches the value recorded in the backup software configuration. The job therefore cannot resolve the specified volume, producing the "volume cannot be found" error described in the logs.
- ✗
The backup script is not scheduled to run at the correct time.
Why it's wrong here
Scheduling determines when the job runs, not whether the volume's UUID resolves; a mistimed run would still execute against a valid device path. Scheduling is the correct focus when jobs succeed manually but never trigger automatically.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PK0-005 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 PK0-005 exam.