LFCS Service Configuration Practice Question
An administrator configures a systemd service with Restart=on-failure and RestartSec=10. What happens if the service exits with a non-zero exit code?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse Restart=on-failure with Restart=always, assuming any exit triggers a restart, or they forget that RestartSec applies even when Restart=on-failure is set, leading them to choose 'immediately' (Option A).
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
✓
It waits 10 seconds before restarting
When Restart=on-failure is set, systemd only restarts the service if it exits with a non-zero exit code or is terminated by a signal (excluding SIGHUP, SIGINT, SIGTERM, and SIGPIPE). The RestartSec=10 directive then introduces a 10-second delay before the restart attempt, preventing rapid restart loops and giving the system time to stabilize.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
It restarts immediately
Why it's wrong here
RestartSec introduces a delay.
- ✗
It retries infinitely regardless of exit code
Why it's wrong here
on-failure only triggers on failure, not success.
- ✗
It does not restart
Why it's wrong here
on-failure restarts on exit code != 0.
- ✓
It waits 10 seconds before restarting
Why this is correct
RestartSec defines the delay between restart attempts.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation 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 LFCS exam.