This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of devices, filesystems and fhs. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is setting up a database server that requires high reliability and support for snapshots. The storage will be on a single large disk. Which filesystem is best suited for this requirement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
ext4
Why wrong: ext4 has limited snapshot support, typically via LVM, not natively.
NTFS
Why wrong: NTFS is not a standard Linux filesystem and lacks snapshot support in Linux.
XFS
Why wrong: XFS is robust for large files but lacks native snapshot functionality.
btrfs
Btrfs natively supports snapshots, checksums, and self-healing for high reliability.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
btrfs
Btrfs (B-tree filesystem) is best suited for this requirement because it natively supports snapshots, checksumming, and copy-on-write (CoW) for high reliability, all on a single disk. Unlike other Linux filesystems, btrfs provides built-in snapshot and rollback capabilities without requiring an external volume manager, making it ideal for database servers needing consistent point-in-time backups.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
ext4
Why it's wrong here
ext4 has limited snapshot support, typically via LVM, not natively.
NTFS
Why it's wrong here
NTFS is not a standard Linux filesystem and lacks snapshot support in Linux.
XFS
Why it's wrong here
XFS is robust for large files but lacks native snapshot functionality.
btrfs
Why this is correct
Btrfs natively supports snapshots, checksums, and self-healing for high reliability.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often choose XFS for its high performance with large files, but they overlook that XFS lacks native snapshot support, while btrfs is specifically designed for advanced features like snapshots and self-healing on a single disk.
Detailed technical explanation
Btrfs implements snapshots via copy-on-write (CoW) subvolumes, where a snapshot is a read-only or writable clone that shares data blocks with the original until modifications occur. This allows instant, space-efficient snapshots without duplicating data, and btrfs can perform checksumming on both data and metadata to detect silent corruption. In a real-world database scenario, btrfs snapshots can be used for consistent backups without locking the database, leveraging the filesystem's ability to freeze I/O via 'btrfs subvolume snapshot -r'.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Devices, Filesystems and FHS — This question tests Devices, Filesystems and FHS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: btrfs — Btrfs (B-tree filesystem) is best suited for this requirement because it natively supports snapshots, checksumming, and copy-on-write (CoW) for high reliability, all on a single disk. Unlike other Linux filesystems, btrfs provides built-in snapshot and rollback capabilities without requiring an external volume manager, making it ideal for database servers needing consistent point-in-time backups.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-1 exam.
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