LPIC-1 System Architecture Practice Question
A technician needs to identify the hardware installed on a Linux workstation. The technician runs a command that prints a hierarchical tree of PCI devices showing vendor and device IDs, along with the kernel driver in use. Which command was most likely executed?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse tools that enumerate different buses or hardware classes, such as lsusb or lsblk, with the PCI-specific lspci command and its driver-listing option.
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
✓
lspci -k
The lspci utility enumerates PCI devices, and its -k option adds the kernel driver and modules handling each device. That combination directly satisfies the need to see a PCI device tree with vendor/device IDs and driver information. Storage, USB, and DMI tools cover other hardware classes and do not provide the required PCI driver mapping.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
dmidecode -t memory
Why it's wrong here
dmidecode -t memory reads SMBIOS/DMI tables to report memory module details such as size, speed, and manufacturer. It does not enumerate PCI devices or show which kernel driver is bound to them. It answers a different hardware question than the one in the scenario.
- ✗
lsblk -f
Why it's wrong here
lsblk -f lists block devices with filesystem type, UUID, and mount point. It focuses on storage rather than PCI hardware, and it does not show PCI vendor IDs or kernel drivers. While useful for disk inventory, it does not meet the scenario's need to inspect PCI devices and their drivers.
- ✗
lsusb -t
Why it's wrong here
lsusb -t displays a tree of USB devices and their interfaces, not PCI devices. It shows bus and port topology for USB controllers and connected peripherals, so it would not reveal PCI vendor IDs or kernel drivers bound to PCI functions. The scenario specifically requires PCI device information with driver bindings.
- ✓
lspci -k
Why this is correct
lspci -k lists PCI devices and, for each, shows the kernel driver and kernel modules in use. This matches the requirement for a hierarchical view of PCI devices with vendor and device IDs and driver information. It reads from /sys and /proc/bus/pci, making it the standard tool for PCI hardware inspection.
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About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every LPIC-1 question from scratch — 402 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official LPI exam blueprint
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.