LPIC-1 Shells, Scripting and Data Management Practice Question
A user needs to schedule a backup script to run every weekday at 2:00 AM. Which command should they use to set up this recurring job?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse `at` (one‑time scheduling) with `cron` (recurring scheduling), or think `sleep` in a loop can replace cron, but cron is the only correct tool for fixed recurring jobs in Linux.
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
✓
crontab -e and add a line
The cron daemon is the standard Linux tool for scheduling recurring jobs at specific times. Using `crontab -e` allows the user to edit their personal crontab file and add a line like `0 2 * * 1-5 /path/to/backup.sh` to run the script every weekday (Monday through Friday) at 2:00 AM.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
sleep 3600 && ./backup.sh
Why it's wrong here
Chaining sleep with && runs the script once after a fixed delay, not on a recurring weekday schedule; it also blocks the shell. It suits a one-off delayed execution within a session, but cron is required for repeating jobs.
- ✓
crontab -e and add a line
Why this is correct
crontab -e opens the user's crontab for editing, where a schedule such as 0 2 * * 1-5 runs the backup script at 02:00 Monday through Friday. This satisfies the weekday-only, recurring requirement, unlike at or systemd timers for one-off jobs.
- ✗
at -f backup.sh 2:00
Why it's wrong here
The at command schedules a one-off job, not a recurring weekday schedule; cron with a weekday field is required. It is tempting because at does accept a time argument and script file, and would be correct for a single backup run at 2:00 AM on one specific date.
- ✗
batch
Why it's wrong here
batch queues a job to run once when system load drops below a threshold, at no fixed time and without recurrence. It fits deferring a heavy one-off task, not a weekday 2:00 AM schedule, which requires a cron entry.
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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.