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CCNA System Architecture Questions

17 of 92 questions · Page 2/2 · System Architecture · Answers revealed

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76
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE of the following are characteristics of UEFI firmware compared to legacy BIOS? (Select exactly 3.)

Select 3 answers
A.Supports booting from disks larger than 2 TB.
B.Provides a graphical user interface during firmware setup.
C.Supports Secure Boot to prevent unauthorized operating systems from loading.
D.Uses the Master Boot Record partition table.
E.Requires a boot loader stored in the Master Boot Record.
AnswersA, B, C

UEFI uses GPT which supports large disks.

Why this answer

UEFI firmware uses the GUID Partition Table (GPT) instead of MBR, which supports 64-bit logical block addressing (LBA). This allows addressing disks larger than 2 TB, as the MBR scheme is limited to 32-bit LBA and a maximum addressable size of approximately 2.2 TB. Therefore, option A is correct.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often confuse UEFI's support for GPT with MBR, incorrectly assuming UEFI still uses MBR for partition tables or boot loaders, leading them to select D or E as correct.

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77
MCQeasy

During the boot process, the system stops at a GRUB prompt. Which command should be typed to continue booting?

A.quit
B.start
C.exit
D.boot
AnswerD

'boot' boots the selected kernel image.

Why this answer

Correct: C. In GRUB, the 'boot' command is used to boot the selected kernel. Option A 'exit' exits the GRUB menu; B 'quit' is not a valid GRUB command; D 'start' is not a standard GRUB command.

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78
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO commands can be used to display the amount of free and used memory on a Linux system? (Select exactly 2.)

Select 2 answers
A.vmstat
B.du
C.cat /proc/meminfo
D.free
E.top
AnswersC, D

Directly reads kernel memory information.

Why this answer

Option C is correct because `/proc/meminfo` is a virtual file maintained by the kernel that provides detailed, real-time memory statistics, including total, free, available, and used memory. Reading this file with `cat` directly displays the current memory usage without any additional processing.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates may confuse `du` (disk usage) with memory reporting, or assume `vmstat` or `top` are primary tools for a simple free/used memory display, when `free` and `/proc/meminfo` are the direct and standard answers.

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79
MCQhard

A server with UEFI firmware and GPT partitioning has a corrupted bootloader. Which command can be used to reinstall GRUB in UEFI mode?

A.grub-install --target=x86_64-efi /dev/sda
B.grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
C.grub2-install /dev/sda
D.grub-install /dev/sda
AnswerA

Correct for UEFI systems.

Why this answer

Option B is correct because it specifies the x86_64-efi target, which installs the EFI bootloader. Option A installs to MBR (for BIOS), C is for GRUB2 in BIOS mode, and D only regenerates the configuration file.

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80
Multi-Selecthard

Which TWO conditions would cause the boot process to fall back to the GRUB rescue shell? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers
A.The GRUB modules are not loaded from the correct path.
B.The kernel image is not found in /boot.
C.The BIOS cannot find a bootable device.
D.The initramfs is missing or corrupt.
E.The /boot/grub/grub.cfg file is missing or corrupt.
AnswersA, E

If GRUB cannot load its modules (e.g., from /boot/grub), it cannot proceed and falls to rescue.

Why this answer

GRUB rescue shell appears when the GRUB core image cannot find its configuration file or necessary modules to continue booting. Missing boot files like kernel or initramfs cause a kernel panic, not GRUB rescue.

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81
MCQhard

Refer to the exhibit. How many SATA controllers are detected, and what is the connection speed of the SSD?

A.3 controllers; SSD at 6.0 Gbps
B.2 controllers; SSD at 6.0 Gbps
C.2 controllers; SSD at 3.0 Gbps
D.1 controller; SSD at 6.0 Gbps
AnswerB

Two ata ports detected; SSD link speed is 6.0 Gbps.

Why this answer

The output from `lspci` shows two SATA controllers: one identified as 'SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801IBM/IEM (ICH9M/ICH9M-E) 4 port SATA Controller' and another as 'SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801IBM/IEM (ICH9M/ICH9M-E) 2 port SATA Controller'. The SSD is connected to the 6 Gbps port, as indicated by the '6 Gbps' label in the device listing, confirming a 6.0 Gbps connection speed.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates may miscount the number of SATA controllers by confusing individual ports or devices with separate controllers, or misread the speed indicator (e.g., assuming all SATA ports are 3.0 Gbps by default).

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because it claims 3 controllers are detected, but the exhibit only lists two distinct SATA controllers. Option C is wrong because it states the SSD is at 3.0 Gbps, but the exhibit explicitly shows '6 Gbps' for the SSD. Option D is wrong because it says only 1 controller is detected, while the exhibit clearly shows two separate SATA controller entries.

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82
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE of the following are valid systemd targets?

Select 3 answers
A.rescue.target
B.sysinit.target
C.always.target
D.basic.target
E.runlevel4.target
AnswersA, B, D

A standard systemd target for rescue mode.

Why this answer

Correct options are A, B, C. rescue.target, sysinit.target, and basic.target are all standard systemd targets. Option D (runlevel4.target) is not a standard systemd target (runlevel4.target is missing; systemd uses runlevel?.target symlinks but runlevel4.target is not defined by default). Option E (always.target) does not exist in systemd.

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83
Multi-Selectmedium

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to reduce boot time on a Linux system? (Select exactly 2.)

Select 2 answers
A.Disable unnecessary systemd services.
B.Use an initramfs with minimal drivers.
C.Replace a hard disk drive with a solid-state drive.
D.Increase the kernel log level to debug.
E.Use ext2 instead of ext4 as the root filesystem.
AnswersA, C

Reduces the number of processes started sequentially.

Why this answer

Disabling unnecessary systemd services reduces the number of processes that must be started during boot, directly decreasing the time spent in the target phase of systemd's parallel service activation. Each disabled service eliminates its own dependency resolution, unit loading, and execution overhead, which is especially impactful on systems with many enabled services.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'reducing boot time' with 'reducing kernel size' or 'removing features,' but the two most effective methods are eliminating unnecessary startup processes (services) and upgrading the storage hardware to reduce I/O wait, not tweaking filesystem types or kernel logging verbosity.

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84
MCQhard

A system boots in UEFI mode, and the administrator wants to add a new kernel entry to the EFI boot manager. Which tool should be used?

A.efibootmgr
B.grub2-install
C.lilo
D.mknbi
AnswerA

Efibootmgr is the standard tool to create, delete, and modify EFI boot entries.

Why this answer

The correct option is D: efibootmgr is a tool for managing EFI boot entries. Option A (grub2-install) installs GRUB but does not manage boot entries. Option B (mknbi) is for network boot.

Option C (lilo) is a legacy bootloader.

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85
MCQmedium

A system administrator suspects a failing power supply because the server randomly reboots. Which command can be used to check hardware health and event logs?

A.ipmitool sensor list
B.sensors -u
C.lspci -v
D.dmidecode -t baseboard
AnswerA

ipmitool accesses IPMI BMC for sensor readings and event logs, ideal for hardware health monitoring.

Why this answer

Option A (dmidecode) reads DMI/SMBIOS tables for hardware info but not event logs. Option B (ipmitool) can query the BMC sensor data and event logs (SEL) via IPMI, which is useful for detecting power supply issues. Option C (lspci) lists PCI devices.

Option D (sensors) reads thermal sensors but not comprehensive logs. So B is correct.

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86
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to list currently loaded kernel modules?

Select 2 answers
A.dmesg | grep module
B.lsmod
C.modprobe -l
D.cat /proc/modules
E.modinfo
AnswersB, D

Standard command to list loaded modules.

Why this answer

Options A and C are correct: 'lsmod' and 'cat /proc/modules' both display loaded modules. 'modinfo' shows information about a specific module, 'dmesg | grep module' shows kernel messages, and 'modprobe -l' lists available modules, not loaded ones.

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87
MCQhard

A server has two disk drives: /dev/sda (SSD) and /dev/sdb (HDD). The administrator wants to place frequently accessed files on the SSD for performance. Which approach best achieves this using Linux filesystem features?

A.Create separate LVM logical volumes on each disk and mount them at different mount points.
B.Configure RAID 0 across both disks to combine speed.
C.Use symbolic links to redirect file access to the SSD.
D.Use a union mount to overlay the SSD on top of the HDD.
AnswerA

LVM allows flexible allocation of storage from different physical volumes.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because LVM allows the administrator to create separate logical volumes on each physical disk (/dev/sda and /dev/sdb) and mount them at distinct mount points. By placing frequently accessed files on the SSD logical volume and less critical data on the HDD logical volume, the administrator can directly control which files benefit from the SSD's faster performance without mixing data or requiring complex overlays.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates may confuse RAID 0's speed benefits with the goal of isolating hot data, failing to recognize that RAID 0 mixes all data across both disks, preventing the administrator from selectively placing frequently accessed files on the faster SSD.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option B is wrong because RAID 0 stripes data across both disks, combining their storage capacity and speed but also mixing frequently and infrequently accessed data on both the SSD and HDD, which negates the goal of isolating hot data on the faster SSD. Option C is wrong because symbolic links redirect file access at the filesystem level but do not provide a mechanism to automatically or efficiently place frequently accessed files on the SSD; they require manual management and do not leverage any filesystem feature for performance tiering. Option D is wrong because a union mount overlays one filesystem on top of another, but it does not intelligently direct frequently accessed files to the SSD; it simply merges directories, and writes typically go to the top layer, which could be the HDD, defeating the purpose.

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88
MCQeasy

Which command displays the system's architecture (e.g., x86_64)?

A.lscpu
B.All of the above
C.arch
D.uname -m
AnswerB

All three commands can display the system architecture.

Why this answer

Option B ('All of the above') is correct because each of the listed commands—lscpu, arch, and uname -m—can display the system's architecture (e.g., x86_64). lscpu parses /proc/cpuinfo to show architecture details, arch prints the machine hardware name directly, and uname -m outputs the kernel's machine hardware name, all of which report the same architecture identifier on a given system.

Exam trap

The trap here is that candidates often assume only one command can display architecture, overlooking that multiple commands (lscpu, arch, uname -m) all serve this purpose, making 'All of the above' the correct answer when it is listed.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because lscpu is a valid command that displays architecture information, but it is not the only one; the question asks which command displays the architecture, and since multiple commands do, 'All of the above' is the correct choice. Option C is wrong because arch is a valid command that outputs the architecture, but again it is not the only one, making 'All of the above' the comprehensive answer. Option D is wrong because uname -m is a valid command that shows the machine hardware name (architecture), but it is not the only command that does so, so the correct answer is the inclusive option.

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89
MCQmedium

A data center server with two NICs (eth0 and eth1) is configured for network bonding in mode 1 (active-backup). The admin notices that after a cable pull on eth0, the bond interface fails over to eth1 as expected. However, when the cable is reconnected to eth0, the bond remains on eth1 indefinitely. The admin checks /proc/net/bonding/bond0 and sees that eth0 is marked as 'up' but not as 'active'. Which parameter is most likely missing from the bond configuration? Options: A) 'miimon=100' to enable link monitoring, B) 'downdelay=0', C) 'updelay=0', D) 'primary=eth0' to prefer eth0 as the active slave.

A.updelay=0
B.downdelay=0
C.miimon=100
D.primary=eth0
AnswerD

Designates eth0 as preferred; the bond will switch back when it becomes available.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because without a primary setting, the bond does not automatically switch back to the preferred slave when it recovers. Active-backup mode does not preempt by default. Option A (miimon) is already working as failover occurred.

Options B and C adjust delay but do not cause failback. So D is needed to force failback to eth0.

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90
MCQmedium

A system administrator wants to ensure a service named 'app.service' starts automatically on boot in a systemd-based system. Which command should be used?

A.systemctl start app.service
B.systemctl enable app.service
C.chkconfig app.service on
D.update-rc.d app.service enable
AnswerB

Enables the service to start at boot.

Why this answer

Option A is correct because 'systemctl enable' creates the necessary symlinks for automatic start. Option B and C are for SysV init, and D only starts the service immediately.

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91
MCQeasy

Refer to the exhibit. What is the current default target?

A.emergency.target
B.multi-user.target
C.rescue.target
D.graphical.target
AnswerB

Both the command output and the symlink indicate multi-user.target.

Why this answer

The systemctl get-default command explicitly shows multi-user.target, and the symlink confirms it points to the multi-user.target unit file.

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92
MCQmedium

A system administrator notices that the system boots to the graphical interface but wants to change it to boot to a non-graphical multi-user target. Which command will make this change persistent?

A.systemctl set-default multi-user.target
B.systemctl isolate multi-user.target
C.systemctl enable multi-user.target
D.systemctl start multi-user.target
AnswerA

Sets the default target persistently.

Why this answer

Correct: A. The 'systemctl set-default multi-user.target' command sets the default target to multi-user, which is persistent across reboots. Option B (isolate) changes the current target but not the default; C (enable) is used for services, not targets; D (start) starts a target but does not set default.

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