GNU and Unix Commands →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

LPIC-1 GNU and Unix Commands Practice Question

Exhibit

Filesystem     1K-blocks    Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1       10485760 9437184   1048576  90% /
/dev/sdb1       20971520 20971520       0 100% /var

Refer to the exhibit. Which file system is full and what is the likely consequence if the administrator does not take action?

⚠ Common exam trap

LPI often tests the misconception that a full root filesystem (/dev/sda1) is the only critical issue, but the trap here is that /var (often a separate partition) can fill up silently, causing application failures without an immediate system crash.

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

✓

/dev/sdb1 is full; applications writing to /var may fail.

The exhibit shows that /dev/sdb1, mounted on /var, has 0% available space (100% used). The /var directory stores variable data such as logs, spool files, and temporary files. If /var fills up, critical services like syslog, cron, or package managers (e.g., apt, yum) cannot write to their log or spool files, causing applications that depend on /var to fail. This is why option D is correct.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Both are full; system will crash.
Why it's wrong here
Only /var is full.
✗
/dev/sda1 is full; system may become unstable.
Why it's wrong here
/dev/sda1 is at 90%, not full.
✗
Neither is full; available space is sufficient.
Why it's wrong here
/dev/sdb1 has no available space.
✓
/dev/sdb1 is full; applications writing to /var may fail.
Why this is correct
The mount point /var is at 100% usage.

Go deeper

LPIC-1 GNU and Unix Commands Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

Related to this question