LPIC-2 File Sharing and Samba Practice Question
A system administrator wants to configure a Samba share that grants read-only access to the 'staff' group and full control to the 'managers' group. Which share configuration achieves this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the `+` and `@` prefixes for group references in Samba, leading candidates to incorrectly apply `+` in `write list` or `@` in `valid users` without understanding the subtle differences in their behavior.
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
✓
[share] path = /srv/share valid users = +staff write list = @managers
The `valid users = +staff` directive restricts access to members of the 'staff' group (the `+` prefix means a Unix group), while the `write list = @managers` directive grants write access to members of the 'managers' group (the `@` prefix also means a Unix group). This combination ensures that 'staff' members have read-only access by default, and 'managers' members have full control (read/write).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
[share] path = /srv/share valid users = +staff write list = @managers
Why this is correct
Read-only for staff, write for managers
- ✗
[share] path = /srv/share valid users = @managers write list = @managers
Why it's wrong here
Only managers can access, not staff
- ✗
[share] path = /srv/share valid users = +staff write list = +managers
Why it's wrong here
Invalid syntax: + instead of @
- ✗
[share] path = /srv/share valid users = @staff write list = @staff
Why it's wrong here
Gives write access to staff, not managers
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-2 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-2 exam.