LPIC-2 Practice Question: Block Devices, Filesystems and Advanced Storage
An administrator is designing a high-availability storage solution using DRBD. The requirement is to have two nodes with synchronous replication and automatic failover in case of primary node failure. Which configuration best achieves this?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume Heartbeat is sufficient for automatic failover, but Pacemaker is the modern, recommended cluster stack that supports Primary/Primary DRBD and provides proper fencing and resource management.
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
✓
DRBD in Primary/Primary mode managed by Pacemaker cluster stack.
DRBD in Primary/Primary mode, managed by the Pacemaker cluster stack, provides synchronous replication and automatic failover. Pacemaker monitors node health and can promote the secondary node to primary automatically upon primary failure, meeting the high-availability requirement without manual intervention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Export the DRBD block device via NFS and use a load balancer.
Why it's wrong here
NFS adds a single point of failure and complexity.
- ✗
Primary/Secondary DRBD resource with manual failover using drbdadm.
Why it's wrong here
Manual failover does not meet the automatic failover requirement.
- ✗
DRBD with Heartbeat to automatically promote the secondary on primary failure.
Why it's wrong here
This provides automatic failover but only one active node, not optimal for HA.
- ✓
DRBD in Primary/Primary mode managed by Pacemaker cluster stack.
Why this is correct
Allows both nodes active and automatic failover via Pacemaker.
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JA
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.