EX200 Operate running systems Practice Question
A system administrator receives reports that a web server service (httpd) fails to start after a reboot. The administrator checks the service status and sees it is disabled. Which of the following is the most appropriate command to ensure the service starts automatically on future reboots?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse `systemctl start` (immediate runtime action) with `systemctl enable` (boot-time configuration), leading them to choose a command that works now but fails to persist across reboots.
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
✓
systemctl enable httpd
The `systemctl enable httpd` command creates the necessary symlinks in the systemd unit configuration directory (typically `/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/`) to ensure the httpd service starts automatically at boot. Since the service is disabled after reboot, enabling it is the correct action to set it to start on future reboots.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
systemctl start httpd
Why it's wrong here
This command only initiates the httpd service in the current boot session, using the unit's configuration without modifying any persistent state. Because it does not create the necessary symlinks in the systemd unit dependency tree, the service will not automatically start when the system reboots. The administrator needs an additional step to configure boot-time activation.
- ✓
systemctl enable httpd
Why this is correct
This is the correct command because it creates symbolic links in /etc/systemd/system/ (typically into multi-user.target.wants or similar) that instruct systemd to start httpd automatically at boot. It does not start the service immediately; it only establishes the persistent configuration for future boots. This directly addresses the requirement that the web server starts automatically after a reboot.
- ✗
systemctl restart httpd
Why it's wrong here
This command stops and then starts the httpd service in the current session, which is useful for applying new configuration or recovering from a failure, but it has no effect on the service's enabled status. It does not create any boot-time dependencies, so the service will remain inactive after a reboot unless it was already enabled. Restart is a runtime operation, not a persistent enablement operation.
- ✗
systemctl daemon-reload
Why it's wrong here
This command tells systemd to reload its manager configuration, re-reading unit files from disk to pick up changes such as modified ExecStart or dependency directives. It does not change whether a service is enabled or disabled, nor does it start the service. If the httpd unit file is unchanged, daemon-reload would have no impact on boot-time behavior.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This EX200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat 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 EX200 exam.