EX200 Deploy, configure, and maintain systems Practice Question
An administrator wants to change the default systemd target to multi-user.target. Which three steps are part of a correct procedure? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse `systemctl enable` (which controls whether a unit starts at boot) with `systemctl set-default` (which sets the default target for boot), and they may think `systemctl start` is sufficient to change the active target, not realizing that `isolate` is required to properly transition systemd to a different target.
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 isolate multi-user.target
`systemctl isolate multi-user.target` immediately switches the current systemd target to multi-user.target, which is the correct way to change the active target at runtime without a reboot. This command stops all units not required by the new target and starts those that are, effectively changing the system's operational state.
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 enable multi-user.target
Why it's wrong here
systemctl enable multi-user.target is incorrect because enable only creates dependency symlinks (in .wants or .requires directories) that pull a unit into the boot transaction; it does not alter the default target. The default boot target is determined by the symlink at /etc/systemd/system/default.target, and enabling a target leaves that symlink unchanged, so the system would still boot to the previous default.
- ✗
systemctl start multi-user.target
Why it's wrong here
systemctl start multi-user.target is the wrong way to change the active target because start is additive—it activates the target and its dependencies without deactivating the units of the current target, leading to an inconsistent runtime state where graphical and multi-user units coexist. This command also has no persistence across reboots, so it neither changes the default nor properly isolates the system to a pure multi-user environment.
- ✓
systemctl isolate multi-user.target
Why this is correct
systemctl isolate multi-user.target is correct because it atomically switches the currently running target by stopping all units not required by multi-user.target and starting the required ones, effectively performing a runtime runlevel switch. This is the proper way to change the active target immediately, and while it does not modify the default for future boots, it is the necessary command to apply a target change without a reboot.
- ✓
ln -sf /lib/systemd/system/multi-user.target /etc/systemd/system/default.target
Why this is correct
ln -sf /lib/systemd/system/multi-user.target /etc/systemd/system/default.target is a correct manual method for setting the default target because the boot process reads the default.target symlink in /etc/systemd/system to determine the initial target. The -f flag overwrites any existing symlink, and using /lib/systemd/system is valid on both merged and unmerged /usr systems, making this command functionally equivalent to systemctl set-default, though performed at the filesystem level.
- ✓
systemctl set-default multi-user.target
Why this is correct
systemctl set-default multi-user.target is the canonical systemd command for changing the default boot target because it creates the proper symlink at /etc/systemd/system/default.target pointing to the specified target unit. Unlike isolate, it has no immediate effect on the current runtime environment; it only determines which target systemd will enter at the next boot. This is the recommended, user-friendly approach and is the standard way to persist a default target change.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This EX200 question is part of Courseiva's 127-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.