EX200 Deploy, configure, and maintain systems Practice Question
Exhibit
# df -h Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/sda1 9.8G 6.2G 3.2G 66% / /dev/sda2 4.0G 2.1G 1.8G 54% /boot /dev/mapper/vg_data-lv_backup 500G 450G 50G 90% /backup tmpfs 7.8G 1.2G 6.6G 16% /dev/shm
Refer to the exhibit. An administrator needs to free up space in the /backup filesystem. Which of the following actions would be MOST effective?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse freeing space in a filesystem with managing the underlying logical volume, leading them to choose lvreduce or lvextend instead of the simple file removal that directly addresses the space shortage.
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
✓
Remove unnecessary files in /backup
The most direct way to free up space in the /backup filesystem is to remove unnecessary files stored there. This action immediately reclaims available space without altering the underlying logical volume or affecting other filesystems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the size of the logical volume
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the LV with lvextend and then resizing the filesystem merely appends new extents to the logical volume; it does not reclaim any blocks already consumed by files in /backup. If the volume group lacks free physical extents, lvextend will fail, and even if it succeeds, the /backup filesystem remains just as full in terms of used space. This approach masks the symptom but does not solve the underlying need to free storage.
- ✓
Remove unnecessary files in /backup
Why this is correct
Removing unnecessary files directly from the /backup mount point is the correct remedy because /backup is its own logical volume/filesystem, so freeing blocks there reduces the used capacity. Use commands such as `find /backup -type f -size +100M -ls`, `du -xh --max-depth=1 /backup`, or `rm` to identify and delete obsolete backups, then confirm the change with `df -h /backup`. This is the only action that actually frees space on the target filesystem.
- ✗
Delete old log files in /var/log
Why it's wrong here
Deleting old log files under /var/log will not help because /var/log resides on the root filesystem (/), not on the separate logical volume mounted at /backup. Each mount point has its own filesystem, so space freed in /var/log only affects the root's available inodes/blocks. Even if /var/log is on its own LV, it is a different LV than the one backing /backup, making this action irrelevant to the reported space pressure.
- ✗
Use lvreduce to shrink the logical volume
Why it's wrong here
Using `lvreduce` to shrink the logical volume will decrease the available capacity of /backup, which is already full, making the problem worse. Shrinking an LV requires first shrinking the filesystem with a tool like `resize2fs` (and is not supported on XFS), plus unmounting the filesystem—operations that are risky and data-destructive if the new size is miscalculated. This command does not remove any data; it only reduces the filesystem's boundaries, further limiting the space available for new and existing files.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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