EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question
Which TWO commands can be used to list block devices and their attributes? (Choose exactly two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Red Hat often tests the distinction between commands that list block devices (lsblk, blkid) versus commands that manage partitions (fdisk) or report filesystem usage (df, du), causing candidates to confuse 'block device attributes' with 'partition table' or 'disk usage' information.
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
✓
lsblk
B (lsblk) is correct because it lists all block devices (e.g., /dev/sda, /dev/nvme0n1) and displays their attributes such as size, type, mount point, and model in a tree-like format by reading the sysfs filesystem. E (blkid) is correct because it shows block device attributes like UUID, filesystem type, and LABEL by querying the libblkid library, which reads metadata directly from the device.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
fdisk -l
Why it's wrong here
fdisk -l is a partitioning utility that reads and displays the partition table (MBR or GPT) of block devices, but it does not enumerate all block devices or their attributes such as UUIDs, filesystem types, or mount points. It requires elevated privileges to list full information and will typically omit non-partitioned devices like LVM logical volumes and software RAID arrays. Therefore, while it touches block devices, it is not a general-purpose block-device listing command.
- ✓
lsblk
Why this is correct
lsblk reads the sysfs filesystem to present all available block devices as a hierarchical tree, showing essential attributes like name, size, type, and mount point, and with the -f flag adds filesystem type, UUID, and label. It is the canonical, dependency-free command for listing block devices quickly, and it runs without root for basic output. This directly answers the request to list block devices, making it the correct choice.
- ✗
du
Why it's wrong here
du (disk usage) estimates and reports the space consumed by files and directories by recursively walking the directory tree, not by enumerating device nodes. It has no knowledge of block devices themselves; it operates on paths within a mounted filesystem and cannot list /dev/sda, NVMe namespaces, or other block devices. Thus du is clearly irrelevant to listing block devices.
- ✗
df
Why it's wrong here
df (disk free) shows capacity and usage statistics for mounted filesystems, identifying the underlying source device in the first column, but it only displays attached filesystems that are currently mounted. It does not list unmounted block devices, swap partitions, or device attributes such as UUID and filesystem type, and it focuses on filesystem space rather than device enumeration. Therefore df is not a block-device listing command.
- ✓
blkid
Why this is correct
blkid (from util-linux) interrogates block devices and prints their identity attributes — including UUID, filesystem type, LABEL, and PARTUUID — by reading the superblock and partition metadata. It can list all recognized block devices via 'blkid' alone and is the standard tool for identifying devices for /etc/fstab or mounting scripts. Its explicit purpose is to expose block-device attributes, making it a correct answer alongside lsblk.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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