Free LPIC-2 exam 201 Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the LPIC-2 exam 201 practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1Repeated vmstat samples show a high b value while CPU idle time remains substantial. What does the b column count?

   1. A. Processes waiting for their next CPU time slice
   2. B. Processes blocked waiting for I/O to complete
   3. C. Processes stopped by a job-control signal
   4. D. Processes terminated but awaiting parent collection

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The vmstat manual describes b as "processes blocked waiting for I/O to complete." Thus the observation identifies blocked I/O work, rather than a runnable CPU queue.

   Reference: vmstat(8) — procps-ng manual — FIELD DESCRIPTION FOR VM MODE / Procs

2. 2How are fixes normally supplied to an upstream stable Linux kernel after its mainline release?

   1. A. By merging new mainline features along with their API changes
   2. B. By taking fixes only from independent distribution kernel packages
   3. C. By backporting bug fixes from mainline into the stable tree
   4. D. By using release-candidate snapshots without a stable maintenance branch

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The Stable section says fixes are "backported from the mainline". This distinguishes stable maintenance from introducing the next mainline feature set.

   Reference: The Linux Kernel Archives — Releases — Stable

3. 3On a systemd host, an inactive service has a valid [Install] section. What does systemctl enable example.service do when used without --now?

   1. A. It starts the service immediately but leaves boot configuration unchanged
   2. B. It creates the installation symlinks without starting the service
   3. C. It reloads the service's application configuration and stops it
   4. D. It prevents dependency-based activation by linking the unit to /dev/null

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The enable description says it does "not have the effect of also starting" the units. It creates symlinks according to [Install]; starting the inactive service requires a separate start or --now.

   Reference: systemctl — systemd service manager control — Unit File Commands / enable

4. 4A filesystem must continue to mount correctly when adding disks changes /dev/sdX enumeration. Which property should be used to identify that filesystem in fstab, assuming it remains unique and unchanged?

   1. A. Its current /dev/sdX device name
   2. B. Its current mount-point directory
   3. C. Its persistent filesystem UUID
   4. D. Its filesystem type, such as ext4

   Answer: C

   Explanation: fstab allows "UUID=<uuid>" because device names can depend on "hardware detection order". A filesystem UUID identifies the filesystem across changes in enumeration. A mount point or type alone does not identify the source filesystem.

   Reference: fstab(5) — util-linux manual — DESCRIPTION / first field fs_spec

5. 5Which description correctly states the redundancy provided by a Linux md RAID0 array?

   1. A. Each data block is mirrored on every active member
   2. B. Two independent parity blocks protect each stripe
   3. C. Data is striped with no redundancy for member failure
   4. D. One distributed parity block protects each stripe

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The md manual describes RAID0 as having "zero redundancy". Striping alone does not preserve data after loss of a member, unlike mirrored or parity-protected layouts.

   Reference: md(4) — Linux multiple-device driver manual — RAID0

6. 6Which ip command adds 2001:db8:85a3::370:7334/64 as an IPv6 address on eth1?

   1. A. ip route add 2001:db8:85a3::370:7334/64 dev eth1
   2. B. ip address add 2001:db8:85a3::370:7334/64 dev eth1
   3. C. ip neighbour add 2001:db8:85a3::370:7334 dev eth1
   4. D. ip address delete 2001:db8:85a3::370:7334/64 dev eth1

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The documented IPv6 example uses "ip address add 2001:0db8:85a3::0370:7334/64 dev eth1". The equivalent compressed address in the answer adds an interface address; route and neighbour operations change different networking objects.

   Reference: ip-address(8) — iproute2 manual — EXAMPLES / adding an IPv6 address

7. 7Which GNU tar short option explicitly selects xz when unpacking a compressed source archive?

   1. A. Lowercase -z
   2. B. Lowercase -j
   3. C. Uppercase -J
   4. D. Uppercase -Z

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The -J / --xz entry says "Filter the archive through xz." The alternatives select gzip, bzip2, and compress formats.

   Reference: GNU tar Manual — Creating and Reading Compressed Archives — Compression options / -J, --xz

8. 8In interval reports from vmstat, which pair identifies memory being moved between RAM and swap storage?

   1. A. bi and bo
   2. B. us and sy
   3. C. si and so
   4. D. r and b

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The Swap section defines si using "memory swapped in" and so using "memory swapped to disk". They represent swap-in and swap-out activity; bi/bo instead report block I/O generally.

   Reference: vmstat(8) — procps-ng manual — FIELD DESCRIPTION FOR VM MODE / Swap

9. 9What is the main purpose of an upstream longterm Linux kernel release series?

   1. A. Backporting important bug fixes to an older kernel tree
   2. B. Integrating new kernel features into the mainline development tree
   3. C. Providing prerelease snapshots for testing before a stable release
   4. D. Providing distribution-specific kernel configurations and packages

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Longterm releases provide "backporting bugfixes for older kernel" trees. Mainline feature development, prerelease testing, and distribution-specific packaging are different release purposes.

   Reference: The Linux Kernel Archives — Releases — Longterm

10. 10A stopped vendor-supplied systemd service must be prevented from starting through either manual requests or dependencies. No local unit file with the same name exists. Which action provides this restriction?

    1. A. Disable the unit
    2. B. Reload the unit
    3. C. Reset the unit's failed state
    4. D. Mask the unit

    Answer: D

    Explanation: Masking makes it "impossible to start them." It links the unit to /dev/null and blocks activation. Disabling alone removes installation symlinks but does not prohibit all starts.

    Reference: systemctl — systemd service manager control — Unit File Commands / mask