SK0-005 CompTIA Server+ Certification Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Two-person integrity is a security measure that can be implemented to increase security against a potential insider threat on an air-gapped system. An air-gapped system is a system that is isolated from any network connection and can only be accessed physically. An insider threat is a malicious actor who has authorized access to an organization’s system or data and uses it for unauthorized or harmful purposes. Two-person integrity is a system of storage and handling that requires the presence of at least two authorized persons, each capable of detecting incorrect or unauthorized security procedures, for accessing certain sensitive data or material. This way, no single person can compromise the security or integrity of the data or material without being noticed by another person. SSO (Single Sign-On) is a feature that allows users to access multiple applications or systems with one set of credentials, but it does not prevent insider threats. SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a tool that collects and analyzes log data from various sources to detect and respond to security incidents, but it does not work on air-gapped systems. A Faraday cage is a structure that blocks electromagnetic signals from entering or leaving, but it does not prevent physical access or insider threats. MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) is a method that requires users to provide two or more pieces of evidence to verify their identity, such as something they know, something they have, or something they are, but it does not prevent insider threats. References: https://www.howtogeek.com/169080/air-gap-how-to-isolate-a-computer-to-protect-it-from-hackers/ https://www.howtogeek.com/428483/what-is-end-to-end-encryption-and-why-does-it-matter/ https://www.howtogeek.com/202794/what-is-the-difference-between-127.0.0.1-and-0.0.0.0/ https://www.howtogeek.com/443611/how-to-encrypt-your-macs-system-drive-removable-devices-and-individual-files/

The administrator must encrypt the data at rest to ensure data on the SAN is not compromised if it is leaked. Data at rest refers to data that is stored on a device or a medium, such as a hard drive, a flash drive, or a SAN (Storage Area Network). Data at rest can be leaked if the device or the medium is lost, stolen, or accessed byunauthorized parties. Encrypting data at rest means applying an algorithm that transforms the data into an unreadable format that can only be decrypted with a key. Encryption protects data at rest from being exposed or misused by attackers who may obtain the device or the medium.

The administrator should use a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 for this setup. A subnet mask is a binary number that defines how many bits of an IP address areused for the network portion and how many bits are used for the host portion. The network portion identifies the specific network that the IP address belongs to, while the host portion identifies the specific device within that network. The subnet mask is usually written in dotted decimal notation, where each octet represents eight bits of the binary number. A 1 in the binary number means that the corresponding bit in the IP address is part of the network portion, while a 0 means that it is part of the host portion. For example, a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 means that the first 24 bits (three octets) of the IP address are used for the network portion and the last 8 bits (one octet) are used for the host portion. This subnet mask allows up to 254 hosts per network (2^8 - 2). In this case, the IP address of 10.20.10.15 and the default gateway of 10.20.10.254 belong to the same network of 10.20.10.0/24 (where /24 indicates the number of bits used for the network portion), which can be defined by using a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.

The best backup methods to use to support the management’s priorities are differential and incremental. A backup is a process of copying data from a source to a destination for the purpose of restoring it in case of data loss or corruption. There are different types of backup methods that vary in terms of speed, efficiency, and storage requirements. Differential and incremental backups are two types of partial backups that only copy the data that has changed since the last full backup. A full backup is a type of backup that copies all the data from the source to the destination. A full backup provides the most complete and reliable restore option, but it also takes the longest time and requires the most storage space. A differential backup copies only the data that has changed since the last full backup. A differential backup provides a faster restore option than an incremental backup, but it also takes more time and requires more storage space than an incremental backup. An incremental backup copies only the data that has changed since the last backup, whether it was a full or an incremental backup. An incremental backup provides the fastest and most efficient backup option, but it also requires multiple backups to restore the data completely.

The connection type that the server administrator is using to access the server remotely is out-of-band management. Out-of-band management is a method of accessing and controlling a server through a dedicated network interface or port that is separate from the regular data network. Out-of-band management allows administrators to perform tasks such as rebooting, configuring, troubleshooting, or updating a server even if the server is offline or unresponsive through the regular network. Out-of-band management can use protocols such as IPMI, iLO, DRAC, or BMC.Reference:https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/out-of-band-management

The server is infected with a virus and SELinux is enabled on the server are most likely causing the issue of unauthorized services running on the server. A virus is a type of malicious software that infects a system and performs unwanted or harmful actions, such as creating, modifying, deleting, or executing files. A virus can also create backdoors or open ports on a system to allow remote access or communication with external sites. SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) is a security module for Linux systems that enforces mandatory access control policies on processes and files. SELinux can prevent unauthorized services from running on a server by restricting their access to resources based on their security context. However, SELinux can also cause problems if it is not configured properly or if it conflicts with other security tools.

The first thing that the technician should ensure to correct the database synchronization errors is that NTP is running on the database system. NTP (Network Time Protocol) is a protocol that synchronizes the clocks of network devices with a reference time source, such as an atomic clock or a GPS receiver. NTP ensures that all devices on a network have accurate and consistent time settings, which can affect various functions and applications. Database synchronization is a process of maintaining data consistency and integrity across multiple database servers or instances. Database synchronization can depend on accurate time settings, as time stamps are often used to determine which data is newer or older, and which data should be updated or overwritten. If NTP is not running on the database system, it may cause time drift or discrepancy between different database servers or instances, which can result in synchronization errors or data conflicts.

The administrator should close ports 21 and 23 to secure the server properly. Port 21 is used for FTP (File Transfer Protocol), which is an unsecure protocol that allows file transfer between a client and a server over a network connection. FTP does not encrypt the data or the credentials that are transmitted, making them vulnerable to interception or modification by attackers. Port 23 is used for Telnet, which is an unsecure protocol that allows remote login and command execution over a network connection using a CLI. Telnet does not encrypt the data or the credentials that are transmitted, making them vulnerable to interception or modification by attackers.

The technician should boot from the media to install the firmware on the server. Firmware is a type of software that controls the low-level functions of hardware devices, such as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), RAID controllers, network cards, etc. Firmware updates are often provided by hardware manufacturers to fix bugs, improve performance, or add new features to their devices. To install firmware updates on a server, the technician needs to boot from a media device (such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, USB flash drive, etc.) that contains the firmware files and installationprogram. The technician cannot install firmware updates from within the operating system because firmware updates often require restarting or resetting the hardware devices.

RTO (Recovery Time Objective) is a measure of how much downtime an organization can tolerate during an unplanned outage. It is the maximum time allowed for restoring normal operations after a disaster. RTO is one of the key metrics for disaster recovery planning and testing. SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a contract that defines the expected level of service and performance between a provider and a customer. BIA (Business Impact Analysis) is a process that identifies and evaluates the potential effects of a disaster on critical business functions and processes. MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) is a measure of how long it takes to fix a failed component or system. References: https://parachute.cloud/rto-vs-rpo/ https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13622/service-level-agreement-sla https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1032/business-impact-analysis-biahttps://www.techopedia.com/definition/8239/mean-time-to-repair-mttr

 The tool that the administrator should use to check for unnecessary running services across 12 servers is a port scanner. A port scanner is a tool that scans a network device for open ports and identifies the services or applications that are running on those ports. A port scanner can help detect any unauthorized or unwanted services that may pose a security risk or consume network resources. A port scanner can also help troubleshoot network connectivity issues or verify firewall rules.

The best solution to keep a copy of an important fileshare that can be used to restore the share as quickly as possible is to create a snapshot of the fileshare. A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of a file system or a volume that captures the state and data of the fileshare at a specific moment. A snapshot can be created instantly and with minimal overhead, as it only stores the changes made to the fileshare after the snapshot was taken. A snapshot can be used to restore the fileshare to its previous state in case of data loss or corruption.

A tower server is a type of server architecture that is best suited to minimize cost when deploying a single server to monitor and record the security cameras at a remote site. A tower server is a standalone server that has a similar form factor and design as a desktop computer. It does not require any special mounting equipment or rack space and can be placed on or under a desk or table. A tower server is suitable for small businesses or remote offices that need only one or few servers for basic tasks such as file sharing, print serving, or security monitoring. A tower server is usually cheaper and easier to maintain than other types of servers, but it may have lower performance, scalability, and redundancy features. A virtual server is a type of server architecture that involves creating and running one or more virtual machines on a physical host using a hypervisor such as Hyper-V or VMware. A virtual server can reduce hardware costs and improve flexibility and efficiency, but it requires additional software licenses and management tools. A blade server is a type of server architecture that involves inserting multiple thin servers called blades into a chassis that provides power, cooling, network, and management features. A blade server can improve performance, density, and scalability, but it requires more initial investment and specialized equipment. A rack mount server is a type of server architecture that involves mounting one or more servers into standardized frames called racks that provide power, cooling, network, and security features

The administrator should use the command mount –o remount,rw /newdisk to successfully mount the drive with the required parameters. The mount command is used to mount file systems on Linux systems. The –o option specifies options for mounting file systems. The remount option re-mounts an already mounted file system with different options. The rw option mounts a file system with read-write permissions. In this case, /newdisk is a mount point for a new hard disk that was mounted with read-only permissions by default. To allow users to create directories or files on /newdisk, the administrator needs to re-mount /

This is the best action to perform before applying patches to one of the hosts in a high availability cluster. A high availability cluster is a group of hosts thatact like a single system and provide continuous uptime. A high availability cluster is often used for load balancing, backup, and failover purposes. Failover is a process of transferring workloads from one host to another in case of a failure or maintenance. By failing over all VMs (Virtual Machines) from the host that needs to be patched to another host in the cluster, the technician can ensure that there is no downtime or data loss during the patching process. Disabling the heartbeat network is not a good action to perform, as this would disrupt the communication and synchronization between the hosts in the cluster. Fallback cluster services is not a valid term, but it may refer to restoring cluster services after a failover, which is not relevant before applying patches. Setting the cluster to active-active is not a good action to perform, as this would increase the load on both hosts and reduce redundancy. References: https://www.howtogeek.com/190014/virtualization-basics-understanding-techniques-and-fundamentals/https://www.howtogeek.com/428483/what-is-end-to-end-encryption-and-why-does-it-matter/

A synthetic full backup is a backup method that describes copying only changed files each time it runs and using only a single file during a restore. A synthetic full backup is a backup approach that involves creating a new full backup by using the previous full backup and related incremental backups. This means that a backup solution does not have to transfer the full amount of data from the source machine and can synthetize the latest incremental backups with the last full backup to create a new full backup. This reduces the backup window and network bandwidth consumption. During a restore, only the latest synthetic full backup file is needed to recover the data. Open file backup is a backup method that allows backing up files that are in use or locked by applications. Full incremental backup is a backup method that involves performing a full backup first and then backing up only the changed files since the last backup. Full differential backup is a backup method that involves performing a full backup first and then backing up only the changed files since the last full backup. References: https://www.nakivo.com/blog/what-is-synthetic-backup/https://www.howtogeek.com/192115/what-you-need-to-know-about-creating-system-image-backups/

The administrator should check disk space in the /var directory first when using YUM to update applications on a server. YUM stands for Yellowdog Updater Modified, which is a software package manager for Linux systems that use RPM (Red HatPackage Manager) packages. YUM downloads and installs packages from online repositories and resolves dependencies automatically. YUM stores its cache files in the /var/cache/yum directory by default. These cache files include metadata and package data for each repository that YUM uses. If there is not enough disk space in the /var directory, YUM may fail to update applications and generate error messages.

Few people are expected to use the database at the same time and users don’t need to customize the design of the database.

The df -h command should be used to identify the issue of not being able to save large files to a directory on a Linux server. The df -h command displays disk space usage in human-readable format for all mounted file systems on the server. It shows the total size, used space, available space, percentage of use, and mount point of each file system. By using this command, a technician can check if there is enough free space on the file system where the directory is located or if it has reached its capacity limit.