Test your knowledge with these questions meant to help people prepare for the Red Hat Certified Linux Engineer exam. Answers, with full explainations, are at the end. More practice questions can be found here. Enjoy .

QUESTIONS:

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Question 1

What is the device name for the first logical partition on the first IDE
hard-drive?

A) hda1
B) hda2
C) sda
D) sda1
E) hda5

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Question 2

To create a boot disk for Linux using DOS or Windows, what command could you
use?

A) transdisk
B) fdisk
C) copy
D) diskcopy
E) rawrite

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Question 3

To create a installation boot floppy disk from Linux (or another Unix)
machine, what command could you use?

A) rawrite
B) dd
C) fsck
D) fdisk
E) copy

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Question 4

Which of these type of installs requires a special installation boot image
other than boot.img?

A) NFS
B) FTP
C) harddisk
D) Both answers a and b
E) All of the above

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Question 5

You install the Linux bootloader to the first sector of the boot partition
when:

A) multiple operating systems are on the system.
B) this is a trial run for installing Linux.
C) there is a fear of losing data or the superblock.
D) another boot loader is already on the system.
E) booting by floppy is used.

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Question 6

To build a modularized kernel, the kernel-headers and kernel-source packages
must first be installed. Where will you find the kernel-headers and
kernel-source?

A) /usr/bin
B) /usr/src/redhat
C) /usr/src/linux
D) /usr/local
E) /usr/local/src

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Question 7

What command do you use to build a kernel configuration file? [Choose the
best answer.]

A) make config
B) make menuconfig
C) make xconfig
D) Both answers a and c
E) All of the above

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Question 8

After you have compiled your kernel, what do you have to edit to boot your
new kernel image?

A) /etc/lilo.conf
B) /etc/named.boot
C) /etc/conf.modules
D) /boot/lilo.conf
E) /boot/conf.modules

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Question 9

What file contains the list of port numbers (and associated names) monitored
by inetd?

A) /etc/hosts
B) /etc/nsswitch.conf/
C) /etc/nsorder
D) /etc/services
E) /etc/inetd.conf

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Question 10

What file specifies the order to use specified name services?

A) /etc/hosts
B) /etc/nsswitch.conf
C) /etc/nsorder
D) /etc/services
E) /etc/inetd.conf

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Question 11

What service is not monitored by inetd?

A) finger
B) ntalk
C) time
D) ssh
E) telnet

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Question 12

In which tcp_wrappers file can you specify to allow all connections from all
hosts?

A) /etc/tcp.conf
B) /etc/hosts
C) /etc/hosts.deny
D) /etc/hosts.allow
E) None of the above

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Question 13

What are the three types of chain rulesets defined by default in ipchains?

A) accept, deny, reject
B) accept, deny, forward
C) deny, forward, masq
D) input, output, forward
E) None of the above

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Question 14

Which command allows you to print your routing table?

A) route-add
B) netstat-rn
C) print route
D) Both answers a and b
E) None of the above

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Question 15

You just added a new user, kara, to the system. What group is kara added to
by default?

A) user
B) group
C) kara
D) root
E) None of the above

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Question 16

How do you change the group set bit on a directory?

A) chmod +x
B) chmod +s
C) chmod +b
D) setbit +1
E) None of the above

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Question 17

Which command can you use to view a system log continuously (in real time)?

A) cat
B) head
C) view
D) tail
E) tail -f

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Question 18

How would you create a boot disk for a specific kernel image on your system?

A) dd
B) mkbootdisk
C) mkkickstart
D) cp
E) cat

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Question 19

Which command can you use to view your system's partition table?

A) fdisk
B) df
C) du
D) dd
E) fdisk -l

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Question 20

Which command can force all buffers to disk?

A) flush
B) edbuff
C) sync
D) save
E) None of the above

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ANSWERS:

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Question 1

E) hda5

Explanation:

Answer e is correct. The device name for the first logical partition on the
first IDE hard-drive is hda5. The answers hda1 and hda2 refer to the first
and second (primary or extended) partitions, therefore answers a and b are
incorrect. The answers sda and sda1 refer to the first and second (primary
or extended) partitions, making answers c and d incorrect.

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Question 2

E) rawrite

Explanation:

Answer e is correct. To create a boot disk for Linux using DOS or Windows,
you use rawrite. The tool transdisk is not valid, therefore answer a is
incorrect. The fdisk tool is used for disk partitioning, therefore answer b
is incorrect. Answer c, copy, is used for copying files, not creating
images, and therefore is incorrect. The option diskcopy is not a valid tool,
therefore answer d is incorrect.

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Question 3

B) dd

Explanation:

Answer b is correct. To create a boot disk from Unix, you would use dd. The
rawrite tool is used to write images on a DOS or Windows machine, therefore
answer a is incorrect. Answer c, fsck, is used to check Unix fileystems, and
therefore is incorrect. Answer d, fdisk, is used for manipulating
partitions, and therefore is also incorrect. The copy tool is used for
copying files, therefore answer e is incorrect.

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Question 4

D) Both answers a and b

Explanation:

Answer d is correct. Special installation diskettes are required when an
install is to be performed either over the network or via a PCMCIA device
(such as CD-ROM or NIC). NFS is a network service. FTP is also a network
service, therefore answer b is also correct. Answer c does not require a
boot disk other than boot.img, therefore answer c is incorrect. Answer d
selects both answers a and b; therefore answer d is correct. Answer e
selects all of the above, and (since c is incorrect) is incorrect.

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Question 5

D) another boot loader is already on the system.

Explanation:

Answer d is correct. You should only need to install the Linux bootloader
within the first sector of the boot partition when you are planning to use
an alternative bootloader (such as NT) to manage the multi-boot system. The
Linux bootloader is capable of booting multiple operating systems, therefore
answer a is incorrect. The bootloader has nothing to do with the trial run
of Linux, therefore answer b is incorrect. Installing the Linux bootloader
to the superblock (MBR) does not lose data, therefore answer c is incorrect.
If using another bootloader instead of Linux, install Linux to the boot
partition, therefore, answer d is correct. Using a boot floppy bypasses the
installed Linux bootloader, thus installing in the MBR or the boot partition
is irrelevant, making answer e incorrect.

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Question 6

C) /usr/src/linux

Explanation:

Answer c is correct. To build a modularized kernel, the installed
kernel-headers and kernel-source packages will be found in /usr/src/linux.
Answer a, /usr/bin, contains system binaries, therefore it is incorrect.
Answer b, /usr/src/redhat, stores information for source RPMs, and therefore
is incorrect. Answer d, /usr/local/, contains various user tools and
information and therefore is incorrect. Answer e, /usr/local/src/, does not
contain data, by default, and is incorrect.

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Question 7

E) All of the above

Explanation:

Answer e is correct. To build a kernel configuration command, you use make
and the configuration option. Answer a, make config, presents you with a
text-based configuration and therefore is correct. Answer b, make
menuconfig, presents you with a menu-based configuration and therefore is
correct. Answer c, make xconfig, presents you with an X-based configuration
tool and is also correct. Answer e, All of the above, encompasses all the
answers, and therefore is the best answer.

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Question 8

A) /etc/lilo.conf

Explanation:

Answer a is correct. To boot your new kernel image, you must edit
/etc/lilo.conf. Answer b, /etc/named.boot, is the BIND 4 configuration file,
and is therefore incorrect. Answer c, /etc/conf.modules, lists kernel
modules and is incorrect. Answers d and e are invalid options and are
incorrect.

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Question 9

D) /etc/services

Explanation:

Answer d is correct. The file /etc/inetd.conf contains the list of port
numbers monitored by inetd. The /etc/hosts file specifies hosts used by the
system, and is therefore incorrect. The /etc/nsorder option is invalid,
therefore answer c is incorrect. Answer e, /etc/inetd.conf, specifies what
services are enabled, but not their port numbers, and therefore is
incorrect.

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Question 10

B) /etc/nsswitch.conf

Explanation:

Answer b is correct. To specify the order which to use specified name
servers, you must add them appropriately to /etc/nsswitch.conf, therefore
answer a is incorrect. Answer b, /etc/nsswitch.conf, is therefore correct.
Answer c is invalid, and therefore is incorrect. Answer d, /etc/services,
configures network services, and therefore is incorrect. Answer e,
/etc/inetd.conf, manages network services, and is therefore is incorrect.

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Question 11

D) ssh

Explanation:

Answer d is correct. inetd monitors a great number of services. The programs
finger, ntalk, time, and telnet (answers a, b, c, and e, respectively) are
incorrect. SSH is not monitored via inetd, therefore answer d is correct.

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Question 12

D) /etc/hosts.allow

Explanation:

Answer d is correct. The file where you can specifically allow all
connections from all hosts using tcp_wrappers is /etc/hosts.allow. Answer a,
/etc/tcp.conf, is an invalid option, and is therefore incorrect. Answer b,
/etc/hosts, specifies system hosts and therefore is incorrect. Answer c,
/etc/hosts.deny, specifies who to deny, and therefore is incorrect.

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Question 13

D) input, output, forward

Explanation:

Answer d is correct. The three main chains defined by default in ipchains
are input, output, and forward. The options accept, deny, and masq are
invalid as they are used as targets, not chains. This makes answers a, b, c,
and e incorrect.

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Question 14

B) netstat-rn

Explanation:

Answer b is correct. To print your routing table, use netstat-rn. Answer a,
route-add, is used to add a route to the routing table and therefore is
incorrect. Answer c, print route, is invalid. Answer d includes answer a,
and therefore is incorrect.

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Question 15

C) kara

Explanation:

Answer c is correct. When you create a user, the user is automatically added
to a group by the same name. Therefore, adding user "kara" will be added to
group "kara" by default. Unless otherwise specified, "kara" will not be
added to groups named user, group, or root, therefore answers a,b, and d are
incorrect.

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Question 16

B) chmod +s

Explanation:

Answer b is correct. To change the group setbit on a directory, use the +s
option with chmod. Answer a, chmod +x, makes the file (directory)
executable, therefore answer a is incorrect. Answer c, chmod +b, is invalid,
and is therefore incorrect. Answer d, setbit +1, is invalid, and is
therefore incorrect.

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Question 17

E) tail -f

Explanation:

Answer e is correct. To view a system log continuously (in real time), use
the -f command option with tail. Answer a, cat, is used to concatenate a
file, and therefore is incorrect. Answer b, head, prints the first 10 lines
of a file, and therefore is incorrect. Answer c, view, is invalid. Answer d,
tail, is incorrect as it only prints the last 10 lines of a file, but with
the -f option (answer e), continuously prints the file (in real time) and
therefore is correct.

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Question 18

B) mkbootdisk

Explanation:

Answer b is correct. To create a boot disk for your running system, use
mkbootdisk. While dd is used to create boot disks for installation and so
forth, you cannot create a system disk with it, and therefore is incorrect.
Answer c, mkkickstart, creates kickstart installation disks, and therefore
is incorrect. Answer d, cp, is used to copy files and is incorrect. Answer
e, cat, is used to concatenate files and is incorrect.

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Question 19

E) fdisk -l

Explanation:

Answer e is correct. To view your system's partition table, use the command
fdisk -l, making answer e the best answer. Answer a, fdisk, by itself, only
opens fdisk where you have the option to view your partition table, but must
enter the command to do so, and therefore is incorrect. Answer b, df, is
used to print the disk space available on the machine, and therefore is
incorrect. Answer c, du, is used to print disk space used on the system and
is incorrect. Answer d, dd, is used for converting and copying a file and is
incorrect.

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Question 20

C) sync

Explanation:

Answer c is correct. When you need to flush the system buffers to disk, use
the sync command, making answer c incorrect. Answer a, flush, is a Tcl
command, and therefore incorrect. Answer b, edbuff is invalid, and therefore
incorrect. Answer d, save, is invalid and incorrect.

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