Quiz Questions & Answers

Asphyxia

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The Linux kernel was developed and released in 1991 by:
Linus Torvalds

Many programming function libraries and UNIX-like commands appeared in the 1980s as a result of the work on the GNU project.
True

The mutt software is an example of what type of mail service software on Linux?
Mail User Agent

What service provides a method for the efficient transfer of files over the Internet?
GNU Public License

The GNU General Public License (GPL) was developed by which organization?
Free Software Foundation (FSF)

What software type is software that is distributed free of charge, but the source code is not available?
Freeware

In Linux, the core component of the GUI is known as:
X Windows

The overall cost of using a particular operating system is known as?
Total cost of ownership (TCO)

Open Source Software (OSS) is freely developed and continuously improved by a large community of software developers
True

Which of the following is the greatest expense for companies using Linux?
Hiring people to maintain the Linux system

On closed-source operating systems, hot fixes for software bugs are deployed very quickly.
False

Which type of open source license ensures that the source code of a program is freely available while also allowing the original author of the source code some control over the changes made to it?
Artistic

Dennis Ritchie invented what programming language, which was then used to rewrite the UNIX operating system?
C

When viewing the version number for a Linux kernel, what number indicates the stability of the kernel?
minor number

Proxy servers keep track of the information passed to each client by maintaining what type of table?
Network Address Translation (NAT)

The iptables software on Linux is an example of what kind of software?
Firewall

What Linux distribution is the most commonly used distribution within organizations today?
Red Hat

The term hacker refers to someone who illegally uses computers for personal benefit or to cause damage.
False

What computer system was the first to run the UNIX operating system?
DEC PDP-7

Each computer on a network requires a unique way to identify itself and to refer to other computers. This is accomplished by using IP addresses.
True

An archive of files that usually contain scripts that install the software contents to the correct location on the system is referred to as a:
tarball

The QT toolkit is utilized by which GUI environment?
KDE

What piece of software tells the operating system how to use a specific hardware device?
device driver

In what year was the source code for the Linux kernel released?
1991
 

Asphyxia

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Which Linux command can be utilized to display your current login name?
whoami

At minimum, Linux typically requires only two partitions to be created: a partition that is mounted to the root directory, and a partition for virtual memory.
True

By default, Fedora 20 allows the root user to log into the GNOME desktop.
True

A calendar for the current month can be shown on the command line by issuing which command?
cal

In the past, SATA hard disks were referred to as Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE).
False

When a user interacts with his computer, he interacts directly with the kernel of the computer’s operating system.
False

In Fedora 20, what terminal is used for graphical login?
tty1

After a shell is no longer needed, what command can be given to exit the shell?
exit

Under the root directory in Linux, which directory contains system commands and utilities?
/usr

Prior to performing an installation of Linux, the hardware components of the target system should be checked against what known compatible list below?
Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)

What is the minimum number of user accounts that must be created at install time?
two

What term describes the physical hardware and the underlying operating system upon which a virtual machine runs?
virtual host

What is the recommended size for the /home directory?
200 MB

The apropos list command produces the same results as which command below?
man -k list

A swap partition contains a filesystem.
False

When using command-line terminal, specific letters that start with a dash ("-") and appear after command names are considered to be:
Options

What directory under / contains the log files and spools for a Linux system?
/var

What metacharacter indicates background command execution?
&

Select the utility below that when run will start and perform a thorough check of RAM for hardware errors:
memtest86

What metacharacter can be used to issue two commands to be run in consecutive order, without piping or redirecting output?
;

Some Linux distributions have the ability to boot an image from install media and run entirely from RAM. What is the name for this kind of image?
live media image

The Linux kernel exists as a file named:
vmlinuz

A hard drive or SSD can be divided into partitions. What is the maximum number of primary partitions that can be used on these devices?
4

What installation media source is the most common source for Linux packages?
DVD

After logging into a terminal, a user will receive an interface known as which option below?
Shell
 

Asphyxia

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What command can be used to display the last five lines of a text file?
tail -5

Which switch below can be added to the ls command to show a list of files and their type?
-F

In the GNU Emacs editor, what key combination can be used to delete all characters between the cursor and the end of the line?
Ctrl+k

Linux uses a logical directory tree to organize files into different folders.
True

Pressing the Esc key at the prompt while using the more command displays a help screen.
False

Which of the following key combinations, commonly used in the vi editor command mode, displays current line statistics?
Ctrl+g

Which character(s) below represent extended regular expression metacharacter(s)?
{}

What command can be issued to confirm what directory you are in at a command line prompt?
pwd

What metacharacter can be used to refer to the current user's home directory?
˜

The more command should not be used on binary files.
True

At the vi command mode prompt, what key combination below will force a quit from the vi editor without saving changes?
:q!

The command strings /bin/echo displays the raw binary characters inside the /bin/echo binary executable program.
False

Select the regular expression metacharacter that matches 0 or more occurrences of the previous character.
*

It is acceptable to use shell metacharacters when naming files.
False

If enough unique letters of a directory name have been typed, what key can be pressed to activate the BASH shell's completion feature?
Tab

In vi, using command mode, what series of key presses below will cause the line on which the cursor is on to be deleted?
dd

Using wildcard metacharacters, how can one indicate a number is either 1, 2, 3, or 4?
[1-4]

In what mode does the vi editor open by default?
command mode

Select the command below that can be used to provide a long listing for each file in a directory:
ls -l

To display the contents of a text file called data, what command should be used?
cat data

The LISP artificial intelligence programming language can be used with which text editor below?
Emacs editor

What command is most effective at identifying different types of files?
ls -l

In order to move from the /home/joe/test/data to the /home/joe directory, what command below should be issued?
cd ../..

When issuing the ls -F command, what special character indicates a linked file?
@

To display a text file in reverse order, what command should be used?
tac
 

Asphyxia

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The section of an inode that stores permissions is referred to as what?
the mode of the file

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard specifies what directory as the root user's home directory?
/root

You can use wildcard metacharacters with the find command.
True

Select the mode below that corresponds to setting r-x:
5

In order to create a hard link, what command must be used?
ln

The database for the locate command can be updated manually by using the updatedb command.
True

What permission grants a user the ability to open, read, and edit the contents of a file?
write

The contents of a certain variable in memory can be viewed using which metacharacter below in combination with the echo command?
$

Shell scripts do not require the execute permission in order to be run the same way binary programs are run.
False

When using the chmod command, the mode rwx can be represented by which number?
7

In order to quickly create an empty file, what command can be used?
touch file1

What permission (when assigned to a file) grants a user the ability to open, read, and edit the contents of a file?
write

The rmdir command automatically removes a directory and all of its subdirectories and files.
False

Select the command below that utilizes a premade database that contains a list of all the files on a system:
locate

What command can be used to copy files?
cp

What permission (when applied to a directory) allows a user to enter the directory and work with directory contents?
execute

What argument can be used with the chmod command to add read permission and remove write permission for a group on a file?
g+r-w

What command below takes a list of arguments specifying the absolute or relative pathnames of files to remove?
rm

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard specifies what directory as containing the Linux kernel and the boot loader configuration files?
/boot

What section of a filesystem contains information about the filesystem in general?
superblock

In a file’s mode, a permission that is unavailable is represented by what character?
-

The SGID allows regular users to execute a binary compiled program and become a member of the group that is attached to the file.
True

In order to set all of the special permissions on a certain file or directory, which command below should be used on a file named filename?
chmod 7777 filename

What option, when added to the rm command, is commonly referred to as the -resume option?
-r

What does the setfacl -b command do?
It removes all extra ACL assignments on a given file
 

Asphyxia

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Describe hard and symbolic links. What is the difference between them?
Hard linked files are direct copies of one another, as they share the same inode and inode number. All hard linked files have the same size, and when one file is modified, the other hard linked files are updated as well. You can hard-link a file an unlimited number of times; however, the hard linked files must reside on the same filesystem. Although hard links share the same inode, deleting a hard linked file does not delete all the other hard linked files. Symbolic links are different than hard links because they do not share the same inode and inode number with their target file; one is merely a pointer to the other and, thus, both files have different sizes. The data blocks in a symbolically linked file contain only the pathname to the target file. When a user edits a symbolically linked file, he is actually editing the target file. Thus, if the target file is deleted, the symbolic link serves no function, as it points to a nonexistent file.

Explain why the vi editor is called a bimodal editor.
The vi editor is called a bimodal editor because it functions in one of two modes: command mode and insert mode. The vi editor opens command mode, in which you must use the keyboard to perform functions, such as deleting text, copying text, saving changes to a file, and exiting the vi editor. To insert text into the document, you must enter insert mode. One method of entering insert mode is to type the i key on the keyboard while in command mode; the vi editor then displays --INSERT-- at the bottom of the screen and allows the user to enter text. When in insert mode, you can use the keyboard to type text as required, but when finished you must press the Esc key to return to command mode to perform other functions via keys on the keyboard.

Describe the SGID special permission, and provide an example of where this permission might be used.
The SGID allows regular users to execute a binary compiled program and become a member of the group that is attached to the file. Thus, if a file is owned by the group “sys” and also has the SGID permission, any user who executes that file will be a member of the group “sys” during execution. If a command or file requires the user executing it to have the same permissions applied to the sys group, setting the SGID on the file simplifies assigning rights to the file for user execution. Additionally, if a user creates a file in a directory that has the SGID permission
set, that user’s name becomes the owner of the file and the directory’s group becomes the group owner of the file.

Explain what the man pages and info pages are, and describe the differences between the two.
The most common form of documentation for Linux commands is manual pages (commonly referred to as man pages). Simply type the man command followed by a command name, and extensive information about that Linux command is displayed page-by-page on the terminal screen. This information includes a description of the command and its syntax as well as available options, related files, and commands. Another utility, originally intended to replace the man command in Linux, is the GNU info pages. You can access this utility by typing the info command followed by the name of the command in question. The info command returns an easy-to-read description of each command and also contains links to other information pages (called hyperlinks). Today however, both the info pages and the manual pages are used to find documentation because manual pages have been utilized in Linux since its conception and for over two decades in the UNIX operating system.

Discuss the difference between developmental kernels and production kernels, and explain how the minor number is used to distinguish between the two.
Developmental kernels are not fully tested and imply instability; they are tested for vulnerabilities by people who develop Linux software. Production kernels are developmental kernels that have been thoroughly tested by several Linux developers and are declared to be stable. The minor number of a kernel version indicates the stability of the kernel. An odd minor number indicates a developmental kernel, whereas an even minor number indicates a production kernel.

Explain the difference between an absolute and a relative pathname, and why one might be used over the other.
The absolute pathname to a file or directory is the full pathname of a certain file or directory starting from the root directory. A relative pathname is the pathname of a target file or directory relative to your current directory in the tree. Although absolute pathnames are straightforward to use as arguments to commands when specifying the location of a certain file or directory, relative pathnames can save you a great deal of typing and reduce the potential for error if your current directory is far away from the root directory.

List at least three differences between wildcard metacharacters and regular expressions.
1. Wildcard metacharacters are interpreted by the shell, whereas regular expressions are interpreted by a text tool program. 2. Wildcard metacharacters match characters in filenames (or directory names) on a Linux filesystem, whereas regular expressions match characters within text files on a Linux filesystem. 3. Wildcard metacharacters typically have different definitions than regular expression metacharacters. 4. More regular expression metacharacters are available than wildcard metacharacters.

What are the three main structural sections of a Linux filesystem? Describe each section.
The three main structural section of the Linux filesystem are the superblock, the inode table, and the data blocks. The superblock is the section that contains information about the filesystem in general, such as the number of inodes and data blocks, as well as how much data a data block stores in Kilobytes. The inode table consists of several inodes (information nodes); each inode describes one file or directory on the filesystem, and contains a unique inode number for identification.What is more important, the inode stores information such as the file size, data block locations, last date modified, permissions, and ownership. When a file is deleted, only its inode (which serves as a pointer to the actual data) is deleted. The data that makes up the contents of the file as well as the filename are stored in data blocks, which are referenced by the inode. In filesystem-neutral terminology, blocks are known as allocation units because they are the unit by which disk space is allocated for storage.

What is scalability? How does it relate to clustering?
The ability for a computer to increase workload as the number of processors increases is known as scalability, and most computers, regardless of the operating system used, do not scale well when there are more than 32 processors. As a result of this limitation, many people in the supercomputing community cluster several smaller computers together to work as one large computer. This approach results in much better scalability; 64 computers with one processor each working toward a common goal can handle close to 64 times as much as a single processor.

Describe virtual memory, and explain how it is used.
Virtual memory consists of an area on the hard disk that, when the physical memory (RAM) is being used excessively, can be used to store information that would normally reside in the physical memory.When programs are executed that require a great deal of resources on the computer, information is continuously swapped from the physical memory to the virtual memory on the hard disk, and vice versa.

What command finds all files on the system that have the word "test" as part of their filename
find / -name "*test*"

Which command will search the PATH variable for the pathname to theawk command
which awk

Which command will find all files in the /usr directory and subdirectories that are lager than 50 kilobytes in size?
find /usr –size +50k

Which command will find all files in the /usr directory and subdirectoriesthat are less than 70 kilobytes in size
find /usr –size -70k

Which command will find all files in the / directory and subdirectories that are symbolic links
find / -type l

Which command will find all files in the /var directory and subdirectories that were accessed less than 60 minutes ago
find /var –amin -60

Which command will find all files in the /var directory and subdirectories that were accessed less than six days ago
find /var –atime -6

Which command will find all files in the /home directory and subdirectories that are empty
find /home –size 0

Which command will find all files in the /etc directory and subdirectories that are owned by the group bin
find /etc –group bin
 

Asphyxia

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For each of the following modes, write the numeric equivalent (e.g., 777). Your answers should only contain three digits.
rw-r--r-- a
r--r--r-- b
---rwxrw- c
-wxr-xrw- d
rw-rw-rwx e
-w-r----- f
Specified Answer for: a 644
Specified Answer for: b 444
Specified Answer for: c 076
Specified Answer for: d 356
Specified Answer for: e 667
Specified Answer for: f 240

For each of the following umasks, calculate the default permissions given to new files (not directories, but files). Your answers should be three digits.
017 a
272 b
777 c
000 d
077 e
027 f
Specified Answer for: a 660
Specified Answer for: b 404
Specified Answer for: c 000
Specified Answer for: d 666
Specified Answer for: e 600
Specified Answer for: f 640

For each of the following umasks, calculate the default permissions given to new directories (not files, but directories). Your answers should be three digits.
017 a
272 b
777 c
000 d
077 e
027 f
Specified Answer for: a 760
Specified Answer for: b 505
Specified Answer for: c 000
Specified Answer for: d 777
Specified Answer for: e 700
Specified Answer for: f 750

Under the root directory in Linux, which directory contains system commands and utilities?
/usr

Which Linux command can be utilized to display your current login name?
whoami

In the GNU Emacs editor, what key combination can be used to delete all characters between the cursor and the end of the line?
Ctrl+k

After a shell is no longer needed, what command can be given to exit the shell?
exit

Dennis Ritchie invented what programming language, which was then used to rewrite the UNIX operating system?
C

What installation media source is the most common source for Linux packages?
DVD

After logging into a terminal, a user will receive an interface known as which option below?
shell

What term describes the physical hardware and the underlying operating system upon which a virtual machine runs?
virtual host

The Linux kernel exists as a file named:
vmlinuz

To display the contents of a text file called data, what command should be used?
cat data

What service provides a method for the efficient transfer of files over the Internet?
FTP

The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard specifies what directory as containing the Linux kernel and the boot loader configuration files?
/boot

You can use wildcard metacharacters with the find command.
True

The rmdir command automatically removes a directory and all of its subdirectories and files.
False

The SGID allows regular users to execute a binary compiled program and become a member of the group that is attached to the file.
True
 

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What file system below is used by software programs that write to a CD-RW or DVD-RW drive?
udf

The quotas for certain users can be edited by using which command?
edquota

Select the command that can be used to create partitions that will be stored in an MBR after installation:
fdisk

In Linux, you are restricted to using only one type of filesystem on a system.
False

A device that transfers data in a character-by-character fashion is referred to as what type of device?
character

The more filesystems that are used on a system, the less likely a corrupted filesystem will interfere with normal system operations.
True

When you insert a DVD while in a GUI environment, it is automatically mounted by the system to a directory underneath the /media directory that is named for the label on the DVD.
True

In the fdisk interactive mode, what letter can be used to save changes to the partition table and exit?
w

What hex code is associated with a Linux swap type partition?
82

To mount all filesystems in the /etc/fstab file that are intended to mount at boot time, what command can be used?
mount -a

In what filesystem are most of the operating system files contained?
root

What character device file represents the second serial port on a system (COM2)?
/dev/ttyS1

Which device file below represents the first primary partition on the second PATA hard disk drive?
/dev/hdb1

Which command below provides the easiest method for monitoring free space on mounted filesystems?
df

What command below can be used to create a new physical volume?
pvcreate

Select the command below that shows the size of a directory and its contents in kilobytes:
du

Which option, when used with the mount command, enables loopback mode so that an iso image can be mounted onto a directory?
--loop

What command can be used to check different kinds of filesystems on Linux for errors?
fsck

Select the command that can be used to check an ext2, ext3, or ext4 filesystem:
e2fsck

In the event that you wish to disable a swap partition, what command must be used?
swapoff

Data is read from physical hard drives in concentric circles known as which of the following?
tracks

Errors on a filesystem are common on most filesystems. What do these errors indicate?
filesystem corruption

Each device attached to a system can be represented by multiple device files.
False

Volumes can contain a filesystem but they can't be mounted to directories within the Linux filesystem hierarchy.
False

The mkfs command can be issued with what switch in order to specify a filesystem type?
-t
 

timodohmen

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Hey @Asphyxia Why you don't make a book ? :D that what you write here ist still better then all the Shit Books etc. that i got for learning haha :cool:
 
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