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SCA in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 (2025 Update) Free Sample Questions

Covers the Linux command line and file management, user and permission administration, process and service management, privilege delegation, LVM and Btrfs storage, and networking and software.

20 free sample questions177 in the full practice test

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sca_sles15_2025 Sample Questions

  1. Question 1

    A SLES 15 server hosts a critical database on an LVM logical volume named lv_data within the volume group vg_db. The underlying physical volume is running out of space. A new disk, /dev/sdd, has been added to the system. Which sequence of commands correctly adds the new disk to the volume group and extends the logical volume to use all available free space?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B

    The correct procedure is to first initialize the new disk as a physical volume using pvcreate. Then, add this new physical volume to the existing volume group with vgextend. Finally, extend the logical volume to use the newly available space in the volume group using lvextend -l +100%FREE. Note that this only extends the logical volume; the filesystem on it must be resized separately (e.g., with resize2fs or xfs_growfs).

  2. Question 2

    A system administrator is analyzing a SLES 15 system where logs are filling up the root partition. They want to view only the critical, alert, and emergency level messages from the systemd journal that have occurred since the last boot. Which command will accomplish this?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: C

    The journalctl command uses the -p flag to filter by priority. A single numeric value (e.g., -p 2) will show all messages with that priority level and higher (more severe). The priorities are: emerg (0), alert (1), crit (2), err (3), warning (4), notice (5), info (6), debug (7). Therefore, -p 2 shows critical, alert, and emergency messages. The -b flag restricts the output to the current boot.

  3. Question 3

    Multiple answers

    A developer has created a custom application with a systemd service unit file. The application must not start until the network is fully configured and a specific NFS share is mounted. Which directives should be added to the [Unit] section of the service file to ensure these dependencies are met? (Select TWO)

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answers: C, E

    The After= directive ensures that this service unit will only be started after the network-online.target and the specified mount unit have been successfully started. This enforces the order of operations.

    Requires= specifies a hard dependency. If network-online.target or the mount unit fails to start, this service unit will also fail. remote-fs.target is the standard target that is reached after all remote filesystems (like NFS) listed in /etc/fstab are mounted.

  4. Question 4

    True or False: On a SLES 15 system using Btrfs for the root filesystem, the snapper create command creates a complete, block-for-block copy of the subvolume, consuming disk space equal to the original subvolume's size.

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B

    This statement is false. Btrfs snapshots are lightweight and use Copy-on-Write (CoW) technology. When a snapshot is created, it initially consumes almost no additional space. It only starts to consume space as files in the original subvolume are modified or deleted, as the snapshot needs to retain the original data blocks.

  5. Question 5

    A new SLES 15 server is being provisioned for a web application. The administrator needs to schedule a cleanup script /usr/local/bin/cleanup.sh to run automatically. The business requirements are that the script must run 10 minutes after the system boots up, and then run again every 6 hours thereafter. Which type of systemd unit provides the most appropriate and modern method to achieve this on SLES 15?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: C

    A systemd timer unit is the modern and recommended method on SLES 15 for complex scheduling. A single .timer file can be configured with OnBootSec=10min to handle the initial run and OnUnitActiveSec=6h to handle the recurring schedule. This provides more robust control and better logging integration with the systemd journal compared to cron or at.

  6. Question 6

    A system administrator is managing a multi-disk Btrfs filesystem. Over time, data has become unevenly distributed across the devices. To re-stripe the data and metadata evenly across all available disks in the filesystem mounted at /data, which command should be used?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D

    The btrfs balance command is used to rebalance data across devices in a Btrfs filesystem. Running btrfs balance start /data without any filters will re-stripe all data and metadata chunks across the available devices, leading to a more even distribution. This is particularly useful after adding or removing devices.

  7. Question 7

    An administrator is hardening a SLES 15 server. They need to find all files in the /etc directory that have the SUID bit set, as these can pose a security risk. Which command will correctly locate only these specific files?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B

    The find command uses the -perm option to search for files with specific permissions. The SUID bit corresponds to the octal value 4000. Using a forward slash (/4000) tells find to match files where any of the specified permission bits are set. This is the correct way to find all files with the SUID bit, regardless of their other permissions.

  8. Question 8

    A financial services company needs to deploy a new SLES 15 server with a highly resilient storage backend for their transaction logs. The requirements are: data must be mirrored across two separate disks (/dev/sdb and /dev/sdc), and they need the ability to create near-instantaneous, space-efficient snapshots for backup purposes before running end-of-day reports. Which storage technology combination on SLES 15 best meets all these requirements?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B

    Btrfs natively integrates volume management and filesystem capabilities. Creating a Btrfs filesystem with RAID1 profile (mkfs.btrfs -d raid1 -m raid1 /dev/sdb /dev/sdc) directly meets the mirroring requirement. Furthermore, Btrfs provides built-in, highly efficient Copy-on-Write snapshots, which perfectly satisfies the need for instantaneous, space-efficient backups. This single technology elegantly solves both requirements.

  9. Question 9

    A junior administrator is trying to add a new software repository from a URL to a SLES 15 system using zypper. They use the command zypper addrepo new_repo. After running zypper refresh, they notice packages from the new repository are not being considered during updates. What is the most likely cause of this issue?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A

    When adding a new repository with zypper addrepo, it is often added in a disabled state by default as a safety measure. The administrator must explicitly enable it using the command zypper modifyrepo --enable new_repo (or -e). Until it is enabled, zypper will not use it to search for or install packages.

  10. Question 10

    A process named data-crunch is consuming 100% of a CPU core, impacting the performance of other critical services. The administrator wants to lower its priority without terminating it. The process has a PID of 25123 and a current nice value of 0. Which command will successfully decrease the process's scheduling priority, making it 'less nice' to other processes?

    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: C

    The renice command is used to alter the scheduling priority of a running process. A higher nice value (from -20 to 19) means a lower priority. To decrease the priority of the process, you must provide a positive nice value. The command renice 10 25123 sets the nice value of PID 25123 to 10, making it yield CPU time more readily to other processes. A regular user can only increase the nice value (decrease priority), while root can also decrease the nice value (increase priority).