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Exam Information
Official specifications published by CompTIA
Exam Format
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Skills this practice test covers
- Rack a server and plan its power, cooling and cable management.
- Match RAID levels and storage types such as DAS, NAS and SAN to a workload.
- Install a server operating system and connect it to DNS, DHCP, NTP and VLANs.
- Explain clustering, virtualization and the basic scripts that automate server tasks.
- Harden a server, plan its backups and decommission it without leaving data behind.
- Troubleshoot hardware, storage, operating system, network and security faults step by step.
Explore related topics
SK0-005 exam content
4 domains · 25 topics · 267 of 883 questions are written for SK0-005
Server Hardware Installation and Management18%45 questions
This domain covers the physical server, from the rack to its parts. Candidates install and cable hardware, plan power and cooling, build storage, and service components without long outages.
Skills tested
- Plan rack layout, redundant power and airflow before a server goes in.
- Pick a RAID level and storage type, such as DAS, NAS or an iSCSI SAN, for a stated need.
- Replace hot-swappable drives, fans and power supplies while the server keeps running.
- Manage hardware remotely through out-of-band tools such as IPMI, iDRAC and iLO.
- Set BIOS/UEFI options such as boot order, the TPM and secure boot.
Official topics
- Given a scenario, install physical hardware
- Given a scenario, deploy and manage storage
- Given a scenario, perform server hardware maintenance
Server Administration30%85 questions
The largest domain covers the work after installation. Candidates install an operating system, connect the server to network services, and manage roles, clusters, virtual machines, scripts, documentation and licenses.
Skills tested
- Choose an install method, such as PXE boot or an unattended install, and a partition style such as GPT.
- Configure static addressing, DNS, DHCP, NTP, VLAN tagging and NIC teaming.
- Compare active-passive and active-active clusters, and explain quorum and split-brain.
- Manage virtual machines with templates, snapshots and live migration, and compare hypervisor types.
- Read a short PowerShell or Bash script that uses variables, loops and conditionals.
Official topics
- Given a scenario, install server operating systems
- Given a scenario, configure servers to use network infrastructure services
- Given a scenario, configure and maintain server functions and features
- Explain the key concepts of high availability for servers
- Summarize the purpose and operation of virtualization
- Summarize scripting basics for server administration
- Explain the importance of asset management and documentation
- Explain licensing concepts
Security and Disaster Recovery24%66 questions
This domain protects the server and its data, and plans for the day something fails. It runs from encryption and physical security to account policies, hardening, decommissioning, backups and recovery sites.
Skills tested
- Encrypt data at rest and in transit, and manage certificates through a PKI.
- Set password, lockout and MFA policies, and give each account only the rights it needs.
- Harden a server by removing unneeded services and software and closing unused ports.
- Choose full, incremental or differential backups, and test that restores work.
- Compare hot, warm and cold sites against the RTO and RPO a business needs.
Official topics
- Summarize data security concepts
- Summarize physical security concepts
- Explain important concepts pertaining to identity and access management for server administration
- Explain data security risks and mitigation strategies
- Given a scenario, apply server hardening methods
- Summarize proper server decommissioning concepts
- Explain the importance of backups and restores
- Explain the importance of disaster recovery
Troubleshooting28%71 questions
This domain teaches CompTIA's troubleshooting method and then applies it to hardware, storage, operating systems, networks and security. Every topic after the method itself starts from a scenario.
Skills tested
- Work through the method from identifying the problem to documenting findings, actions and outcomes.
- Diagnose POST errors, beep codes, boot loops and overheating.
- Find the cause of a degraded RAID array, a failed HBA or a mount error.
- Fix IP conflicts, wrong gateways, DNS failures and VLAN mistakes with ping, traceroute and nslookup.
- Investigate account lockouts, certificate problems and signs of malware.
Official topics
- Explain the troubleshooting theory and methodology
- Given a scenario, troubleshoot common hardware failures
- Given a scenario, troubleshoot storage problems
- Given a scenario, troubleshoot common OS and software problems
- Given a scenario, troubleshoot network connectivity issues
- Given a scenario, troubleshoot security problems
Requirements
- No formal prerequisites: anyone can book the exam.
- Recommended: CompTIA A+, earned with Core 1 and Core 2, or the same knowledge.
- Recommended: two years of server experience, such as installing hardware and configuring an operating system.
- Recommended: basic networking knowledge and familiarity with Windows Server and Linux.
About the SK0-005 exam
People who keep physical and virtual servers running take SK0-005 to earn CompTIA Server+. The certification is vendor-neutral: its objectives cover Windows and Linux servers alike. The exam follows a server through its whole life, from racking and storage setup to administration, security, recovery planning and repair. Many questions describe a situation, such as a RAID array that has lost a drive, and ask for the correct next step. Server+ stays valid for three years.
Server Administration carries the most weight, and the PlanetCert practice test matches it with the most questions, led by virtualization and scripting. Each explanation shows why the right answer works, for example why RAID 6 keeps running after two drives fail while RAID 5 survives only one. Flashcard mode suits the long lists of backup types, recovery sites and file systems. Brainy AI Assistant can explain what a beep code points to, compare iDRAC with iLO, or write a new question about a failed RAID rebuild.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- CompTIA Server+Intermediate
Server+ lasts three years. Holders keep it current with continuing education units, a pass on the current Server+ exam, or a pass on a higher-level CompTIA exam.
- Before
- 220-1201 CompTIA A+ Core 1
Recommended by CompTIA. A+ also needs Core 2, and together they cover the hardware and operating system basics that Server+ builds on.
- 220-1201 CompTIA A+ Core 1
- After
- CAS-005 CompTIA SecurityX
CompTIA's advanced security certification, a further step for server administrators who move into security architecture and engineering.
- CAS-005 CompTIA SecurityX
How to prepare for SK0-005
- 1
Pair each objective with a lab task
List every SK0-005 objective and write next to it the hands-on task that proves it, such as building a RAID 5 array or setting a static IP address. Tick each task off once it works.
- 2
Run Windows and Linux side by side
Install one Windows Server and one Linux virtual machine on a hypervisor. Give both static addresses, DNS and NTP, and take a snapshot before every change.
- 3
Fail a drive and rebuild the array
Build a software RAID set, remove one virtual disk and rebuild it. Then compare usable capacity and fault tolerance for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and 10.
- 4
Give administration the most hours
Server Administration is the largest domain. Write short PowerShell and Bash scripts with loops and conditionals, and practise cloning, snapshots and migration of virtual machines.
- 5
Rehearse the method under time
Switch the SK0-005 practice test to Timed Mode after every domain has had a study pass. For each missed scenario, name the troubleshooting step that was skipped, and ask Brainy AI Assistant why the right answer fits.
Start a timed SK0-005run
For SK0-005, CompTIA offers CertMaster Learn, CertMaster Practice and CertMaster Labs for Server+. The Official CompTIA Server+ Self-Paced Study Guide covers the same objectives as a book.
Who SK0-005 is for
- Server and systems administrators who install and maintain physical and virtual servers.
- Data center technicians who rack hardware, swap failed parts and keep asset records.
- IT support staff who are moving from desktops to servers.
- Cloud and network operations staff who need a vendor-neutral grounding in server hardware.
Typical job titles: Server administrator · Systems administrator · Data center technician · Infrastructure specialist · Network operations specialist · IT support specialist
SK0-005 glossary
16 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- 3-2-1 backup rule
- A backup practice that keeps three copies of the data on two different types of media, with one copy stored off site.
- Chain of custody
- A record of each hand-off of an asset or a piece of evidence, which shows that nothing was changed along the way.
- Cold site
- A recovery location with space and power but little or no equipment, so it takes the longest to bring into service.
- Configuration Management Database (CMDB)
- A database that records IT assets, their settings and how they relate to each other.
- Crypto erase
- Making the data on an encrypted drive unreadable by destroying the key that encrypts it.
- GPT (GUID Partition Table)
- A disk partition style that supports larger disks and more partitions than the older MBR style.
- Hot-swappable
- Describes a part, such as a drive or a power supply, that can be replaced while the server keeps running.
- IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface)
- A standard way to monitor and control server hardware remotely, including its power and its console.
- iSCSI
- A protocol that carries storage commands over an ordinary IP network, so a server can use remote disks as if they were local.
- Out-of-band management
- Managing a server through a separate connection, such as a dedicated management port, so it can be reached even when its operating system is down.
- PXE boot
- Starting a server from its network card, so it can load an operating system installer from another server on the network.
- RAID 5 (Striping with parity)
- A RAID level that spreads data and parity information across the drives, so the array keeps working after one drive fails.
- Recovery point objective (RPO)
- The largest amount of data, measured as time, that a business can afford to lose in a failure.
- Split-brain
- A cluster fault in which the nodes lose contact with each other and more than one of them acts as the active node.
- Storage area network (SAN)
- A dedicated network that gives servers block-level access to shared storage.
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
- A chip on the motherboard that stores encryption keys and helps confirm that the boot process has not been tampered with.