010-160 Linux Essentials Certificate Exam - version 1.6 Questions and Answers

The operator that matches the preceding character either zero or one time in a regular expression is the question mark (?). This operator is also known as the optional quantifier, because it makes the preceding character or group of characters optional. For example, the regular expression colou?r matches both color and colour, because the u is optional. The question mark can also be used to modify other quantifiers, such as * (zero or more), + (one or more), or {m,n} (between m and n times), to make them non-greedy, meaning they will match the shortest possible string instead of the longest. For example, the regular expression .*? matches any character zero or more times, but as few as possible. The question mark is one of the basic regular expression operators covered in the Linux Essentials certification program from the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). References:

• Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI)
• Regular Expressions:Difference between ‘optional occurrence’ and 'zero …

The correct statement about Free Software is that it may be modified by anyone using it. This is one of the four essential freedoms of Free Software, which are: the freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose; the freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish; the freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor; and the freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others1. Access to the source code is a precondition for these freedoms1.

The other statements are false for the following reasons:

• Free Software is not developed by volunteers only. It can be developed by anyone, including individuals, companies, organizations, or communities. Some Free Software developers are paid for their work, while others do it as a hobby or for social benefit1.
• Free Software does not have to be available free of charge. It can be sold or given away for any price. The term “free” refers to the users’ freedom, not the price of the software1. However, Free Software users have the freedom to redistribute copies, so they can obtain the software at no charge from someone who has a copy1.
• Free Software does not only run on Linux. It can run on any operating system that supports it, such as Windows, MacOS, BSD, or Android. Linux is an example of a Free Software operating system, but not the only one1.
• Free Software is not only distributed as a compiled binary. It can also be distributed as source code, or both. In fact, Free Software must provide access to the source code, otherwise the users cannot study or modify the software1.

References:

• What is Free Software? - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

 The PATH environment variable is a special variable that contains a list of directories that the system searches when looking for a command to execute12. The purpose of the PATH variable is to make it easier and faster for users to run commands without having to type the full path to the executable file. For example, if you want to run the ls command, which is located in the /bin directory, you don’t have to type /bin/ls every time. You can just type ls, and the system will find the executable file in the /bin directory, which is one of the directories in the PATH variable. The PATH variable can be viewed with the echo command12:

$ echo $PATH

The PATH variable can also be modified by adding or removing directories, either temporarily or permanently, depending on the user’s needs12. For example, if you have acustom script or program in your home directory, and you want to run it from anywhere, you can add your home directory to the PATH variable with the export command12:

$ export PATH=$PATH:~/myprogram

This will append your home directory to the end of the PATH variable, and the system will search it last when looking for a command. To make this change permanent, you need to edit a configuration file, such as ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile, and add the export command there12.

References:

• How To View and Update the Linux PATH Environment Variable | DigitalOcean
• Linux path environment variable - Linux command line - LinuxConfig.org

The sort command is used to sort the lines of a file or a stream of input according to a specified criterion, such as alphabetical order, numerical order, reverse order, etc. By default, the sort command sorts the lines in ascending alphabetical order, using the firstcharacter of each line as the key. For example, the command sort data.csv will sort the lines of the file data.csv in alphabetical order and display the output on the screen. If you want to save the sorted output to a new file, you can use the redirection operator (>) to specify the output file name. For example, the command sort data.csv > sorted_data.csv will sort the lines of the file data.csv in alphabetical order and save the output to a new file named sorted_data.csv. The other commands are either invalid or do not perform the sorting operation. The a…z command does not exist, the abc command is a text editor, the wc command counts the number of words, lines, and bytes in a file, and the grep command searches for a pattern in a file or a stream of input. Therefore, the correct answer is B. References:

• Linux Essentials - Linux Professional Institute (LPI), section 2.3.2
• LPI Linux Essentials Study Guide: Exam 010 v1.6, 3rd Edition, chapter 4, page 95.

CentOS is a Linux distribution that is based on the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It is a free and open-source community-supported OS that provides an enterprise-level computing platform. CentOS is fully compatible with RHEL and can run the same applications and packages. Therefore, CentOS allows the team members to apply as much of their Red Hat Enterprise Linux knowledge as possible for their hobby project. References:

• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Objectives1, Topic 1.1: Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems, Subtopic: Linux Distributions
• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Exam Preparation Guide2, Section 1.1: Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems, Page 7
• CentOS Website3, About CentOS Linux
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives - Wikipedia4

 A bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or between computers. There are different types of buses that serve different purposes. The RAM bus connects the CPU with the main memory, the NUMA bus connects multiple processors in a multiprocessor system, the CPU bus connects the CPU with other components on the motherboard, and the Auto bus is a fictional bus that can transform into a robot. The SATA bus is the correct answer because it is a type of bus that can connect hard disk drives with the motherboard. SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment and it is a standard interface for connecting storage devices such as hard disk drives, solid state drives, and optical drives. SATA offers faster data transfer rates, lower power consumption, and improved cable management compared to older interfaces such as IDE and SCSI. References: : [Bus (computing)] : [Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 TV series)] : [Serial ATA]3) : [SATA vs. IDE: What’s the Difference?]

The grep command is used to search for a pattern in a file or input. The -i option makes the search case-insensitive, meaning that it will match both uppercase and lowercase letters. The grep command takes the pattern as the first argument and the file name as the second argument. Therefore, the command grep -i linux operating-systems.txt will find all lines in the file operating-systems.txt which contain the term linux, regardless of the case. References: Linux Essentials - Topic 103: Finding Linux Documentation and Linux Essentials - Topic 104: Command Line Basics

The /etc/skel directory is a skeleton directory that contains the default files and directories that are automatically copied to the home directory of a new user when the account is created by the useradd command12. The purpose of this directory is to provide a consistent and uniform environment for all new users and to save the system administrator’s time and effort in configuring the user settings12. The /etc/skel directory can be customized by adding or removing files and directories as needed, depending on the desired default settings for the new users12.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A. The personal user settings of root are stored in this directory. This is not true, as the personal user settings of root are stored in the /root directory, which is the home directory of the root user3. The /etc/skel directory does not affect the root user’s settings, but only the settings of the new users created by the useradd command12.
• B. The files from the directory are copied to the home directory of the new user when starting the system. This is not true, as the files from the directory are copied to the home directory of the new user when the account is created, not when starting the system12. The copying process only happens once, when the useradd command is executed, and not every time the system is started12.
• E. The directory contains the global settings for the Linux system. This is not true, as the directory contains the default settings for the new users, not the global settings for theLinux system12. The global settings for the Linux system are usually stored in other directories under /etc, such as /etc/default, /etc/sysconfig, /etc/init.d, etc4.

References:

• Understanding the /etc/skel directory in Linux – The Geek Diary
• /etc/skel directory in Linux - techPiezo
• Linux File System Hierarchy - /root directory - LinuxConfig.org
• Linux configuration: Understanding *.d directories in /etc | Enable Sysadmin

The last command in Linux is used to display the list of all the users logged in and out since the file /var/log/wtmp was created1. The output of the last command shows the username, the terminal, the IP address, the login time and date, and the duration of the session for each record2. The option E is the only one that matches this format. Theother options are not related to the last command. Option A shows a list of commands executed by a user. Option B shows the password change information for a user. Option C shows the last login information for a user. Option D shows the mount information for a filesystem. References:

• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Objectives3, Topic 1.4: Command Line Basics, Subtopic: Basic Shell Commands
• Linux last Command Tutorial for Beginners (8 Examples)4
• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Exam Preparation Guide, Section 1.4: Command Line Basics, Page 16

 The DNS record types that hold an IP address are the A and AAAA records. These records are used to map a domain name to an IP address of the host, which is necessary for establishing a connection between a client and a server. The A record holds a 32-bit IPv4 address, while the AAAA record holds a 128-bit IPv6 address. For example, the A record for www.example.com could be:

www.example.com. IN A 192.0.2.1

This means that the domain name www.example.com resolves to the IPv4 address 192.0.2.1. Similarly, the AAAA record for www.example.com could be:

www.example.com. IN AAAA 2001:db8::1

This means that the domain name www.example.com resolves to the IPv6 address 2001:db8::1.

The other options are incorrect because:

• NS records are used to specify the authoritative name servers for a domain. They do not hold an IP address, but a domain name of the name server. For example, the NS record for example.com could be:

example.com. IN NS ns1.example.com.

This means that the name server ns1.example.com is authoritative for the domain example.com.

• MX records are used to specify the mail exchange servers for a domain. They do not hold an IP address, but a domain name of the mail server and a preference value. For example, the MX record for example.com could be:

example.com. IN MX 10 mail.example.com.

This means that the mail server mail.example.com has a preference value of 10 for receiving email for the domain example.com.

• CNAME records are used to create an alias for a domain name. They do not hold an IP address, but another domain name that the alias points to. For example, the CNAME record for www.example.com could be:

www.example.com. IN CNAME example.com.

This means that the domain name www.example.com is an alias for the domain name example.com.

References:

• DNS Record Types: Defined and Explained - Site24x7
• List of DNS record types - Wikipedia

A recursive directory listing is a way of displaying the files and folders in a directory and all its sub-directories. The recursive option can be used with various commands, such as ls, find, or dir, to list the files recursively. For example, the command ls -R will list all the files and folders inthe current directory and any sub-directories, showing the hierarchy of the file system123 A recursive directory listing does not include the permissions, ownership, or file system details ofthe files, unless specified by other options. For example, the command ls -lR will list the files recursively and also show the permissions, ownership, size, and modification date of each file1 A recursive directory listing also does not include a preview of the content of each file, unless specified by other options. For example, the command ls -R --file-type will list the files recursively and also show the file type indicator, such as / for directories, * for executable files, @ for symbolic links, etc1 References: 1: ls (Unix) - Wikipedia 2: Recursively List all directories and files - Stack Overflow 3: Why is ls -R called “recursive” listing? - Ask Ubuntu

 Ubuntu Linux LTS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux are two Linux distributions that meet the requirements of hosting services for a period of several years and receiving important security updates from their Linux distribution. LTS stands for Long Term Support, which means that these versions of Ubuntu Linux are supported by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, for five years with security patches, bug fixes, and software updates1. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a commercial Linux distribution that offers a stable and secure platform for enterprise applications, with a 10-year life cycle and regular security updates from Red Hat, the company behind RHEL2. Fedora Linux, Debian GNU/Linux Unstable, and Ubuntu Linux non-LTS are not suitable for the requirements, because they have shorter support cycles and are more focused on providing the latest features and software versions, rather than stability and security. Fedora Linux releases a new version every six months and each version is supported for 13 months3. Debian GNU/Linux Unstable is the development branch of Debian, which is constantly updated with new packages and changes, but is not intended for production use4. Ubuntu Linux non-LTS releases a new version every six months and each version is supported for nine months1. References:

• Ubuntu release cycle | Ubuntu
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle - Red Hat Customer Portal
• Fedora Release Life Cycle - Fedora Project Wiki
• Debian Unstable - Debian Wiki

The tar command in Linux is used to create, extract, list, and manipulate archive files1. The -c option tells the command to create a new archive file. The -f option specifies the name of the archive file. The last argument is the name of the directory or file to be archived. Therefore, the command tar -cf work.tar ./work/ will create an archive file named work.tar from the contents of the directory ./work/. The other options are either invalid or do not create the desired archive file. Option A uses an unrecognized option --new. Option C uses an incorrect option --content and an incorrect extension .tgz for a plain tar archive. Option D and E use an incorrect syntax for redirecting the input or output of the tar command. References:

• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Objectives, Topic 1.4: Command Line Basics, Subtopic: Basic Shell Commands
• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Exam Preparation Guide, Section 1.4: Command Line Basics, Page 16
• Tar Command in Linux (Create and Extract Archives) | Linuxize2

The correct command to copy the two files ending in .txt to the /tmp/ directory is cp *.txt /tmp/. This command uses the wildcard character * to match any number of characters beforethe .txt extension. Therefore, it will copy both texts 1.txt and texts 2.txt to the destination directory /tmp/. The other options are incorrect because they use different wildcard characters or syntax that do not match the desired files. For example, option A uses ?? to match exactly two characters before the .txt extension, but the files have a space and a number, which are not considered as one character. Option C uses a backslash \ to escape the dot . before the .txt extension, but this is unnecessary and will cause the command to fail. Option D uses ? to match exactly one character before the .txt extension, but the files have more than one character. Option E uses $? to match the exit status of the previous command before the .txt extension, but this is not relevant and will cause the command to fail123 References: 1: Linux wildcards | How do wildcards work in Linux with examples? - EDUCBA 2: Wildcards in Linux explained with 10 examples | FOSS Linux 3: What are wildcard characters in Linux? – Sage-Answers

DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is a protocol that provides quick, automatic, and central management for the distribution of IP addresses within a network. It also configures other network information, such as the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server information, on the device1. DHCP uses a client/server architecture, where a DHCP server issues unique IP addresses and automatically configures the devices that request them2. DHCP allows devices to move freely from one network to another and receive an IP address automatically, which is helpful with mobile devices1.

The other options are not protocols used for automatic IP address configuration. NFS stands for Network File System, which is a protocol that allows a user to access and modify files over a network as if they were on their own computer. LDAP stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, which is a protocol that provides access to a centralized directory service that stores information about users, groups, computers, and other resources on a network. SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, which is a protocol that enables the sending and receiving of email messages over a network. DNS stands for Domain Name System, which is a protocol that translates domain names into IP addresses and vice versa. References:

• Linux Essentials Exam Objectives, Version 1.6, Topic 105.1, Weight 4
• What Is DHCP? (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - Lifewire
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) | Microsoft Learn
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - Wikipedia
• How does AutoIP work? - Barix
• [Network File System - Wikipedia]
• [Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - Wikipedia]
• [Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - Wikipedia]
• [Domain Name System - Wikipedia]

The files /etc/passwd and /etc/group are the source of the information in the following output:

uid=1000 (bob) gid=1000 (bob) groups=1000 (bob), 10 (wheel), 150 (docker), 1001 (libvirt) (wireshark), 989

The /etc/passwd file contains information about user accounts, such as the username, password, user ID (UID), group ID (GID), full name, home directory, and login shell1. The /etc/group file contains information about groups, such as the group name, password, group ID (GID), and members2.

The output shows the UID, GID, and group membership of the user bob. The UID and GID of bob are 1000, which can be found in the /etc/passwd file. The groups that bob belongs to are bob, wheel, docker, libvirt, wireshark, and 989, which can be found in the /etc/group file. The group names are shown in parentheses after the GID, except for the last group, which has no name.

The other options are not files that store user and group information in Linux. The /etc/id file does not exist by default. The /home/index file is not a standard file and has no relation to user and group information. The /var/db/users file is not a standard file and has no relation to user and group information. References:

• Linux Essentials Exam Objectives, Version 1.6, Topic 103.1, Weight 2
• Linux Essentials Certification Guide, Chapter 3, Page 51-52
• Linux Filesystem Hierarchy, Chapter 3, Page 17-18
• Linux Users and Groups, Chapter 2, Page 9-10

A free software license is a notice that grants the recipient of a piece of software extensive rights to modify and redistribute that software. These actions are usually prohibited by copyright law, but the rights-holder (usually the author) of a piece of software can remove these restrictions by accompanying the software with a software license which grants the recipient these rights. Software using such a license is free software (or free and open-source software) as conferred by the copyright holder. Free software licenses grant users the freedom to use it for any purpose, study and change the source code and copy and redistribute the software with or without modifications. Free software must come with source code or provide access to it, while the freedom to redistribute includes the right to give away copies gratis as well as sell copies1 References: 1: Free-software license - Wikipedia

 The correct commands to output the content of the file Texts 2.txt are A and E. These commands use the cat command, which stands for concatenate, to display the content of one or more files. The cat command can take one or more filenames as arguments and print their content to the standard output (usually the terminal screen)12. The commands A and E use different ways to deal with the space character in the filename. The space character is a special character in Linux that separates words and commands. To prevent the shell from interpreting the space as a word separator, the commands A and E use either of the following methods34:

• Option A uses single quotes (') around the filename to preserve the literal value of the space character. This tells the shell to treat the filename as a single argument and pass it to the cat command. For example: cat ‘Texts 2.txt’
• Option E uses a backslash () before the space character to escape its special meaning. This tells the shell to ignore the space as a word separator and treat it as part of the filename. For example: cat Texts\ 2.txt

The other options are incorrect because they use different syntax that do not output the content of the file. For example:

• Option B uses a double dash (–) before the filename to indicate the end of options. This is usually used to prevent the shell from interpreting a filename that starts with a dash (-) as an option. However, in this case, the filename does not start with a dash, so the double dash is unnecessary and will cause the command to fail. For example: cat – Texts 2.txt
• Option C uses vertical bars (|) around the filename to indicate a pipe. A pipe is a way of connecting the output of one command to the input of another command. However, in this case, there is no command before or after the pipe, so the pipe is meaningless and will cause the command to fail. For example: cat |Texts 2.txt|
• Option D uses single quotes (') and a backslash () together around the filename. This is redundant and will cause the command to fail. The single quotes already preserve the literal value of the space character, so the backslash is not needed. Moreover, the backslash inside the single quotes will be treated as part of the filename, not as an escape character. For example: cat ‘Texts\ 2.txt’

References: 1: How to Use Linux Cat Command (With Examples) - phoenixNAP 2: Cat command in Linux with examples - GeeksforGeeks 3: How to escape spaces in path during scp copy in Linux? - Stack Overflow 4: How to handle spaces in file names when using xargs on find results? - Ask Ubuntu

The Raspberry Pi uses an SD card (or microSD card for newer models) as its main storage device. This means that the operating system and any other files are stored on the SD card, which can be easily inserted or removed from the Raspberry Pi. The SD card also allows the user to switch between different operating systems by using different cards or partitions. The Raspberry Pi does not have any internal storage, such as a hard disk drive or a solid state drive, nor does it use any external devices, such as an IDE bus, a firmware partition, or a GPIO module, to store the operating system. References:

• Raspberry Pi OS – Raspberry Pi
• Choosing Storage for Raspberry Pi - Kingston Technology
• Beginner’s Guide: How To Install a New OS on Raspberry Pi

The host command is used to resolve a DNS name to an IP address or vice versa. It can also perform other DNS queries, such as finding the mail servers for a domain. The host command has the following syntax: host [options] [name] [server]. The name argument can be a hostname, such as www.lpi.org, or an IP address, such as 192.168.0.1. The server argument is optional and specifies the name or IP address of the DNS server to query. If no server is given, the default system resolver is used.  References:

• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Objectives: 1.4.1. Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and types of DNS records1
• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Exam Study Resources: Linux Essentials Manual - Chapter 10. Network Fundamentals - 10.3. DNS and Hostname Resolution - 10.3.1. The host Command2
• Linux Essentials Version 1.6 Exam Study Resources: Linux Essentials Manual - Appendix A. Answers to the Exercises - Chapter 10. Network Fundamentals - 10.3. DNS and Hostname Resolution - Exercise 10.3.12