Questions for the SK0-005 were updated on : Dec 05 ,2025
A technician is troubleshooting a database server that has 12 external disk arrays. Multiple disks are
in a degraded state. The server is in a remote colocation facility and has on-site support. The
technician notices all of the external storage arrays are degraded, but the internal arrays are
functional. Which of the following steps should the technician take next to quickly address this issue?
C
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
The external disk arrays being in a degraded state suggests a RAID failure or a communication issue
with the storage system.
The quickest and most effective solution is to access the RAID utility software remotely via Remote
Desktop Protocol (RDP) to diagnose and potentially rebuild the degraded arrays.
This avoids unnecessary downtime and delays caused by traveling to the site before attempting
remote troubleshooting.
If the RAID utility shows disk failures, the technician can coordinate with on-site staff for further
action, such as replacing failed drives or performing additional recovery steps.
Reference:
CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Study Guide
ExamTopics - CompTIA SK0-005
A technician notices a server that contains four fans is now louder than normal even though the
temperature in the room has not changed and the load on the server has not increased. Which of the
following is most likely the cause of the noise?
A
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
A sudden increase in fan noise without any changes in temperature or server workload is typically
due to a defective fan.
If one fan fails, the remaining fans will automatically increase their speed to compensate for the loss,
leading to increased noise levels.
Servers use intelligent fan control systems, which monitor temperature and fan health. If a fan stops
functioning properly, the others will ramp up to maintain adequate cooling.
This issue can be resolved by inspecting and replacing the defective fan to restore normal cooling
operation.
Reference:
CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Study Guide
ExamTopics - CompTIA SK0-005
A recently deployed server is experiencing significant connection issues after being plugged into the
network switch. An administrator was asked to review the server configuration and finds the
following:
10Gb server NIC with 50-micron optic installed
10m single-mode fiber patch cable to the switch
10Gb switch interface with short-range optic installed
Which of the following steps should the administrator take next?
A
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
The server's NIC is equipped with a 50-micron optic, indicating it is designed for multimode fiber
(MMF). However, the current setup uses a single-mode fiber (SMF) patch cable. To resolve the
connectivity issue, the administrator should replace the switch's optic module with one that supports
MMF, ensuring compatibility between the server NIC and the network infrastructure.
A server administrator needs to ensure proprietary data does not leave the company. Which of the
following should the administrator implement to meet this requirement?
D
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies are designed to detect and prevent unauthorized transmission of
sensitive data outside the organization. Implementing DLP helps monitor and control data flows,
ensuring proprietary information remains within the company.
Which of the following technologies best describes Hyper-V Replica?
D
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
Hyper-V Replica is a feature in Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization platform that enables asynchronous
replication of virtual machines to a secondary location. This technology is primarily designed for
disaster recovery scenarios, allowing organizations to restore services in the event of site failures.
A technician receives reports that a file server is performing slower than usual after a power failure.
While investigating the issue, the technician discovers the write cache was disabled. The technician
checks a server configuration document and confirms the cache was previously enabled. Which of
the following events most likely caused this change?
C
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
Write caching improves disk performance by temporarily storing write operations in faster cache
memory before writing to disk. However, to prevent data loss during power failures, write caching
relies on a battery-backed cache. If the RAID controller's battery fails, the system may automatically
disable write caching to protect data integrity, leading to reduced performance.
A technician is installing a large number of servers in a data center with limited rack space. Which of
the following would accomplish this goal while using the least amount of space?
A
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
Blade enclosures are designed to maximize server density by housing multiple blade servers within a
single chassis. This design minimizes the physical footprint compared to traditional rack-mounted
servers. Key benefits include:
Space Efficiency: Multiple servers share power, cooling, and networking within a compact enclosure.
Simplified Management: Centralized management of power, cooling, and networking simplifies
administration.
Scalability: Easily add or replace blade servers without significant reconfiguration.
Three new servers that use similar types of resources need to be set up, installed with the same OS,
and ready within a short time frame. Which of the following installation types would most likely be
used?
C
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
When deploying multiple servers that require similar resources and need to be operational quickly,
virtualization is often the most efficient approach. Virtualization allows for the creation of multiple
virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical server, each running its own instance of an operating
system. This method offers several advantages:
Rapid Deployment: VM templates can be used to quickly deploy standardized server environments,
reducing setup time.
Resource Efficiency: Virtualization enables better utilization of hardware resources by allocating
them dynamically among VMs.
Scalability: Additional virtual servers can be created as needed without the need for additional
physical hardware.
A technician is configuring a server that will need to accommodate a planned network upgrade. All
hosts will be changed from 10Gb copper to 25Gb fiber. Which of the following would best suit the
requirements?
C
Explanation:
The upgrade involves transitioning from 10Gb copper to 25Gb fiber, which requires appropriate
network interface hardware:
FCoE (A) - Fibre Channel over Ethernet: This protocol allows Fibre Channel to run over Ethernet
networks, but it does not address the physical change from copper to fiber.
VLAN ID (B): VLANs segment networks but do not impact the physical connectivity (copper vs. fiber).
SFP (C) - Small Form-factor Pluggable: SFP transceivers are hot-swappable modules used in network
interfaces to support fiber connections. A 25Gb SFP28 transceiver would be required for the
transition from 10Gb copper to 25Gb fiber. This is the correct answer.
HBA (D) - Host Bus Adapter: HBAs are typically used for storage connectivity (such as Fibre Channel
SANs), not general network upgrades.
Since SFP modules allow servers to support fiber connections, this is the best choice for upgrading
from 10Gb copper to 25Gb fiber.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 3 – Networking and Connectivity
A systems administrator is performing a routine update to a server. The administrator applies the
update, restarts the server, and then conducts routine testing that reveals the critical functionality
provided by the server is unavailable. Event logs indicate a core service is failing to start. The service
is configured to start automatically, and rolling back the update does not correct the issue. Which of
the following is most likely causing the service failure?
C
Explanation:
After an update, if a core service fails to start, potential causes include dependencies, authentication,
or incomplete updates:
The server requires another reboot to complete the rollback (A): Some updates require multiple
reboots, but if rolling back did not resolve the issue, a missing dependency is more likely.
The administrator is not authorized to run the service (B): If the administrator previously had access
and the update broke the service, it is likely due to software conflicts rather than permissions.
The server requires further updates of other software components (C): Many services rely on
dependent libraries, drivers, or patches. If an update replaces or removes a necessary component,
the service may fail until additional updates are applied.
The account used to run the service has expired (D): Expired accounts usually cause authentication
failures but not outright service crashes unless explicitly required for the update process.
Since rolling back the update did not fix the issue, the most likely reason is that additional updates or
dependencies are missing.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 8 – System Maintenance and
Troubleshooting
A database developer recently requested a 4TB SATA drive utilizing spinning disks be added to an
existing system for a new, heavily used database. The storage administrator turned down the request
after reviewing it. Which of the following is the most likely reason the administrator did that?
B
Explanation:
A heavily used database requires high I/O (Input/Output) performance for frequent transactions.
Considering the storage options:
The drive is not capable of deduplication (A): Deduplication is useful for saving storage space, but it is
not a primary concern for database performance.
The drive would have slow I/O performance (B): Traditional spinning disk SATA drives have
significantly lower IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) compared to SSDs or enterprise-level
NVMe storage. A high-traffic database benefits from low-latency, high-throughput storage, which
SATA HDDs do not provide.
The drive cannot use NTFS (C): SATA drives can use NTFS, so this is incorrect.
The drive is not compatible with the server OS (D): Most modern operating systems support SATA
drives.
Because SATA spinning disks cannot handle high transaction loads efficiently, the administrator likely
rejected the request due to poor I/O performance.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 6 – Storage Technologies
An administrator is troubleshooting a performance issue with an application. The application
performs many small reads and writes in its operation. The administrator determines that the
underlying storage is currently configured to use a general-purpose array with RAID 5. Which of the
following should the administrator consider doing in order to offer higher application performance
yet still retain data protection?
D
Explanation:
RAID 5 is efficient for read-heavy workloads but is not well-suited for applications that perform many
small reads and writes due to the overhead of parity calculations. To improve performance while
maintaining redundancy:
RAID 0 (A): This would improve performance but does not offer any data protection, making it
unsuitable.
RAID 1 (B): Provides redundancy but does not enhance write performance significantly.
RAID 6 (C): Offers better fault tolerance than RAID 5 but suffers from even higher write penalties due
to double parity.
RAID 10 (D): Combines mirroring (RAID 1) and striping (RAID 0), significantly improving both read and
write performance while ensuring redundancy. This makes it the best choice for applications with
high-frequency small reads/writes.
Since the administrator needs higher performance and data protection, RAID 10 is the best choice.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 5 – RAID Performance
Considerations
Which of the following would protect data in transit?
A
Explanation:
Data in transit refers to data being transmitted over a network, and protecting it requires encryption:
SSL/TLS (A): Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) are encryption protocols
designed specifically to protect data in transit by encrypting communication between endpoints. This
is the correct answer.
SHA-512 (B): Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) is a hashing algorithm, not an encryption method. It is
used for integrity verification rather than securing data in transit.
MD5 (C): Message Digest Algorithm 5 (MD5) is another hashing function, primarily used for
checksums and integrity checks, not for encrypting transmitted data.
3DES (D): Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES) is a symmetric encryption algorithm, but it is used
for data at rest rather than data in transit.
Since the question specifically asks about protecting data in transit, SSL/TLS is the correct answer.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 9 – Security and Encryption
A server in the data center reportedly has a BSOD and is not responding. The server needs to be
rebooted. Which of the following is the best method to reboot the server remotely?
C
Explanation:
When a server crashes with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and is not responding, the most effective
way to reboot it remotely must be chosen:
Crash cart (A): A crash cart is a physical device used for troubleshooting at the server location. Since
the administrator wants a remote reboot, this is not suitable.
KVM (B): A KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch allows remote management of multiple servers
but does not inherently provide reboot capabilities.
IRMI (C) - Intelligent Remote Management Interface: This is the best option. Many enterprise servers
have Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) or Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) management
tools that allow remote power control, including forced reboots.
shutdown -r (D): This command is used to restart a server via an operating system command-line
interface. However, since the server is not responding, this command cannot be executed.
Since the server is unresponsive, the best method is to use the remote management interface
(IRMI/IPMI/iLO) to force a reboot.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 7 – Remote Server Management
A server recently started sending error messages about running out of memory while in use. After a
maintenance period during which more memory was added, the server is still unable to consistently
remain powered on. Which of the following should the technician check first?
A
Explanation:
When troubleshooting memory-related errors, it's essential to consider several key factors:
Memory Compatibility: Memory modules must match the specifications supported by the
motherboard (e.g., DDR4 vs. DDR5, ECC vs. non-ECC, buffered vs. unbuffered). Using incompatible
RAM can cause boot failures, crashes, or instability.
Memory Speed: While RAM speed mismatches can affect performance, they typically do not cause a
server to fail to power on. Most systems automatically adjust to the slowest module.
Memory Slots: Incorrect installation or damaged slots could be an issue, but the priority is to check
compatibility first.
Boot Order: This setting controls the sequence in which devices boot the OS, which is unrelated to
memory-related power issues.
Since the server remains unstable after adding memory, the most likely issue is an incompatibility
with the motherboard. The first step is to verify whether the newly installed RAM meets the server’s
hardware requirements.
Reference: CompTIA Server+ SK0-005 Official Textbook, Chapter 4 – Server Components and
Troubleshooting