Which of the following statements is true regarding systemd timer units?

Question

Options

• ATimer units can only be defined within a service unit's file.
• BThe command executed by the timer is specified in the timer unit's [Cmd] section.
• CA dedicated system service, systemd-cron, handles the execution of timer units.
• DTimer units only exist in the system scope and are not available for users.
• EEach systemd timer unit controls a specific systemd service unit.

• A
  4% (1)
• B
  12% (3)
• C
  4% (1)
• E
  81% (21)

Explanation

Option E is correct because systemd timer units work in pairs with service units - a .timer file activates a .service file of the same base name (e.g., backup.timer starts backup.service). The timer unit handles when to run, while the service unit defines what to run.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A - Timer units are separate .timer files, completely independent from .service files, not embedded within them.
• B - There is no [Cmd] section in systemd; the command to execute lives in the paired service unit's [Service] section under ExecStart=.
• C - No systemd-cron daemon exists; systemd itself natively manages timer execution through the main daemon.
• D - Timer units exist in both system scope and user scope; users can manage their own timers with systemctl --user.

Memory tip: Think of timer units as an alarm clock (the .timer) paired with a to-do list (the .service) - the alarm tells you when, but the list tells you what. One alarm, one list - always a 1:1 relationship.

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