LFCA Question #19: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

Which of the following standard log files would provide the most detailed information on why a recently upgraded custom kernel failed to boot?

Options

• A/var/log/boot.log
• B/var/log/kern.log
• C/var/log/svslog
• D/var/log/auth.log

Explanation

The kern.log file contains detailed messages from the Linux kernel, making it the most relevant source for diagnosing kernel boot failures.

Common mistakes.

• A. /var/log/boot.log contains messages from services that start during the boot process, but /var/log/kern.log is more specific to kernel-level issues.
• C. /var/log/svslog is not a standard Linux log file; the correct standard file is usually syslog or messages.
• D. /var/log/auth.log records authentication and authorization events, not kernel boot issues.

Concept tested. Linux system logging

Reference. https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/syslog.conf.5.html

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