LFCS Question #71: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

Where are user specific crontabs stored?

Options

• AIn the database file /etc/crontab.db which is shared by all users.
• BAs individual per-user files within /var/spool/cron.
• CAs individual per-user files in /etc/cron.user.d.
• DIn the .crontab file in the user's home directory.
• EIn the file /var/cron/user-crontab which is shared by all users.

Explanation

User-specific crontabs are stored as individual files in the /var/spool/cron directory, separate from the system-wide crontab.

Common mistakes.

• A. Crontabs are typically text files, not database files, and /etc/crontab is for system-wide jobs, not user-specific ones.
• C. /etc/cron.user.d is not a standard directory for storing user crontabs; /var/spool/cron is the correct location.
• D. While a user might create a .crontab file, the system's crontab command loads it into /var/spool/cron, and it's not directly executed from the home directory.
• E. /var/cron/user-crontab is not a standard or correct path for storing user-specific crontabs; they are individual files in /var/spool/cron.

Concept tested. User crontab file location

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

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