Foundational Concepts & Principles Flashcards

What does 'high availability' (HA) mean in the context of system administration?

Answer: A system designed to minimize downtime and remain operational during failures

High availability refers to systems designed with redundancy and failover mechanisms to ensure continuous operation despite component failures.

Which protocol is used to securely transfer files between systems over an encrypted channel?

Answer: SFTP

SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) provides encrypted file transfer over an SSH connection, unlike plain FTP which transmits in cleartext.

What is the purpose of subnetting in network administration?

Answer: To divide a larger network into smaller, manageable logical segments

Subnetting divides an IP address space into smaller networks to improve organization, security, and routing efficiency.

In Linux, what does the 'chmod 755' command grant?

Answer: Read, write, execute for owner; read and execute for group and others

chmod 755 sets rwx (7) for the owner and r-x (5) for group and others, commonly used for executable scripts and directories.

What is the main advantage of using configuration management tools like Ansible or Puppet?

Answer: They automate and enforce consistent system configurations at scale

Configuration management tools allow administrators to define desired system states and automatically apply them across many servers, reducing drift and manual errors.

What does MTU stand for and why does it matter in networking?

Answer: Maximum Transfer Unit; it defines the largest packet size a network can transmit

MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) defines the largest data packet a network interface can send; mismatches can cause fragmentation or connectivity issues.

Which concept describes separating critical tasks so that no single person can complete a sensitive operation alone?

Answer: Separation of duties

Separation of duties splits responsibilities across multiple people to prevent fraud, errors, and abuse of access.