Mixed Deck — All SAC Topics Flashcards

What is the PRIMARY purpose of continuing education requirements in Assessment & Evaluation Methods for SAC professionals?

Answer: Maintaining current knowledge and competency as the field evolves

Continuing education in Assessment & Evaluation Methods ensures professionals maintain current knowledge and skills as standards, technologies, and best practices evolve in the System Administration field.

How does risk management apply to daily practice in Documentation & Record Management for System Administration professionals?

Answer: Through proactive identification of potential hazards and implementation of preventive measures

Effective risk management in Documentation & Record Management requires proactive hazard identification and preventive measures, not just reactive responses. This approach reduces incidents, improves outcomes, and protects both professionals and clients.

Which approach BEST ensures documentation remains accurate when infrastructure is managed as code (IaC)?

Answer: Generate documentation automatically from IaC code and store it alongside the code

Auto-generating documentation from IaC code (e.g., Terraform docs, README generation) keeps documentation synchronized with the actual infrastructure state.

An administrator notices repeated failed login attempts from a single IP address. Which security measure would BEST mitigate this threat?

Answer: Implement account lockout and IP-based rate limiting

Account lockout policies and IP-based rate limiting prevent brute-force attacks by blocking excessive failed authentication attempts.

What does the term 'uptime' measure in system administration?

Answer: The amount of time a system has been continuously running

Uptime refers to the duration a system has been operational and available without interruption.

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 key difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test?

Answer: Vulnerability assessments identify weaknesses; penetration tests actively exploit them

A vulnerability assessment identifies and reports potential weaknesses, while a penetration test actively attempts to exploit those weaknesses to confirm impact.

Which file system feature allows an administrator to revert a volume to a previous state?

Answer: Snapshots

File system snapshots capture the state of a volume at a point in time, enabling rollback without a full restore.

Which Python library is commonly used to run shell commands from within a Python script and capture their output?

Answer: subprocess

The subprocess module (especially subprocess.run() and subprocess.Popen()) executes external commands and captures stdout/stderr.

What documentation practice is considered essential in Assessment & Evaluation Methods within the System Administration field?

Answer: Recording actions, observations, and outcomes in real-time or as close to the event as possible

Real-time or near-real-time documentation in Assessment & Evaluation Methods ensures accuracy, provides a contemporaneous record, and is considered the gold standard for professional accountability and legal defensibility.

A change was approved and implemented, but no post-implementation review was documented. What risk does this create?

Answer: Lessons learned are lost, making future similar changes more error-prone

Without a post-implementation review, teams cannot capture lessons learned, leaving recurring errors undocumented and unaddressed.

Which document should be referenced FIRST when onboarding a new system administrator to an existing environment?

Answer: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

SOPs provide standardized, approved procedures for routine tasks and are the authoritative starting point for new admins.

Which protocol uses port 443 and provides encrypted communication for web traffic?

Answer: HTTPS

HTTPS uses TLS/SSL encryption over port 443 to secure web communications.

In a server room, which environmental control is MOST critical for preventing hardware failure due to heat buildup?

Answer: Hot/cold aisle containment and HVAC

Hot/cold aisle containment combined with HVAC systems ensures proper airflow and maintains safe operating temperatures for equipment.

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.

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.

Which log format makes it easiest to correlate events across multiple systems using a central SIEM?

Answer: Syslog with consistent RFC 5424 structured fields

RFC 5424 syslog provides structured fields (facility, severity, timestamp, host, message) that SIEMs can parse and correlate across diverse systems.

What is the primary purpose of a system baseline in IT administration?

Answer: To establish normal performance metrics for comparison during troubleshooting

A system baseline captures normal performance metrics so administrators can identify deviations that indicate a problem.

What does the 'shebang' line '#!/usr/bin/env python3' at the top of a script do?

Answer: Tells the OS to execute the script using the python3 interpreter found in PATH

The shebang combined with /usr/bin/env locates python3 dynamically in PATH, making the script portable across systems.

A sysadmin notices memory utilization averages 95% over a 2-week period. What is the most appropriate next step?

Answer: Document the finding and plan a capacity upgrade

Sustained high memory utilization indicates a capacity issue that should be documented and addressed through proper planning and change management.