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Systems Administrator practice questions with answers

Updated 15 September 2026 · 2 min read

These questions cover the everyday ground of systems administration: hardware and operating systems, Linux, networking for servers, security and support practice. Work through them as if a colleague had brought each one to your desk. Commit to an answer and a reason before revealing the explanation, then check whether your reasoning matched, not just your letter.

How this guide was made

Written for this site with AI assistance, then checked automatically before publishing. The topic table, sample questions, worked examples and study plan are generated from this site’s question bank: each worked example is recalculated by separate code, and each sample answer says where it came from.

The guide deliberately states no salaries, grades, pass marks or exam dates. Those change, and they could not be checked here, so take them from the advert itself.

This site is independent and is not affiliated with MIFOTRA or any employer.

Practice questions

  1. A technician is trying to format a stubborn USB drive that fails formatting in File Explorer. Which command-line tool allows for low-level partition management?

    1. sfc
    2. chkdsk
    3. msconfig
    4. diskpart
    Show the answer

    D. diskpart

    Diskpart is a powerful command-line utility used to manage disks, partitions, and volumes, often used when GUI tools fail.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

  2. Which edition of Windows 10/11 is the minimum requirement to join an Active Directory domain?

    1. Education
    2. Pro
    3. Mobile
    4. Home
    Show the answer

    B. Pro

    Windows Home editions cannot join a Windows Server Active Directory domain; Pro or Enterprise is required.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

  3. A user wants to view the error logs for an application that keeps crashing. Which Windows utility provides detailed logs of system and application events?

    1. Services.msc
    2. Performance Monitor
    3. Event Viewer
    4. Task Manager
    Show the answer

    C. Event Viewer

    Event Viewer is the central tool for viewing logs of system events, security audits, and application errors.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

  4. You are troubleshooting an IPsec VPN tunnel where ESP packets are being dropped by an intermediary firewall. Which OSI layer protocols are being blocked?

    1. Session
    2. Data Link
    3. Network
    4. Transport
    Show the answer

    C. Network

    Objective 1.1: IPsec (including ESP) operates at the Network layer (Layer 3). Transport is Layer 4, Session Layer 5, Data link Layer 2.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

  5. A switch receives a frame with a destination MAC address of FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF. Which OSI layer is responsible for flooding this frame out all ports?

    1. Transport
    2. Physical
    3. Network
    4. Data Link
    Show the answer

    D. Data Link

    Objective 1.1: Switches operate primarily at the Data Link layer (Layer 2) to flood broadcast MAC addresses.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

  6. What is the main purpose of antivirus software?

    1. To improve graphics
    2. To speed up the computer
    3. To manage files
    4. To detect and remove malware
    Show the answer

    D. To detect and remove malware

    Antivirus software identifies malicious code by signature and behaviour, then quarantines or removes it.

    Real past-paper question; answer cross-checked against the original session. Open this question

  7. A threat actor creates a fake LinkedIn profile claiming to be an IT recruiter. They spend weeks chatting with a systems administrator before asking them to run a "skills assessment" executable. This scenario heavily utilizes...

    1. Hoax
    2. Pretexting
    3. Whaling
    4. Phishing
    Show the answer

    B. Pretexting

    Pretexting involves creating a believable fabricated scenario (a pretext) to build trust over time before exploiting the victim.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

  8. Multiple users need to send and receive email from a generic address (e.g., support@company.com) without consuming an extra license. What Exchange Online feature should be used?

    1. Shared Mailbox
    2. Public Folder
    3. Office 365 Group
    4. Distribution List
    Show the answer

    A. Shared Mailbox

    A Shared Mailbox allows multiple users to read and send email from a common address, and it does not require a separate M365 license.

    Original practice question, written against published exam objectives. Open this question

Treat each question as a small incident

Systems administration rewards a calm, ordered way of thinking. For scenario questions, write down what the system needs in order to work, then look for the fact in the question that breaks one of those needs. That habit turns guessing into diagnosis, and it carries straight over into real incidents.

Keep Windows and Linux mistakes apart

When you get a question wrong, note whether it was about Windows, Linux or neither. Many administrators discover a clear imbalance after a week of practice, and that list tells you which operating system needs more of your remaining study time.

After this set

The worked examples below cover RAID capacity, subnetting, file permissions and password strength, each generated for this page and recalculated before publishing. The questions from the full bank that follow are real items on the same areas. Anyone can read them, and an access code opens their answers.

Two calculations to try

Try each one on paper first. Every figure is generated and then recalculated by separate code before it is published.

  1. Usable space in RAID 6

    A server has 6 × 4 TB disks in RAID 6. How much usable capacity is there, and what failure can it survive?

    Show the working
    1. RAID 6 spends two disks’ worth on dual parity: (n − 2) × size.
    2. Usable = 16 TB
    3. It survives two disk failures.

    Answer: 16 TB; survives two disk failures

  2. Subnet details for a /23 address

    A host is configured as 172.29.248.201/23. Find the subnet mask, network address, broadcast address, usable host range and number of usable hosts.

    Show the working
    1. /23 means 23 network bits, so the mask is 255.255.254.0.
    2. The interesting octet is the third, where the mask is 254. Block size = 256 − 254 = 2.
    3. The network address is the multiple of 2 at or below the address in that octet: 172.29.248.0.
    4. The broadcast is one below the next network: 172.29.249.255.
    5. Usable hosts run from 172.29.248.1 to 172.29.249.254: 2^9 − 2 = 510 addresses.

    Answer: Mask 255.255.254.0, network 172.29.248.0, broadcast 172.29.249.255, hosts 172.29.248.1–172.29.249.254 (510 usable)

More from the full bank

Anyone can read these questions. Their answers and explanations open with an access code.

Common questions

Why do some questions cover hardware when the job is about servers?

Servers are hardware first. Administrators diagnose failed disks, memory errors and power problems, and they need to know which component to replace and how storage is protected.

Should I practise with a clock?

Start untimed to build accurate habits, then add a clock in the final weeks. Speed should follow accuracy, not replace it.

What if the answer explanation disagrees with how my workplace does it?

Workplaces sometimes use local shortcuts or older practices. Learn the standard answer for the exam, and treat the difference as something worth raising at work.

More Systems Administrator guides

The same guide for related positions