CompTIA Updated SK0-005 Exam Questions and Answers by aj

Load balancing is a concept that distributes the workload across multiple servers or other resources to optimize performance, availability, and scalability. Load balancing can be implemented at different layers of the network, such as the application layer, the transport layer, or the network layer. Load balancing can use various algorithms or methods to determine how to distribute the traffic, such as round robin, least connections, or weighted distribution.

References: CompTIA Server+ Study Guide, Chapter 6: Networking, page 241.

The loud noises from the servers are most likely caused by failing hard disk drives, which can produce clicking or grinding sounds. Replacing the drives with new ones can prevent data loss and downtime. Replacing the drives can be done without shutting down the server if they are hot-swappable, which means they can be removed and inserted while the server is running. References: CompTIA Server+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 3.0: Storage, Objective 3.1: Given a scenario, install, deploy, configure and update physical storage devices.

In RAID 10 arrays, disk performance is crucial, especially if they are high-speed 15K RPM SAS HDDs, as each disk in the array is part of a mirrored pair that also stripes data with another pair. When replacing a disk, it's essential that the new disk matches the specifications of the others, especially in terms of rotational speed (RPM). If the replaced disk is slower, it can significantly reduce the Input/Output operations per second (IOPS) of the entire array. This is because all disks need to work in tandem, and the slowest disk can become a bottleneck. Thus, checking the RPM of the newly replaced disk is a sensible first step to ensure it matches the performance of the other disks in the array.

Kickstart Files (Linux): Kickstart files are configuration files that automate the Linux installation process. They contain pre-determined answers to installation prompts, allowing for identical and rapid deployment of multiple systems. (CompTIA Server+ Objectives SK0-004: 3.1, Red Hat documentation on Kickstart: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/ )

Why other options are less ideal:

VM Template (A): Templates are useful for replicating the OS & some software, but might not capture all configurations.

Manual Configuration (C): Time-consuming and prone to errors when replicating across many servers.

Copy/Paste via SSH (D): Tedious, error-prone, and requires servers to be online before configuration.

Cloning (E): Can work but has version compatibility risks if the OS of the cloned server isn't identical to the new ones.