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LPI · LPI-101 · Associate

LPIC-1 Exam 101 (101-500) (LPI-101) — Practice Questions and Mock Exam

Prepare for Linux administration tasks in LPIC-1 101: work through boot, package, command-line and filesystem questions with explanations.

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Official LPI-101 exam: 500 out of 800 points to pass.

Checked against LPI · September 2026 · Current exam version

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Topic 101: System Architecture1 / 5

After an unclean start, a hosting operator wants to read the kernel ring buffer but see only the error and warning messages in it, leaving the informational noise out. Which dmesg invocation does that?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

Kernel messages carry two independent labels: a facility, saying which part of the system produced them, and a level, saying how severe they are. A reader of the ring buffer can filter on either, and confusing the two is the classic mistake, because both options take a comma-separated list and look alike on the command line. Levels also form an ordered scale, so the filter accepts a plus suffix to mean a level and everything above it, which is usually what an operator hunting failures actually wants. Filtering is a display-time decision and does not alter the buffer, unlike the options that clear it or redirect messages to the console. A separate group of options controls what the console prints rather than what the command prints, and those options deliberately suppress the normal output. Reading the option list with that split in mind — filter, display, or control — makes the tool much easier to use under pressure.

Sourcelearning.lpi.org

Topic 103: GNU and Unix Commands2 / 5

A trainee has just searched a file in vi with the question-mark command, so the remembered search direction is backward, and now presses the n key. According to the vi specification, in which direction does the editor scan?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

vi keeps two pieces of state after a search: the pattern and the direction. The repeat key uses both, which is why it does not always move toward the end of the file. The specification defines it by equivalence: it behaves like re-issuing whichever of the two search commands matches the remembered direction, with no pattern typed. Its upper-case partner is defined the other way round and therefore reverses the direction each time it is used. The practical consequence is that repeating a search after a backward search walks backward through the file, which surprises people who think of the key as meaning next. Exam tip: the remembered direction is set by the search command that was used, so read the scenario for which one it was.

Sourcelearning.lpi.org

Topic 102: Linux Installation and Package Management3 / 5

To shrink the root partition of a fleet image, an engineer proposes moving the diagnostic and repair utilities that an experienced maintainer would need onto a separate /usr filesystem. Under the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, what is the objection to that plan?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

The root filesystem is the one thing a broken machine can be relied on to have, because everything else is mounted from it. That is why the standard describes its contents as a recovery kit rather than as a convenience: enough software to mount the other filesystems, plus the tools a maintainer needs when those other filesystems will not mount at all. A layout that pushes the repair tools onto a filesystem that may itself be the casualty leaves the operator with a shell and nothing to work with. The standard does want the root kept small, but it qualifies that wish with a floor rather than leaving it open. Exam tip: test any proposed layout by asking what is still reachable when every non-root filesystem fails to mount.

Sourcelearning.lpi.org

Topic 104: Devices, Linux Filesystems, Filesystem Hierarchy Standard4 / 5

A recursive chgrp has to walk a tree in which several subdirectories are reached through symbolic links that sit inside the tree, and those linked directories have to be walked as well. GNU chgrp is used and the group is staff. According to chgrp(1), which invocation does that?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

A recursive walk over a directory tree has to decide what to do when it meets a symbolic link that points at a directory. Following every such link can leave the intended tree, visit the same files twice, or loop; following none can miss whole areas that the administrator thinks of as part of the tree. The three documented traversal choices are exactly those positions plus the middle one, where just the links named on the command line are followed. Because the safest of the three is the default, an administrator who wants the walk to descend into linked directories has to ask for it. Where more than one is given the last one wins, so option order is not decorative. These traversal options are shared by the ownership and permission commands, so learning them once pays off three times.

Sourcelearning.lpi.org

Topic 101: System Architecture5 / 5

While reading the kernel ring buffer after a failed start, an engineer writes dmesg --level=err+ and is asked what the trailing plus sign changes. According to the dmesg manual, what does appending a plus to a level name do?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

Kernel messages carry a severity level, and the numbering runs the opposite way to intuition: the smaller the number, the more serious the message. A filter that names one level therefore has to say which direction it opens in, and the manual gives the tool two decorations for exactly that. One decoration widens the selection towards the more serious end, the other towards the chattier end, and a plain comma-separated list picks the named levels and nothing besides. Getting the direction wrong during a boot investigation either buries the interesting lines under debug noise or hides a panic that sits above the level asked for. Exam tip: check whether the sign leads or trails the level name, because the two placements are documented with opposite meanings.

Sourcelearning.lpi.org

How to prepare for LPI-101 with Pass-IT.

Currently 409 practice questions for LPI-101, with new ones added regularly. Focus on what you still need to learn.

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Conversation preview · LPI-101

Filter kernel messages

  1. You

    How do I see errors and warnings with dmesg?

  2. Alex · AI tutor

    Use dmesg --level=err,warn.

    Read the source
  3. You

    What does the comma mean?

  4. Alex · AI tutor

    It selects both named levels.

    Read the source

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LPI-101 · Question excerpt

Filter kernel messages

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After an unclean start, a hosting operator wants to read the kernel ring buffer but see only the error and warning messages in it, leaving the informational noise out. Which dmesg invocation does that?

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dmesg --level=err,warn

--level=err,warn selects errors and warnings.

Read the source

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Hardware and the boot processSee the guide for weighting52 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Understand how Linux discovers hardware and reaches a running system.

  • Identify storage and device resources, enable or disable peripherals, and use tools such as lspci and lsusb with an understanding of sysfs, udev and dbus.
  • Follow boot from BIOS or UEFI through the boot loader and kernel to SysVinit or systemd; adjust boot options and inspect boot logs.
  • Set the default runlevel or boot target, change runlevels or targets, enter single-user mode and shut down or reboot, notifying users and terminating processes appropriately.
Official learning objectives
Installation, packages and virtual machinesSee the guide for weighting73 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Plan a Linux installation and manage its software.

  • Design partitions, swap and /boot for the system’s purpose and explain basic LVM features.
  • Install and configure GRUB Legacy or GRUB 2, including alternative boot locations and recovery options.
  • Locate and load shared libraries and understand their role in running programs.
  • Install, update, remove and inspect Debian or RPM packages with tools such as apt, RPM, YUM and Zypper, checking dependencies, integrity and file ownership.
  • Explain VMs, containers and cloud images, including storage, networking, guest integration, cloud-init and identity changes needed when cloning systems.
Official learning objectives
Commands, text and processesSee the guide for weighting183 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Use the shell to work with files, output and running programs.

  • Run commands and sequences, manage environment variables, PATH and history, and invoke commands outside PATH.
  • Filter text and connect commands with pipes, redirects and argument passing, including separate handling of standard input, output and errors. Send output to both standard output and a file.
  • Copy, move, find and remove files with wildcards and recursive operations and use tar, cpio and dd.
  • Run foreground or background jobs, keep them running after logout, inspect and signal processes and change execution priority.
  • Search and transform text with basic or extended regular expressions and edit files using vi modes, choosing a default editor when needed.
Official learning objectives
Filesystems and file accessSee the guide for weighting101 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Create, maintain and organize filesystems and permissions.

  • Manage MBR or GPT partitions, create filesystems with mkfs and explain core Btrfs features.
  • Check filesystem integrity, repair basic faults and monitor free space and inodes.
  • Mount and unmount filesystems, configure boot and removable-device mounts and identify filesystems with labels or UUIDs.
  • Set ownership, permissions, umask, suid, sgid and sticky bits; create hard and symbolic links and distinguish them from copies.
  • Use the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard to place system files correctly and locate files and commands.
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Questions in the app are currently in English. Translations of the sample questions on this page apply only to this preview. Check with LPI for the languages available for the official exam.

How long does my LPI-101 access last?

Access covers this certification for 12 months. You pay once, with no automatic renewal.

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About the LPI-101 exam

Where can I take the LPI-101 exam?

Pearson VUE test centre worldwide, or online under a remote proctor on Pearson VUE’s OnVUE platform. LPI notes that the OnVUE client itself requires macOS or Windows — not Linux — and that the OnVUE interface and its proctors are English-only, while test-centre delivery carries the full language list.

How long is the LPIC-1 Exam 101 (101-500) exam?

The LPI-101 exam has 60 questions and a 90-minute time limit.

Do you need any prior certification before taking 101-500?

LPI publishes no prerequisite for LPIC-1. Its certification policy lets you sit 101-500 and 102-500 in whichever order suits you, and only the award of a higher LPIC designation waits for the level beneath it. If you want a gentler on-ramp first, LPI's Linux Essentials certificate sits outside the LPIC programme.

Which topics carry the most weight on 101-500?

Topic 103: GNU and Unix Commands carries 43 percent, far ahead of everything else. Topic 104: Devices, Linux Filesystems, Filesystem Hierarchy Standard follows at 23 percent, then Topic 102: Linux Installation and Package Management at 20 percent and Topic 101: System Architecture at 13 percent. Shape your revision around those shares instead of treating every objective as equal.

How soon can you retake 101-500 after a failed attempt?

LPI's board policy sets a one-week wait after a first failed attempt and 14 days after every attempt that follows. Once you pass an LPI exam, you may not sit that same exam again for two years. A new exam version does not reset the clock, since LPI counts 101-400 and 101-500 as the same exam for retake purposes.

How long does LPIC-1 stay valid, and how do you renew it?

LPIC-1 stays active for five years, counted from the day you pass the second of the two exams. LPI advises recertifying after two years and requires it within five. Three routes keep it current: join LPI as a member and file 20 professional development units each year for as long as you keep your membership, earn a higher LPIC level, which pulls every level beneath it up to the higher date, or pass the current exams again. If the certification lapses there is no top-up, so you re-earn the current level and every level below it.

Can you take 101-500 online instead of at a test centre?

Yes. You can sit it at a Pearson VUE test centre anywhere they operate, or online under a remote proctor on OnVUE. One detail catches Linux people out: the OnVUE client runs on macOS or Windows only, so you need one of those on the machine you test from. The OnVUE interface and its proctors work in English, while test centres carry LPI's full language list.

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The guarantee refunds the Pass-IT purchase price for this certification. You need eligible paid access and a Readiness Score of at least 80% from your practice results when you take the exam. This score can only reach 80% after at least 50 answered questions and is not a validated probability of passing. Take the exam during your access period and submit official proof of failing within 14 days.

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LPIC-1 Exam 102 (102-500)All LPI certifications →