LPIC-1 Exam 101 v5 (Linux Administrator) — Question 31

When considering the use of hard links, what are valid reasons not to use hard links?

Answer options

• A. Hard links are not available on all Linux systems because traditional filesystems, such as ext4, do not support them
• B. Each hard link has individual ownership, permissions and ACLs which can lead to unintended disclosure of file content
• C. Hard links are specific to one filesystem and cannot point to files on another filesystem
• D. If users other than root should be able to create hard links, suln has to be installed and configured
• E. When a hard linked file is changed, a copy of the file is created and consumes additional space

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is C because hard links are limited to the filesystem they were created on and cannot link to files in other filesystems. Options A and B are incorrect; while ext4 does support hard links, ownership and permissions issues are not inherent to hard links themselves. Option D is also not universally true, as creating hard links typically does not require specific software like suln. Option E is incorrect because changes to a hard link do not create a new copy but affect the original file.