SK0-006 — CompTIA Server+ V6 Quick Reference

How to Use This Quick Reference

This independent Quick Reference is for candidates preparing for the CompTIA Server+ V6 (SK0-006) exam. Use it as a final-review checklist for server concepts, operational decisions, and troubleshooting patterns.

Focus your review on these exam behaviors:

• Identify the best server component, storage design, network service, or security control for a scenario.
• Distinguish redundancy, backup, clustering, replication, and disaster recovery.
• Troubleshoot from symptoms using logs, metrics, hardware indicators, and change history.
• Apply least privilege, secure configuration, patching, monitoring, and documentation practices.
• Recognize when a technology is used, not just what it is called.

Server Hardware Reference

Server Form Factors and Use Cases

Core Components

Memory Concepts

Storage Quick Reference

Storage Media and Interfaces

DAS, NAS, and SAN

RAID Selection Matrix

High-yield RAID traps

• RAID is availability, not backup. It does not protect against deletion, corruption, ransomware, or site loss.
• Rebuilds stress remaining disks and reduce performance.
• Hardware RAID uses a controller; software RAID uses the OS or hypervisor.
• Battery-backed or flash-backed write cache protects cached writes during power loss.
• Replacing the wrong disk in a degraded array can cause data loss.

Storage Networking Terms

Server Networking Reference

Network Services and Protocols

VLANs, Trunks, and Segmentation

NIC Teaming and Link Aggregation

Common trap: NIC teaming improves availability and aggregate throughput, but one flow may not exceed the speed of a single physical link depending on hashing and configuration.

Load Balancing Patterns

Virtualization, Containers, and Hybrid Infrastructure

Virtualization Decision Table

VM Resource Sizing Traps

Containers vs VMs

Operating System Administration

Windows and Linux Administration Equivalents

High-Value Commands

## Windows: service, network, and log checks
Get-Service | Where-Object Status -ne "Running"
Test-NetConnection server01 -Port 443
Get-NetIPConfiguration
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 20
Get-Volume

## Linux: service, network, disk, and log checks
systemctl status nginx
ss -tulpen
ip route
df -h
lsblk
journalctl -u nginx --since "1 hour ago"

File Systems and Sharing

Permission trap: For Windows file shares, effective access is constrained by both share permissions and NTFS permissions. The most restrictive combination often determines access.

Identity, Access, and Secure Administration

Authentication and Authorization

Common Identity Protocols

Secure Administration Checklist

• Use least privilege; avoid daily use of full administrator/root accounts.
• Require MFA for privileged and remote access where supported.
• Use named admin accounts instead of shared admin accounts.
• Disable or rename default accounts where appropriate.
• Restrict management interfaces to management networks or VPNs.
• Use secure protocols: SSH, HTTPS, LDAPS, SNMPv3, TLS-protected syslog where supported.
• Store secrets in approved secret-management tools, not scripts or plain-text files.
• Log administrative actions centrally.
• Review permissions and group membership regularly.
• Use break-glass accounts carefully, monitor them, and protect credentials offline.

Security Controls and Hardening

Control Types

Server Hardening Matrix

Certificate and TLS Pitfalls

Backup, Resilience, and Disaster Recovery

Key Metrics

Backup Types

Resilience vs Backup vs DR

DR Site Models

Backup Validation Checklist

• Confirm backups complete successfully; do not rely only on scheduled job existence.
• Perform test restores, including full-system and application-level restores.
• Validate backup encryption keys and recovery credentials.
• Keep at least one copy protected from routine network access.
• Monitor capacity for backup repositories and snapshot stores.
• Document restore order for dependent systems.
• Align backup frequency with RPO and recovery procedure with RTO.

Monitoring, Logging, and Performance

What to Monitor

Log Sources

Bottleneck Clues

Change, Patch, and Configuration Management

Change Management Flow

    flowchart TD
	    A[Identify need or issue] --> B[Assess risk and impact]
	    B --> C[Plan implementation]
	    C --> D[Plan rollback]
	    D --> E[Get approval if required]
	    E --> F[Communicate maintenance window]
	    F --> G[Implement change]
	    G --> H[Test and validate]
	    H --> I{Successful?}
	    I -- Yes --> J[Document final state]
	    I -- No --> K[Rollback or remediate]
	    K --> H

Patch and Firmware Review

Documentation Artifacts

Troubleshooting Methodology

Standard Troubleshooting Pattern

1. Identify the problem.
   • Gather symptoms, scope, timeline, error messages, and affected users.
   • Determine what changed.
2. Establish a theory of probable cause.
   • Start with simple, likely causes.
   • Consider hardware, software, network, security, and environmental factors.
3. Test the theory.
   • Confirm or reject with evidence.
   • If rejected, form a new theory.
4. Establish a plan of action.
   • Consider impact, risk, backups, and rollback.
5. Implement the solution or escalate.
6. Verify full system functionality.
   • Confirm service health, logs, monitoring, and user impact.
7. Document findings, actions, and outcomes.

Fast Triage Table

Scenario Decision Tables

“What Should You Do First?”

“Which Technology Solves This?”

Physical, Power, and Environmental Reference

Data Center and Server Room Essentials

Power Concepts

High-Yield Exam Traps

Final Review Checklist

Before exam day, make sure you can:

• Select server hardware based on workload, redundancy, expansion, and environment.
• Compare RAID levels and explain failure/rebuild implications.
• Distinguish DAS, NAS, SAN, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, and object storage.
• Identify common ports and match protocols to server functions.
• Troubleshoot DNS, DHCP, VLAN, routing, firewall, and load-balancer issues.
• Administer basic Windows and Linux services, logs, storage, and networking.
• Explain virtualization concepts: hypervisors, vSwitches, templates, snapshots, migration, HA.
• Apply least privilege, secure administration, encryption, certificates, and hardening.
• Compare backup types and map RTO/RPO to recovery designs.
• Use a structured troubleshooting process and document outcomes.
• Recognize environmental, power, cooling, and physical security issues.
• Choose the best first step in scenario-based troubleshooting questions.

Practical Next Step

Use this Quick Reference as a checklist, then move into timed CompTIA Server+ V6 (SK0-006) practice questions and hands-on troubleshooting scenarios. For each missed item, write down the decision rule you should have used: what symptom mattered, what technology fit, and what action should come first.