Free Practice Questions for LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization

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Key Facts: LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization Exam

Exam Questions

LPI

500/800

Passing Score

LPI scaled scoring

90 min

Exam Duration

LPI

$200

Exam Fee (Tier 1)

LPI

5 years

Validity

Recertification required

LPIC-2

Required to claim

LPI

LPIC-3 305-300 is a 60-question, 90-minute senior exam scored on a 200-800 scale with 500 to pass. Three weighted topic areas total 57 points: Full Virtualization (concepts, Xen, QEMU, libvirt with virsh and virt-install, qemu-img disk images), Container Virtualization (concepts using namespaces and cgroups, LXC with lxc-create, Docker with Dockerfile and docker run/build/exec, container orchestration platforms), and VM Deployment and Provisioning (cloud management tools, Packer, cloud-init, Vagrant). Heaviest weights: libvirt (9), Docker (9), container concepts (7). Requires LPIC-2 to claim the LPIC-3 credential.

Sample LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which Linux kernel module provides hardware-accelerated virtualization for Intel CPUs?

A.kvm_intel

B.kvm_amd

C.vmx

D.vfio

Explanation: kvm_intel exposes Intel VT-x (vmx) virtualization to the KVM API. The companion module on AMD systems is kvm_amd (using SVM). The base kvm module is loaded as a dependency. vfio is for PCI passthrough, not core virtualization.

2Which command checks whether the current CPU supports hardware virtualization?

A.grep -E 'svm|vmx' /proc/cpuinfo

B.lsmod | grep kvm

C.dmesg | grep CPU

D.cat /sys/kernel/virt

Explanation: Intel CPUs expose 'vmx' and AMD CPUs expose 'svm' in /proc/cpuinfo's flags field when hardware virtualization is enabled in firmware. lsmod tells you kvm modules are loaded but not whether the silicon supports it. /sys/kernel/virt is not a standard path.

3Which command provisions a new KVM guest using libvirt with 4 GiB RAM, 2 vCPUs, and an Ubuntu installer ISO?

A.virt-install --name u22 --memory 4096 --vcpus 2 --disk size=20 --cdrom /iso/ubuntu.iso --os-variant ubuntu22.04

B.virsh new --memory 4G u22

C.qemu-system-x86_64 --install u22

D.virt-create --gui u22

Explanation: virt-install is libvirt's high-level installer. --name, --memory (MiB), --vcpus, --disk (size in GiB), --cdrom (or --location), and --os-variant give libvirt enough to build a domain XML and start the VM. The other forms are not valid commands.

4Which virsh subcommand starts a previously created domain named u22?

A.virsh start u22

B.virsh up u22

C.virsh launch u22

D.virsh boot u22

Explanation: virsh start <domain> begins a defined but inactive domain. virsh shutdown sends ACPI shutdown; virsh destroy is forced power-off. virsh undefine removes the domain definition. virsh list --all shows defined domains.

5Where does libvirt store domain XML definitions on most Linux distros?

A./etc/libvirt/qemu/

B./var/lib/libvirt/qemu/

C./var/lib/libvirt/images/

D./etc/qemu/

Explanation: Persistent domain XML lives in /etc/libvirt/qemu/<name>.xml. Edit with `virsh edit <name>` (which uses your $EDITOR and validates on save). /var/lib/libvirt/images/ holds default disk images; /var/lib/libvirt/qemu/ holds runtime sockets/state.

6Which qemu-img command creates a 50 GiB sparse qcow2 image?

A.qemu-img create -f qcow2 disk.qcow2 50G

B.qemu-img new disk.qcow2 50G

C.qemu-img alloc 50G disk.qcow2

D.qemu-create -qcow2 50G disk.qcow2

Explanation: qemu-img create -f <format> <file> <size> creates a new image. Default qcow2 grows on demand (sparse). raw can also be used. -o options like preallocation=off|metadata|falloc|full tweak space allocation.

7Which qemu-img subcommand converts a raw image to qcow2?

A.qemu-img convert -O qcow2 disk.raw disk.qcow2

B.qemu-img transcode raw qcow2

C.qemu-img resize -O qcow2

D.qemu-img copy -qcow2

Explanation: qemu-img convert -O <output-format> <src> <dst> converts between supported formats (raw, qcow2, vmdk, vhdx, vdi). Add -p for progress; -c for compression (qcow2 only). Useful when migrating images between hypervisors.

8Which qcow2 feature allows a parent image to be shared by multiple smaller derived images?

A.Backing file (qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b parent.qcow2 child.qcow2)

B.Compression

C.Encryption

D.Snapshots

Explanation: A backing file is read-only and shared by overlay images, which write only deltas. Useful for golden images: build base.qcow2 once, derive many child.qcow2 from it. Snapshots are internal to a single image; backing files are external chains.

9Which Xen domain runs the host kernel and has direct hardware access?

A.dom0

B.domU

C.stub domain

D.compute node

Explanation: Xen's dom0 is the privileged management domain that owns drivers and orchestrates other guests. Unprivileged guests are domU. Stub domains are minimal helper domains used for device model isolation. PV vs HVM is orthogonal to dom0/domU.

10Which Xen toolstack is the modern default replacing the deprecated xm command?

A.xl

B.xenctl

C.virsh xen

D.xenstore

Explanation: xl (xen-light) is the modern stateless toolstack since Xen 4.1, using libxl. The older xm (xen-management) toolstack relied on xend daemon and was removed. virsh can manage Xen via libvirt's xen driver. xenstore is a key-value DB used by domains.

About the LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization Exam

Senior LPIC-3 specialty exam covering full virtualization (KVM/QEMU, libvirt, Xen), container virtualization (LXC, Docker, container orchestration), and VM provisioning (cloud-init, Packer, Vagrant). Passing 305-300 with an active LPIC-2 grants the LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization credential.

Exam sponsor: Linux Professional Institute (Pearson VUE / OnVUE online proctored). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Questions

60 questions

Time Limit

90 minutes

Passing Score

500 / 800

Exam / Certification Fees

$200 USD

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: Not publicly disclosed. LPI does not publish official first-attempt pass rates Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

44%

Full Virtualization

Virtualization concepts and theory, Xen domains, QEMU/KVM, libvirt VM management with virsh and virt-install, qemu-img and disk image formats (qcow2, raw)

44%

Container Virtualization

Container concepts (namespaces pid/net/mnt/uts/ipc/user, cgroups, OCI runtime), LXC with lxc-create/lxc-start, Docker (Dockerfile, docker run/build/exec/compose), container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes basics)

12%

VM Deployment and Provisioning

Cloud management tools concepts, Packer json/hcl image builds, cloud-init user-data and metadata, Vagrant Vagrantfiles

Preparing for the LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 500 / 800
Exam length: 60 questions
Time limit: 90 minutes
Exam / certification fees: $200 USD Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

Work through all 100 available questions
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LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization: Suggested Study Strategy

1Provision KVM guests via libvirt: virt-install --name vm1 --memory 2048 --vcpus 2 --disk size=20 --cdrom /iso/...iso, then control with virsh start/shutdown/list

2Master qemu-img: convert raw to qcow2, create snapshots, resize images, and inspect with qemu-img info — know the differences between qcow2 and raw

3Write Dockerfiles using best practices: multi-stage builds, COPY before RUN, .dockerignore, non-root USER, layer caching — and tag with docker build -t app:1.0

4Understand the seven Linux namespaces (pid, net, mnt, uts, ipc, user, cgroup) and which Docker run flags affect them (--pid, --network, --userns)

5Stand up an LXC container with lxc-create -t download -n c1 then lxc-start -n c1 -d, and inspect cgroups under /sys/fs/cgroup

6Build a Packer template (HCL) to bake an Ubuntu AMI/qcow2 with cloud-init pre-baked, then test boot with cloud-init NoCloud datasource

7Run a Kubernetes single-node lab (minikube or k3s) and practice kubectl get pods, kubectl apply -f deploy.yaml, kubectl logs, kubectl exec

Frequently Asked Questions

What does LPIC-3 305-300 cover?

LPIC-3 305-300 is the LPI Virtualization and Containerization specialty exam covering three topic areas: Full Virtualization (concepts, Xen, QEMU/KVM, libvirt, disk images), Container Virtualization (concepts, LXC, Docker, orchestration platforms), and VM Deployment and Provisioning (cloud management tools, Packer, cloud-init, Vagrant). Total objective weight is 57 points.

Do I need LPIC-2 before taking LPIC-3 305?

You can take and pass 305-300 without LPIC-2, but the LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization credential is only awarded once you hold an active LPIC-2. The exam result is valid for five years, so order is flexible.

Does LPIC-3 305 cover Kubernetes in depth?

Only at the concepts level. The 305-300 objectives include container orchestration platforms (weight 3) covering Kubernetes basics — pods, services, deployments — but not deep operations. For deep Kubernetes coverage, take LPI's DevOps Tools Engineer (701) or the CNCF CKA exam.

What format is the 305-300 exam?

60 questions in 90 minutes, mixing multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank. Scaled scoring 200-800 with 500 required to pass. Delivered at Pearson VUE test centers or via OnVUE online proctored.

How is 305-300 different from older 304-200?

305-300 replaced 304-200 in 2021 and modernized the objectives around current virtualization/container tooling. Older 304 emphasized Xen and OpenVZ heavily; 305-300 emphasizes libvirt with KVM/QEMU and Docker with container orchestration concepts. Older study guides for 304 are largely outdated.

How should I prepare for the 305-300 exam?

Plan 70-120 hours over 8-12 weeks. Build a lab with KVM via libvirt (virsh, virt-install), create Dockerfiles and run multi-container apps with docker compose, build a small LXC container, run Packer to bake an image, write a Vagrantfile, and provision a cloud VM with cloud-init.

Does LPIC-3 Virtualization expire?

Yes — LPIC-3 is valid for five years. Recertify by passing any current LPIC-3 specialty (300/303/305/306), or by passing a newer LPI exam at the same or higher level before expiration.

Free Practice Questions for LPIC-3 Virtualization and Containerization

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