Study guide · Exam overview
The format, passing score, and four published domains of CompTIA Server+ SK0-005, plus the continuing-education change that took effect in 2025.
Exam version notice: This overview follows CompTIA Server+ exam objectives version 2.0 for SK0-005, reviewed in October 2026. CompTIA calls that series Server+ V5. It launched on May 18, 2021. The exam allows a maximum of 90 questions in 90 minutes, and CompTIA publishes a passing score of 750 on a scale of 100 to 900. On October 1, 2025, Server+ moved from a good-for-life certification into the continuing education program. Items tagged Extra are useful context the SK0-005 objective list does not name. Confirm the exam code, fee, and objectives with CompTIA before you register.
CompTIA Server+ is the practitioner certification for people who rack a server, install an operating system, keep storage and network services working, harden the host, and restore it when something fails. SK0-005 assumes you already know the A+ hardware vocabulary. It asks which RAID level, backup type, or next troubleshooting step fits the symptom. It does not ask you to design a public-cloud landing zone. That belongs on Cloud+.
Figures below come from the SK0-005 objectives version 2.0 and CompTIA's Server+ V5 page reviewed in October 2026.
| Specification | SK0-005 (Server+ V5) |
|---|---|
| Level | Practitioner. No prior certification is required. CompTIA recommends A+ or equivalent knowledge, plus two years of hands-on experience in a server environment. |
| Length of test | 90 minutes. |
| Question types | Multiple choice and performance-based questions. The stem says how many answers to choose. |
| Number of questions | Maximum of 90. |
| Passing score | 750 on a scale of 100 to 900. CompTIA does not publish the raw-score conversion. |
| Objectives | Version 2.0. Four domains. Example lists in the objectives are not exhaustive. |
| Languages | English and Japanese, as listed on CompTIA's Server+ page. Confirm the language before you book. |
| Exam price | Confirm the current voucher price with CompTIA. Regional pricing changes. |
| Validity | Three years under the continuing education program that started October 1, 2025. Existing holders were converted to Server+ CE, with a renewal deadline of October 1, 2027. Confirm renewal options with CompTIA. Earning Server+ does not renew other CompTIA certifications. |
| Launch | May 18, 2021. CompTIA's Server+ page reviewed in October 2026 still lists SK0-005 as the current series. |
Book the code on your voucher. The content on this path is SK0-005 only.
Server+ used to be described as good for life. CompTIA changed that on October 1, 2025. Certifications earned after that date stay active through continuing education, on a three-year cycle. People who already held Server+ were enrolled in Server+ CE automatically. CompTIA's help article sets the renewal deadline for those converted certifications at October 1, 2027. Project+ moved on the same date, with a different deadline. Renewing Server+ does not extend A+, Network+, or Security+.
CompTIA publishes these SK0-005 weights. The 200 practice questions use the same share.
The rack, the power path, the disks, and the remote way to reach a host that will not boot.
The largest domain. Install the OS, join the network, and keep the service available.
Who can touch the server, how you copy the data, and how fast you can come back.
The method first, then the symptom: hardware, storage, the OS, the network, or permissions.
Learn the unmarked rows first. The same map is in the core notes and flashcards.
| Pair | How to separate them |
|---|---|
| RAID 5 and RAID 6 | RAID 5 survives one disk failure. RAID 6 survives two. A second failure during a RAID 5 rebuild loses the array. |
| NAS and SAN | NAS shares files with NFS or CIFS. SAN presents block storage with iSCSI or Fibre Channel. A file share is not a LUN. |
| UPS and generator | A UPS bridges a short outage and gives you time to shut down. It is not a long-running power source. Separate circuits keep one breaker from dropping both supplies. |
| Incremental and differential | An incremental copy contains changes since the last backup. A differential contains changes since the last full. Restoring incrementals needs every one of them, in order. |
| RPO and RTO | RPO is how much data you can afford to lose, measured in time. RTO is how long you can wait to be back in service. A snapshot on the same array is not an off-site copy. |
| Hot site and cold site | A hot site can take the workload quickly and costs the most. A cold site is space and power. A warm site sits between them. |
| Active-active and active-passive | Active-active serves on more than one node. Active-passive keeps a node waiting. The heartbeat is how they notice a failure. Failback returns the service to the original node. |
| GPT and MBR | GPT is the partition table for large disks and UEFI boot. MBR stops near 2 TB and allows four primary partitions. |
| APIPA and a wrong DHCP scope | APIPA (169.254.0.0/16) means the host got no DHCP offer. An address from the wrong scope means a server answered, and it was the wrong one. |
| Out-of-band and SSH | iLO, iDRAC, and IPMI reach the hardware when the operating system is down. SSH needs a running OS and a network path to it. |
| Degauss and shred | Degaussing erases magnetic disks and tape. It does not reliably erase an SSD. Shredding, crushing, or incineration destroys the media itself. |
| Good for life Extra | Older pages still say Server+ never expires. As of October 1, 2025, it is a continuing-education certification. Confirm your own renewal date with CompTIA. |
Most items are multiple choice. Some ask you to choose two answers, and the stem says so. Performance-based items ask you to match a RAID level or a backup type to a job, or to put the troubleshooting steps in order. Read FIRST, NEXT, and BEST as ordering words: a useful part swap before you know the scope is still the wrong answer.
CompTIA says the example lists in the objectives are not exhaustive. A question can use a technology that fits an objective even when the PDF did not print that product name. Do not expect a lab that asks you to build a cluster from scratch.
A practical sequence if RAID, backup types, and the troubleshooting order still blur together.
Put heavy gear low, put redundant supplies on different circuits, and name what RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10 each lose. A hot-swap bay is not a hot spare until you assign it.
GPT with UEFI for a large disk. Know ext4, NTFS, ReFS, VMFS, and ZFS by the platform that uses them. An unattended install is still an install. It just does not wait for you.
APIPA means DHCP failed. A hosts-file entry can override DNS. A VLAN mismatch and a missing default gateway fail in different ways. Clustering needs a heartbeat, not only two powered-on servers.
Incremental, differential, and full answer different restore questions. RPO is data loss. RTO is downtime. A hot site is ready. A snapshot on the same shelf is not a disaster copy.
Identify the problem, test one theory, make one change, and verify. A purple screen, a kernel panic, and a blue screen are three operating systems. Clock skew blocks a domain logon even when the password is right.
Use the four flashcard decks until you answer before the card flips. Then take original questions and return to any domain under 75 percent. The live exam gives you 90 minutes and up to 90 questions. Treat the 100 to 900 estimate as a personal trend, not a prediction.
The overview, core notes, flashcards, and practice exams are all published.
Exam format, the 750 passing score, four domain weights, and the October 2025 continuing-education change.
Reference notes for racking and RAID, administration, backups, and the troubleshooting order.
40 recall cards in four decks, plus memory notes for RAID, backups, and recovery sites.
200 original questions with custom exams, explanations, and an unofficial score on the 100-900 scale.
CompTIA allows a maximum of 90 questions and 90 minutes. Questions are multiple choice and performance-based. Confirm the current details with CompTIA before you book.
CompTIA publishes a passing score of 750 on a scale of 100 to 900 for SK0-005. This site converts a practice percentage linearly onto that scale and labels the result unofficial, because CompTIA does not publish the real conversion.
Server+ joined the continuing education program on October 1, 2025. A certification earned after that date is valid for three years. People who already held Server+ were moved to Server+ CE, and CompTIA set their renewal deadline at October 1, 2027. Confirm the current policy with CompTIA.
No prior certification is required. CompTIA recommends A+ or equivalent knowledge, plus two years of hands-on experience in a server environment.
Study the exam code on your voucher. CompTIA's Server+ page reviewed in October 2026 still lists SK0-005 as Server+ V5, launched on May 18, 2021. These pages follow SK0-005 exam objectives version 2.0. Confirm the code and the objectives PDF with CompTIA before you book.
No. The practice questions on this site are original. They are not CompTIA exam items, and a practice score does not predict a result.
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Exam versions, objectives, prices, languages, and retirement dates can change. Verify the details on the CompTIA certification page before you register.
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