220-1201 Cloud Computing Concepts — 10 Questions

Question 1

A company uses a cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution. Users report that logging in takes 5 minutes during peak hours. The IT team notices that the cloud provider's resource utilization is at 95%. Which action would best resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Scale up the virtual machines by increasing CPU and RAM. This question addresses resource contention in cloud VDI. High utilization (95%) indicates the provider's resources are saturated, causing slow logins. Scaling up (vertical scaling) by increasing the VM size provides more CPU/RAM per user, improving performance. Scaling out adds more VMs but doesn't address the root cause of resource saturation on existing VMs. Migrating to a different model or disabling auto-scaling could worsen the issue.

Answer

Migrate to a different cloud provider

Answer

Scale out by adding more virtual desktops

Answer

Disable automatic scaling

Question 2

A company uses a public cloud provider for compute resources. To reduce costs, they want to use unused capacity at a lower price but accept that the instance may be terminated with short notice. Which pricing model should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Spot instance. This question tests knowledge of advanced cloud pricing models. A spot instance (or preemptible VM) uses unused cloud capacity at a steep discount but can be terminated when the provider needs the resources back. On-demand is full price, reserved is for long-term commitments, and dedicated hosts are for isolation, not cost savings with termination risk.

Answer

On-demand instance

Answer

Reserved instance

Answer

Dedicated host

Question 3

A user complains that their cloud-hosted virtual desktop is slow to open applications and frequently disconnects. They are using a satellite internet connection. Which cloud characteristic is most likely being impacted?

Accepted Answer

Latency. This scenario tests understanding of cloud computing characteristics, specifically latency. Slow application opening and disconnections are classic symptoms of high latency, which is often caused by the physical distance data must travel over a satellite connection. The other options (elasticity, scalability, high availability) are cloud features that do not directly address network delay.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Elasticity

Answer

Scalability

Question 4

A user receives an error when trying to access a cloud application: 'This application is not available in your region.' The user is traveling abroad. Which cloud concept is most likely causing this restriction?

Accepted Answer

Geolocation. This scenario tests understanding of geolocation restrictions in cloud services. Many cloud applications use geolocation to enforce licensing, compliance, or content restrictions based on the user's physical location. High availability, multi-tenancy, and resource pooling are unrelated to region-based access controls.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Multi-tenancy

Answer

Resource pooling

Question 5

A technician is configuring a cloud-based virtual machine for a web server. The VM needs to handle traffic spikes automatically without manual intervention. Which cloud characteristic should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Elasticity. This scenario tests the concept of elasticity in cloud computing. Elasticity allows resources to automatically scale up or down based on demand, which is ideal for handling traffic spikes. Scalability is a broader term that can include manual scaling, while high availability and fault tolerance focus on uptime, not automatic adjustment to load changes.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Answer

Scalability

Question 6

A technician is deploying a cloud-based application that requires a specific operating system and database. The company wants to avoid managing the underlying OS and patches. Which cloud service model should be used?

Accepted Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS). This question tests the distinction between PaaS and other service models. Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a managed platform including OS, runtime, and database, allowing the customer to focus on deploying their application without patching the OS. IaaS gives full control but requires OS management, SaaS is a finished application, and DaaS is for virtual desktops.

Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Answer

Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Question 7

A small business wants to migrate its email and document collaboration to the cloud but must keep sensitive financial records on local servers due to regulatory requirements. Which cloud deployment model should they choose?

Accepted Answer

Hybrid cloud. This question covers cloud deployment models. A hybrid cloud combines public cloud services (for email/collaboration) with private or on-premises infrastructure (for sensitive data). Public cloud alone would violate regulations, community cloud is for shared industry needs, and private cloud is entirely on-premises, missing the benefits of public cloud for non-sensitive workloads.

Answer

Public cloud

Answer

Private cloud

Answer

Community cloud

Question 8

A company uses a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) application. The vendor handles all updates, security patches, and infrastructure maintenance. Which cloud service model does this represent?

Accepted Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS). This scenario describes Software as a Service (SaaS), where the provider delivers a complete application over the internet. The user only needs a web browser and does not manage the underlying OS, servers, or updates. IaaS would give virtual machines, PaaS would provide a development platform, and DaaS would deliver virtual desktops.

Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Answer

Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Question 9

A user reports that their cloud-based application is running slowly, and the IT team discovers that the application is hosted in a different geographic region than the user. Which cloud concept is most directly affecting performance?

Accepted Answer

Latency. This scenario tests understanding of latency in a global cloud context. When an application is hosted far from the user, the physical distance increases network latency, causing slow performance. Bandwidth could be a factor but is not directly tied to geographic distance, while elasticity and fault tolerance are unrelated to the location of the host.

Answer

Bandwidth

Answer

Elasticity

Answer

Fault tolerance

Question 10

A user reports that their cloud storage files are not syncing to their laptop. The internet connection is working, and other cloud services are accessible. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The cloud sync client application is not running. This question tests troubleshooting cloud synchronization issues. A common cause is the client application being stopped or crashed, which prevents syncing despite a working internet connection. Account suspension would block access entirely, firewall rules would affect other services too, and server downtime would impact all users, not just one.

Answer

The cloud storage server is down for maintenance

Answer

The user's account has been suspended

Answer

A firewall is blocking the sync port