220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A company hosts its e-commerce website on a public cloud platform. During the holiday shopping season, traffic increases dramatically. The cloud platform automatically adds more virtual server instances to handle the increased load and then removes them when traffic returns to normal. Which cloud computing characteristic does this scenario BEST describe?

Accepted Answer

Rapid elasticity. The scenario describes the cloud automatically scaling virtual server instances up and down in response to traffic spikes, which is the defining characteristic of rapid elasticity. This allows resources to be provisioned and released elastically, often automatically, to match demand at any given time.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Measured service

Answer

Resource pooling

Question 2

An IT administrator is planning a server virtualization project for a small company. The environment must run a mix of modern operating systems (Windows Server, Linux) and one legacy application that requires direct access to a physical PCIe device (e.g., a proprietary capture card). The administrator wants to maximize performance and minimize overhead. Which virtualization type is BEST suited for this requirement?

Accepted Answer

A. Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisors, such as VMware ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V, run directly on the host hardware without an underlying OS, providing near-native performance and minimal overhead. This is essential for the legacy application that requires direct PCIe passthrough (e.g., VT-d/IOMMU), as Type 1 hypervisors natively support PCIe device assignment with low latency, while Type 2 hypervisors would add significant overhead and often lack robust PCIe passthrough support.

Answer

B

Answer

C

Answer

D

Question 3

A company subscribes to a cloud service that allows them to select a set amount of virtual CPU cores, RAM, and storage for their instances. They are billed monthly based on the total resources used, regardless of how many times they change the configuration. This billing model BEST represents which cloud computing characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. The billing model described charges based on the total resources (vCPU, RAM, storage) consumed over the month, regardless of configuration changes. This is the definition of measured service, where cloud resource usage is metered, monitored, and billed according to actual consumption. The key is that the cost is directly tied to the measured quantity of resources used, not to the frequency or method of provisioning.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Resource pooling

Question 4

A company uses a cloud provider to host a legacy application that requires a specific hardware serial number (e.g., the BIOS UUID of the physical server) for licensing. The licensing software checks this identifier at startup and will not run on hardware with a different serial number. The company wants to maintain control over the underlying hardware and ensure the serial number remains constant. Which cloud deployment model would BEST meet this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Private cloud. A private cloud is the correct choice because it allows the company to maintain exclusive control over the underlying physical hardware. In a private cloud, the organization owns or leases the servers and can ensure the BIOS UUID remains constant, satisfying the legacy application's licensing requirement. Public, hybrid, and community clouds typically abstract or share hardware, making it impossible to guarantee a fixed hardware serial number.

Answer

Public cloud

Answer

Hybrid cloud

Answer

Community cloud

Question 5

A company operates a web application on three virtual machines hosted on a single physical server. To perform hardware maintenance without interrupting service, the administrator moves one VM to another host while the VM continues to run. Which virtualization feature is being used?

Accepted Answer

Live migration. Live migration (A) allows a running virtual machine to be moved from one physical host to another with zero downtime, enabling hardware maintenance without service interruption. This is achieved by transferring memory pages and CPU state over the network while the VM remains operational, typically using protocols like vMotion (VMware) or KVM live migration.

Answer

Virtual machine snapshot

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Fault tolerance

Question 6

A company runs an internal web application on an on-premises virtual server that handles typical daily traffic. During seasonal sales, traffic spikes to ten times the normal volume. The company configures a public cloud service to automatically deploy additional virtual server instances when the on-premises server reaches a certain utilization threshold. These instances connect to the same database and load balancer, and they are terminated when traffic returns to normal. Which cloud architecture does this describe?

Accepted Answer

Cloud bursting. This scenario describes cloud bursting, a hybrid cloud model where an application runs primarily on-premises but can 'burst' into the public cloud during peak demand. This allows the company to handle traffic spikes without maintaining expensive idle capacity on-premises. Rapid elasticity is a characteristic of cloud computing, but cloud bursting is the specific architectural pattern that combines on-premises and public cloud resources.

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

High availability

Question 7

A company hosts a legacy application on a virtual machine. The application's license is tied to the MAC address of the virtual machine's network interface. The administrator needs to migrate the VM to a different host server without breaking the license. Which of the following virtualization features should the administrator use?

Accepted Answer

MAC address cloning/static assignment. The application's license is tied to the MAC address of the VM's network interface. When a VM is migrated to a different host, the hypervisor typically assigns a new MAC address, which would break the license. By using MAC address cloning or static assignment, the administrator can preserve the original MAC address on the new host, ensuring the license remains valid.

Answer

VLAN tagging

Answer

Jumbo frames

Answer

Network bonding/teaming

Question 8

A company hosts a critical web application using a public cloud provider. The application is deployed across two separate data centers in different geographic regions. The cloud provider automatically routes traffic to the healthy region in the event of a full data center outage, with no manual intervention. Which cloud computing characteristic does this BEST describe?

Accepted Answer

High availability. High availability (HA) is the cloud characteristic that ensures an application remains accessible despite failures, often through redundancy and automatic failover. In this scenario, the cloud provider's automatic traffic routing to a healthy region during a full data center outage, without manual intervention, directly demonstrates HA by eliminating a single point of failure and maintaining service continuity.

Answer

Elasticity

Answer

Scalability

Answer

Fault tolerance

Question 9

An IT administrator is configuring a virtualized server to support a legacy application that requires exclusive access to a physical USB dongle license key. The dongle is plugged into a USB port on the physical host server. The administrator needs the virtual machine to directly interface with the USB device as if it were connected directly to the VM, bypassing the host OS. Which virtualization feature should the administrator enable?

Accepted Answer

Hardware pass-through. Hardware pass-through (also known as PCI passthrough or device assignment) allows a virtual machine to directly access a physical hardware device, such as a USB controller, bypassing the host operating system. This gives the VM exclusive, direct control over the USB dongle, making it appear as if the device is physically connected to the VM itself. This is essential for legacy applications that require a physical USB license key and cannot function through host-mediated USB redirection.

Answer

Virtual USB controller

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Live migration

Question 10

A company hosts a critical e-commerce application in a public cloud. The application is deployed across two availability zones in the same region. The cloud provider automatically monitors the health of the application in each zone and, if one zone becomes unavailable, all traffic is directed to the healthy zone without requiring any manual intervention. This setup BEST demonstrates which cloud characteristic?

Accepted Answer

High availability. This setup demonstrates high availability because the application is designed to remain accessible despite the failure of an entire availability zone. The cloud provider's automatic health monitoring and traffic rerouting ensure that if one zone goes down, all traffic is seamlessly directed to the healthy zone without manual intervention, minimizing downtime. This aligns with the core goal of high availability: eliminating single points of failure to maintain service continuity.

Answer

Elasticity

Answer

Scalability

Answer

Resource pooling

Question 11

A server administrator configures two identical virtual machines on two separate physical host servers. The VMs are kept in constant synchronization using a hypervisor-level clustering feature. If one host fails, the other VM instantly takes over with no interruption in service and no data loss. This scenario describes which of the following virtualization features?

Accepted Answer

Fault tolerance. The scenario describes fault tolerance, a hypervisor-level feature that creates a shadow VM in constant lockstep synchronization with the primary VM. If the primary host fails, the secondary VM takes over instantaneously with no interruption and no data loss, because every instruction and state change is mirrored in real time. This is distinct from high availability, which involves restarting the VM on a surviving host after a failure, causing a brief outage.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Live migration

Answer

Snapshots

Question 12

A company uses a hypervisor to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical server. The host server has 64 GB of RAM. The administrator allocates 8 GB of RAM to each of 10 VMs, for a total allocation of 80 GB. The hypervisor utilizes memory overcommitment, which allows the total allocated memory to exceed the physical memory by sharing idle memory pages among VMs. Which of the following cloud computing characteristics does this configuration BEST demonstrate?

Accepted Answer

Resource pooling. Resource pooling is the cloud characteristic demonstrated because the hypervisor aggregates the physical memory (64 GB) into a shared pool and dynamically allocates it to multiple VMs as needed, even though the total allocated memory (80 GB) exceeds the physical capacity. Memory overcommitment relies on the hypervisor's ability to reclaim idle pages from one VM and assign them to another, which is a direct implementation of resource pooling where physical resources are abstracted and shared among tenants.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Measured service

Question 13

A company operates a private cloud using a hypervisor cluster. The administrator wants to ensure that if a physical host server fails, the virtual machines running on that host are automatically restarted on other healthy hosts in the cluster with minimal manual intervention. Which hypervisor feature should the administrator configure?

Accepted Answer

High Availability (HA). High Availability (HA) is the correct feature because it automatically detects a physical host failure and restarts the affected virtual machines on other healthy hosts in the cluster without requiring manual intervention. This is achieved through heartbeat monitoring between hosts and a cluster resource management system that ensures VM availability after a host crash.

Answer

Live Migration

Answer

Fault Tolerance

Answer

Resource Pooling

Question 14

A company develops a custom web application that requires a specific runtime environment and middleware. The company wants to avoid managing the underlying servers, operating system patches, and runtime scaling. They choose a cloud service where they can upload their application code and the provider automatically handles the OS, runtime, and scaling based on demand. Which cloud service model does this describe?

Accepted Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS). This scenario describes Platform as a Service (PaaS), where the cloud provider manages the underlying infrastructure, operating system, runtime environment, and middleware. The customer only needs to upload their application code, and the provider automatically handles scaling, patching, and runtime dependencies. This contrasts with IaaS, where the customer manages the OS and runtime, and SaaS, where the provider delivers a fully functional application.

Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Answer

Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Question 15

A company uses a public cloud provider to host a critical database. The provider automatically replicates the data across multiple geographic regions to ensure data durability and availability. The company does not need to manage the underlying servers or storage infrastructure. Which cloud characteristic does this configuration BEST demonstrate?

Accepted Answer

High availability. The configuration demonstrates high availability because the cloud provider automatically replicates the critical database across multiple geographic regions, ensuring that if one region fails, the database remains accessible from another region. This redundancy minimizes downtime and data loss without requiring the company to manage the underlying infrastructure, which is the core purpose of high availability in cloud computing.

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Resource pooling