MS-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Test 8 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An e-commerce website hosted on a cloud provider automatically adds more virtual machines to handle increased traffic during Black Friday and removes them after the event. Which cloud characteristic does this illustrate?

Accepted Answer

Rapid elasticity. Rapid elasticity is the cloud characteristic that enables resources to scale out (add VMs) automatically in response to demand spikes like Black Friday traffic, and scale in (remove VMs) when demand subsides. This is distinct from manual scaling because it happens automatically and dynamically, often using autoscaling policies tied to metrics such as CPU utilization or request count.

Answer

On-demand self-service

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Resource pooling

Answer

Measured service

Question 2

A company moves its on-premises servers to a cloud provider. The provider supplies the physical hardware, networking, and storage. The company installs and manages the operating system and applications on the virtual machines. Which cloud service model does this scenario represent?

Accepted Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This scenario describes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) because the cloud provider supplies the physical hardware, networking, and storage, while the customer retains full control over the operating system and applications. In IaaS, the provider manages the underlying infrastructure (e.g., hypervisor, physical servers, network switches), and the customer is responsible for the guest OS, middleware, and application stack. This aligns with the shared responsibility model where the customer handles OS patching, application configuration, and data management.

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Platform as a Service (PaaS)

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Software as a Service (SaaS)

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Function as a Service (FaaS)

Question 3

A cloud user can access their files from a work desktop, a personal laptop at home, and a mobile phone while traveling. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

Broad network access. Broad network access is the correct answer because it describes the ability to access cloud resources from diverse client platforms (work desktop, personal laptop, mobile phone) over the network using standard protocols such as HTTPS, SSH, or VPN. This characteristic ensures that services are available from any location with internet connectivity, not just from a single device or network.

Answer

On-demand self-service

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Resource pooling

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Question 4

A cloud provider bills a customer monthly based on the precise number of gigabytes of storage used and the number of virtual machine hours consumed. Which essential cloud computing characteristic does this billing model demonstrate?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. The billing model charges based on exact gigabytes of storage used and virtual machine hours consumed, which directly aligns with the 'measured service' characteristic. This means the cloud provider meters resource usage (e.g., storage IOPS, compute hours) and bills only for what is consumed, enabling pay-as-you-go pricing. Measured service relies on telemetry and monitoring systems (e.g., Azure Monitor, AWS CloudWatch) to track usage and generate invoices.

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

On-demand self-service

Answer

Broad network access

Question 5

A company uses a cloud provider that charges them based solely on the exact number of gigabytes of storage used and the number of virtual machine hours consumed. They can increase or decrease usage at any time without any upfront commitment. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this billing model demonstrate?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. The billing model charges based on exact gigabytes of storage used and virtual machine hours consumed, which directly aligns with the 'measured service' characteristic of cloud computing. Measured service means cloud providers meter and bill customers precisely for the resources they consume, often using a pay-as-you-go model. This allows the company to pay only for what they use without upfront commitments, as described in the scenario.

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

On-demand self-service

Question 6

A marketing manager needs to provision a new virtual machine to run a temporary campaign analysis. They log into the cloud provider's web portal, select a VM size, configure settings, and start the VM within minutes—all without any human interaction with the provider's IT staff. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

On-demand self-service. The scenario describes a user provisioning a virtual machine independently through a web portal without any human interaction with the provider's IT staff. This directly maps to the NIST-defined essential characteristic of on-demand self-service, where a consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider.

Answer

Resource pooling

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Rapid elasticity

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Measured service

Question 7

Which two statements correctly describe SaaS in a cloud computing model? (Choose 2.)

Accepted Answer

Users access a complete application provided by the cloud service provider.. Option A is correct because in the SaaS model, users access a complete application—such as Microsoft 365—that is hosted and managed entirely by the cloud service provider. The provider handles all aspects of the application, including availability, performance, and security, while the user simply consumes the software via a web browser or client. This aligns with the NIST definition of SaaS, where the consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure or even individual application capabilities.

Answer

Customers manage the operating system patching.

Answer

Customers deploy their own runtime environment.

Question 8

A small business wants to use email and collaboration software without maintaining servers, databases, or application updates. Which cloud service model best describes Microsoft 365?

Accepted Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS). Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based suite that provides email (Exchange Online) and collaboration tools (Teams, SharePoint) as ready-to-use applications. This aligns with the SaaS model, where the provider manages the underlying infrastructure, platform, and software updates, allowing the customer to simply use the software without server maintenance.

Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Answer

On-premises hosting

Question 9

A company wants monthly billing based on the number of Microsoft 365 users assigned licenses. Which cloud characteristic does this represent?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. Measured service is a cloud characteristic where usage is metered and billed based on consumption. In this scenario, the company is billed monthly based on the number of Microsoft 365 users assigned licenses, which directly reflects metered usage of the service. This aligns with the pay-per-use model defined by NIST SP 800-145 for cloud computing.

Answer

Fault tolerance

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Resource pooling

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Rapid elasticity

Question 10

A business needs staff to access Microsoft 365 services from different locations using only an internet connection. Which cloud benefit is being used?

Accepted Answer

Broad network access. Broad network access is a core characteristic of cloud computing defined by NIST SP 800-145. It means that resources are available over the network and can be accessed by standard client platforms (e.g., laptops, tablets, smartphones) using only an internet connection, without requiring a dedicated private link or on-premises hardware. In this scenario, staff accessing Microsoft 365 from different locations via the internet directly demonstrates broad network access.

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Capital expenditure spending

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Manual provisioning

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Server virtualization only

Question 11

Which three of the following are characteristics of cloud computing as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Broad network access. NIST SP 800-145 defines cloud computing by five essential characteristics. On-demand self-service allows a consumer to provision computing capabilities automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider. Broad network access means capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations). Resource pooling enables the provider's computing resources to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand.

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Dedicated hardware per tenant

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Fixed pricing models

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Limited scalability

Question 12

A company is evaluating a move to the cloud. Which three of the following are advantages of using a public cloud model compared to a private cloud? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

No capital expenditure for hardware. In a public cloud model, the cloud provider owns and manages the physical hardware, eliminating the need for the customer to make capital expenditures (CapEx) on servers, storage, and networking equipment. Public clouds offer elastic scaling, allowing resources like virtual machines or containers to be automatically provisioned or deprovisioned based on real-time demand, which is a core benefit of cloud computing. Provider-managed infrastructure maintenance means the cloud vendor handles all hardware patching, firmware updates, and physical security, offloading these operational responsibilities from the customer.

Answer

Full control over physical security of data centers

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Guaranteed data residency in a specific geographic location

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Lower total cost for all long-term workloads

Question 13

Which three of the following correctly describe the shared responsibility model in Microsoft 365? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Microsoft is responsible for maintaining the underlying network infrastructure.. The shared responsibility model delineates security and compliance obligations between Microsoft and the customer. Microsoft is responsible for the physical security of its datacenters, including access controls, surveillance, and environmental protections. The customer is responsible for managing user identities and access, such as configuring Azure Active Directory, enforcing multi-factor authentication, and controlling permissions. Microsoft is responsible for maintaining the underlying network infrastructure, including the physical network hardware, routing, and connectivity within its datacenters and between regions.

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Microsoft is responsible for ensuring customer data is backed up in all scenarios.

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The customer is responsible for patching the operating system of Exchange Online servers.

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The customer is responsible for physical security of client devices used to access Microsoft 365.

Question 14

Which of the following are key characteristics of cloud computing as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)? (Choose all that apply. There are four correct answers.)

Accepted Answer

On-demand self-service. The NIST SP 800-145 definition identifies five essential characteristics of cloud computing: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. On-demand self-service allows users to provision computing capabilities automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider. Broad network access means capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, workstations). Resource pooling enables the provider's computing resources to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. Rapid elasticity allows capabilities to be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand.

Answer

Fixed, non-scalable capacity

Answer

Locally installed software only

Question 15

Drag and drop the steps to create a new user account in Microsoft 365 admin center into the correct order.