A development team is building a web application and wants to minimize operational overhead. The team wants to focus solely on writing and deploying code without managing the underlying operating system, runtime, or middleware. The team needs the ability to simply upload their application code and have it run, with the cloud provider automatically handling capacity provisioning, load balancing, and patching of the platform. Which cloud computing service model best describes this approach?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Distractor review
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides virtualized computing resources (e.g., virtual machines, storage) but requires the team to manage the operating system and runtime stack. This does not meet the goal of minimizing operational overhead for the platform layer.
Best answer
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS offers a managed platform where the provider handles the operating system, runtime, and middleware. Developers can upload code and let the provider manage capacity and patching, matching the team's requirement to minimize overhead.
Distractor review
Software as a Service (SaaS)
SaaS provides a ready-to-use application managed entirely by the provider. The team would not develop and deploy their own code; they would use an existing application. This does not fit the scenario.
Distractor review
Function as a Service (FaaS)
FaaS is a subset of PaaS where developers upload individual functions that are event-driven. While it reduces overhead, it is typically used for short-lived, stateless functions, not for a full web application. The scenario describes a broader application, making PaaS a more accurate fit.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?
Question 2
A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?
Question 3
A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?
Question 4
A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?
Question 5
A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?
Question 6
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Platform as a Service (PaaS) — Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a managed platform that includes the operating system, runtime environment, and middleware. Developers only need to upload their application code, and the cloud provider handles the underlying infrastructure, including scaling and patching. IaaS gives more control over the OS and infrastructure but requires management. SaaS is a fully finished application for end-users. FaaS (Function as a Service) is a subset of PaaS focused on running individual functions, not full applications.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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