CLF-C02 Cloud Concepts Practice Question
Which cloud deployment model involves running applications on AWS infrastructure managed entirely by AWS, where the customer does not manage any physical hardware?
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that a private cloud means the customer manages no hardware, but in reality, private clouds can be on-premises with the customer owning the hardware, or hosted with dedicated hardware, which still involves customer control or visibility into physical resources.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Public cloud
The public cloud deployment model is defined by infrastructure that is owned, managed, and maintained by a third-party cloud provider (in this case, AWS). The customer has no responsibility for the physical hardware, such as servers, storage, or networking equipment, and accesses resources on-demand via the internet. This matches the scenario where AWS manages everything, and the customer only interacts with virtualized services.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Private cloud
Why it's wrong here
Private cloud involves dedicated infrastructure that is operated solely for a single organization, either on-premises or hosted in a third-party data center. In this model, the organization retains significant control and often responsibility for hardware lifecycle, even if managed by a vendor. Since AWS delivers shared, multi-tenant services over the internet without any dedicated physical infrastructure for a single customer, it cannot be classified as a private cloud.
- ✗
Hybrid cloud
Why it's wrong here
Hybrid cloud is a computing environment that connects a company's on-premises or private infrastructure with public cloud services to enable workload portability and a unified management plane. The scenario describes using AWS alone, with no mention of any on-premises data center or private environment being integrated. Without that combination of private and public resources, the architecture is not hybrid; it is purely public.
- ✓
Public cloud
Why this is correct
Public cloud refers to a model where a provider like AWS owns and operates all physical data centers, servers, and networking hardware, delivering services to customers over the internet. Users provision compute, storage, and databases on demand without ever managing the underlying physical infrastructure. This matches the scenario exactly, as the company uses AWS's shared resources and pays for what it consumes, making public cloud the only correct classification.
- ✗
Community cloud
Why it's wrong here
Community cloud is a multi-tenant infrastructure shared by several organizations that have common regulatory, security, or policy requirements, such as government agencies or healthcare institutions. It is typically managed by one of the member organizations or a third-party, and access is restricted to that specific community. AWS is a general-purpose public cloud that serves the general public across all industries, not a closed environment limited to a particular community, so it does not qualify.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CLF-C02 question is part of Courseiva's 988-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.