CLF-C02 Cloud Concepts Practice Question
A government agency runs all of its computing workloads on hardware located in its own secure facility. No resources are hosted with a third-party cloud provider. The agency manages all servers, networking equipment, and storage. Which cloud deployment model describes this architecture?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'on-premises' with 'private cloud,' forgetting that a private cloud requires cloud characteristics like self-service, resource pooling, and rapid elasticity, not just isolated hardware; however, in this question, the agency's fully managed on-premises environment still qualifies as a private cloud because it meets the NIST definition of exclusive use by a single organization.
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
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Private cloud
A private cloud deployment model is defined by cloud resources being used exclusively by a single organization, typically hosted on-premises in the organization's own data center. In this scenario, the government agency owns and manages all hardware, networking, and storage within its own secure facility, with no third-party cloud provider involvement, which aligns precisely with the private cloud model.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Public cloud
Why it's wrong here
Public cloud is defined by resources owned and operated by a third-party provider, such as AWS, which delivers services over the internet on a shared, multi-tenant infrastructure. The provider manages physical hardware, and customers scale elastically on demand without owning the underlying assets. Since the agency uses its own dedicated hardware in its own facility and shares no part of that infrastructure with other organizations, this does not match the public cloud model.
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Hybrid cloud
Why it's wrong here
Hybrid cloud is an architecture that connects on-premises or private cloud infrastructure with public cloud resources, allowing workloads to move between environments and enabling capacity burst or disaster recovery. In this scenario, the agency operates entirely on agency-owned hardware and does not use any public cloud services or public cloud APIs. Without any integration with or dependency on a public cloud provider, the environment cannot be classified as a hybrid cloud.
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Private cloud
Why this is correct
Private cloud is a model where computing infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a single organization, offering the highest level of control over data, security, and compliance. Because the agency operates all workloads on its own hardware within its own facility, with no multi-tenant sharing, this setup unambiguously qualifies as a private cloud. This architecture is often preferred for sensitive or regulated workloads because the organization retains full control over access and governance.
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Community cloud
Why it's wrong here
Community cloud is a shared infrastructure model in which computing resources are used by multiple organizations that have common concerns, such as specific security, compliance, or jurisdiction requirements. Examples include several government agencies pooling resources to meet the same regulatory standards. The agency in this case runs everything on infrastructure dedicated exclusively to itself, with no sharing or pooled governance, so it does not satisfy the defining characteristic of a community cloud.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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