220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Question
A company runs a latency-sensitive application on a local server. To handle occasional traffic spikes, the company needs to expand compute resources temporarily without moving the entire application to the cloud. The application runs on a single operating system instance and cannot be easily containerized. Which of the following cloud deployment models BEST allows the company to meet this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently choose Public cloud (C) because they think 'temporary expansion' means moving to the cloud, but the question explicitly states the application must stay on a local server, making hybrid cloud the only model that combines on-premises and cloud 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
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Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud model allows the company to keep the latency-sensitive application on a local private cloud or on-premises server while temporarily bursting compute resources to a public cloud during traffic spikes. This is achieved through cloud bursting, where additional virtual machines or instances are provisioned in the public cloud and connected to the on-premises environment, without requiring the entire application to be migrated or containerized. The application runs on a single OS instance, so extending resources via hybrid cloud avoids the need for re-architecture while handling peak loads.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Hybrid cloud
Why this is correct
Hybrid cloud connects on-premises infrastructure to public cloud resources via a secure network link (e.g., VPN or dedicated circuit), allowing a latency-sensitive application to keep its core processing local while scaling out transient workloads like batch analytics or burst web traffic to the public cloud. This design minimizes network round-trip time for critical operations, but it requires careful integration and data synchronization.
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Community cloud
Why it's wrong here
Community cloud is a multi-tenant environment shared among organizations with similar compliance or security postures, but it does not extend an organization's local server with on-demand external capacity. It lacks the hybrid model's linkage between on-premises and third-party infrastructure, so a latency-sensitive application would still be constrained to the community cloud's fixed resources and network path.
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Public cloud
Why it's wrong here
Public cloud services are hosted entirely in a third-party data center, so all traffic between the local server and the cloud must traverse the public internet (or a dedicated connection that still incurs physical distance). For a latency-sensitive application, relying on public cloud would introduce variable WAN latency and jitter, making it unsuitable for the required real-time local processing.
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Private cloud
Why it's wrong here
A private cloud offers dedicated compute and storage for a single organization, but unless it is integrated with public cloud (forming a hybrid), it is limited to the hardware capacity physically available on-premises. It cannot elastically burst beyond that capacity, so peak demand would still cause resource contention or require expensive idle hardware, which does not solve the latency-plus-scalability requirement.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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