220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Question
A company runs its e-commerce website on a virtualized infrastructure. During a flash sale, the number of website visitors spikes dramatically. The virtualization platform automatically creates additional virtual web servers to handle the load and later terminates them when traffic returns to normal. This capability BEST illustrates which characteristic of cloud computing?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse rapid elasticity with on-demand self-service, as both involve provisioning resources, but elasticity is about automatic scaling in response to load, while self-service is about user-initiated provisioning without provider involvement.
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
✓
Rapid elasticity
The scenario describes the platform automatically scaling virtual web servers up during a flash sale and down afterward, which is the defining characteristic of rapid elasticity. This capability allows cloud resources to expand and contract quickly and automatically in response to demand, a core feature of cloud computing as defined by NIST SP 800-145.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Measured service
Why it's wrong here
Measured service is a cloud characteristic that monitors and controls resource usage for billing and metering purposes, typically on a pay-per-use basis. It does not involve automatically adjusting compute capacity in response to demand. The scenario describes the platform autonomously creating and terminating virtual servers to match load, which is a scaling function, not a metering function.
- ✗
On-demand self-service
Why it's wrong here
On-demand self-service allows a user to provision or configure computing resources independently through a web interface or API, without requiring manual intervention from service providers. However, the scenario emphasizes the virtualization platform automatically scaling resources based on real-time demand, rather than a user initiating provisioning. This is an automated system reaction, not a self-service provisioning action, so it does not match the described behavior.
- ✓
Rapid elasticity
Why this is correct
Rapid elasticity is the cloud capability to transparently and quickly scale resources outward (up or out) and inward (down or in) to handle fluctuations in demand. In the scenario, the virtualization platform automatically creates virtual servers when load increases and terminates them when load decreases, which is the precise definition of elasticity. This automatic and rapid scaling is the core reason this option is correct.
- ✗
Resource pooling
Why it's wrong here
Resource pooling refers to the provider's computing resources being aggregated to serve multiple customers or tenants using a multi-tenant model, where physical and virtual resources are dynamically assigned and reassigned. While resource pooling may be present in the infrastructure, it does not by itself explain the automatic creation and termination of virtual servers in response to traffic changes. The scenario is strictly about dynamic scaling, not about how resources are shared among users.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Virtual Machine Networking Modes
Key term
Software as a Service
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud computing model where users access software applications over the internet on a subscription basis, without installing or maintaining the software locally.
Key term
Anything As A Service
A model where you rent any IT resource or service over the internet instead of owning it.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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