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220-1201 Practice Question: A small business wants to move its on-premises…
A small business wants to move its on-premises file server to the cloud to reduce hardware maintenance costs. They need full control over the operating system and applications running on the server. Which cloud service model should they choose?
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
✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
This scenario requires the customer to manage the OS and applications, which is characteristic of IaaS. IaaS provides virtual machines where the user controls the OS and installed software, while the provider manages the physical hardware.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Software as a Service (SaaS) delivers fully functional, ready-to-use applications over the internet, managed entirely by the service provider. Users access these applications via a web browser or client interface without needing to install, maintain, or manage any underlying infrastructure, operating systems, or even the application software itself. This model is focused on consumption of a complete product, not on providing the environment to build or host custom solutions or manage an OS.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a complete cloud-based environment for developing, running, and managing applications. It abstracts away the complexities of the underlying infrastructure, including operating systems, server hardware, and network configuration, allowing developers to focus solely on writing and deploying their application code and data. Users have control over their applications and some configuration settings but do not have administrative access or control over the host operating system.
- ✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why this is correct
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offers fundamental computing resources over the internet, such as virtualized servers, storage, and networking components. This model provides the highest level of control to the user, allowing them to provision virtual machines, choose and install their own operating systems, configure storage, and deploy any applications they require. It effectively replaces on-premises hardware with virtualized equivalents, giving the business full administrative control over the OS and software stack.
- ✗
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) delivers virtualized desktop environments to end-users over a network, typically for individual productivity and application access. While it provides a complete desktop experience, DaaS is specifically designed for user workstations and application delivery, not for hosting server-side file shares or providing administrative control over a server's operating system. It focuses on user access to a personalized desktop, not on managing server infrastructure.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
Anything As A Service
A model where you rent any IT resource or service over the internet instead of owning it.
Key term
IaaS
IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service, which means renting virtual computing resources like servers, storage, and networking from a cloud provider instead of buying and managing physical hardware yourself.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 220-1201 exam.