220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

  Why this is correct

  IaaS provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, with the cloud provider managing physical servers, storage, and networking hardware while the customer retains full administrative control over the operating system, web server, and application stack. For an existing internal web application, this allows a literal 'lift-and-shift' migration—replicating the current server environment in a cloud VM without rewriting code or altering OS-level dependencies. It also offers scalability and pay-as-you-go pricing, which addresses the company's goal to reduce cost by eliminating on-premises hardware maintenance.

• ✗

  Platform as a Service (PaaS)

  Why it's wrong here

  PaaS (Platform as a Service) supplies a managed runtime environment where the cloud provider handles the operating system, middleware, and runtime libraries, so the customer focuses solely on deploying application code. While this is convenient, it restricts the ability to configure the underlying OS, install custom system packages, or manage system services—requirements often essential for a legacy internal web application that depends on a specific OS version or custom modules. PaaS also locks the application to a particular platform ecosystem (e.g., a specific version of Node.js or Java), which may not align with the existing infrastructure.

  When this WOULD be correct

  A company wants to deploy a custom web application without managing the underlying OS or runtime environment, and needs automatic scaling and middleware management from the provider.

• ✗

  Software as a Service (SaaS)

  Why it's wrong here

  SaaS (Software as a Service) is a fully managed, ready-to-use application hosted by the provider, which handles everything from the hardware to the OS to the application itself, leaving the customer with only configuration options and data. This model is ideal for end-user productivity tools or standardized business applications, not for hosting a custom web application that the company must install, maintain, and patch on its own servers. Because the customer has no control over the OS or the installation process, migrating an internal web application to SaaS would require using a pre-built service that likely cannot match custom logic or infrastructure requirements.

  When this WOULD be correct

  A company wants to use a fully managed email service without managing servers or software, and only needs to configure user settings. SaaS would be correct because the provider handles everything except user-specific configurations.

• ✗

  Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

  Why it's wrong here

  DaaS (Desktop as a Service) delivers a complete virtual desktop environment to end users, where the provider manages the backend infrastructure and the desktop OS, but the service is designed for interactive front-end user sessions, not for hosting always-on server workloads. An internal web application is a backend service that needs continuous uptime, custom server software, and configuration of the guest OS, which DaaS does not expose to the customer. Furthermore, DaaS pricing and architecture are oriented toward VDI use cases, not toward running a web server with administrative access.

  When this WOULD be correct

  A company needs to provide remote desktop access to employees with standardized, centrally managed virtual desktops, and wants the cloud provider to handle the underlying infrastructure while retaining control over desktop OS and applications.

Option-by-option analysis

Why each answer is right or wrong

Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The 220-1101 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.

Analysis generated from the official 220-1101blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”

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