220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Question
A small business wants to move its company website to the cloud. The goal is to eliminate all management tasks related to the operating system and the web server software. The business wants to simply upload its website content and have the cloud provider handle all patching, security, and availability. Which cloud service model BEST meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between IaaS and PaaS by making candidates think that IaaS eliminates OS management because the provider owns the hypervisor, but the customer is still responsible for the guest OS and software stack.
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
✓
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the correct model because it provides a managed platform where the cloud provider handles the operating system, web server software, patching, security, and availability. The business only needs to upload its website content (e.g., HTML, PHP files) and the provider manages the underlying runtime environment, including the web server (like Apache or Nginx) and OS updates. This eliminates all management tasks related to the OS and web server software, directly matching the requirement.
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 it's wrong here
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized hardware—compute, storage, and networking—but the customer remains responsible for the entire guest stack: the operating system, web server software, runtime environment, and all security patches. While it eliminates physical datacenter management, it does not eliminate OS-level or application-level maintenance. To achieve the company's goal of eliminating its own maintenance for a website, simply moving to IaaS would still require staff to configure, harden, and update the web server and OS, so it is not the right fit.
- ✓
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why this is correct
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is correct because it delivers a fully managed hosting platform that includes the underlying infrastructure, operating system, web server, and runtime environment. The customer only uploads and configures the website content or application code, while the provider automatically handles patching, security, scaling, and availability. This directly aligns with the goal of eliminating maintenance responsibilities, as the provider manages the platform-level components that would otherwise require the company's IT staff. PaaS abstracts away the operational overhead, allowing the team to focus purely on the website itself.
- ✗
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a wrong choice because it provides ready-made, fully functional applications (e.g., email, CRM, office suites) accessed over the internet. The customer does not deploy custom web server code or control the hosting environment; instead, they use fixed, vendor-defined features. A company website typically requires custom code and configuration, which cannot be uploaded and executed on a general SaaS platform. SaaS is designed for consuming software, not for hosting and running a custom web application, so it fails to meet the site-hosting requirement.
- ✗
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is incorrect because it delivers virtual desktop sessions to end users, providing managed virtual desktops such as Windows or Linux with their own applications for remote work. It does not provide a server-side platform for public web hosting, and it does not expose a web server or runtime for deploying a company website. DaaS addresses the need to give employees remote access to a desktop environment, not the need to eliminate maintenance of the infrastructure serving a website to the public. Thus, it is unrelated to the scenario described.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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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
Platform as a Service
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that provides a complete platform for developing, running, and managing applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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